As MoreThanTheCurve.com reported on July 10th, the Borough of Conshohocken has issued an RFP that seeks a transportation company that would provide a shuttle service in and around the borough. The scheduled outline in the RFP is Wednesday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The proposed stops are as follows:
Matson Mill at 101 Washington Street
The Birch at 51 Washington Street
SEPTA Train Station at 10 Washington Street
Lumina at 301 Washington Street
Riverwalk at 309 Washington Street
Pepperoncini at 72 Poplar Street
Bar Sera at 382 East Elm Street
Bar Luca at 729 East Hector Street*
Courts at Spring Mill at 1101 East Hector Street*
Giant at 10 East Ridge Pike*
Sherry Lake at 1801 Butler Pike*
Plymouth Park Apartments at 1700 Butler Pike*
Plymouth Gardens at 1300 Fayette Street*
The StoneRose at 822 Fayette Street
Deli on 4th at 326 Fayette Street
Nudy’s Café at 100 Fayette Street
AmerisourceBergen at 1 West 1st Avenue
Guppy’s at 2 Maple Street
400 West Elm Street at 400 West Elm Street
* locations outside the Borough of Conshohocken
This concept has been discussed for years and at one time there was a shuttle named the Rambler that primarily focused on serving seniors. Based on the proposed stops, this service would heavily focus on transporting residents of the large apartment communities to Conshohocken’s businesses. Nine of the 19 proposed stops are at apartment buildings. Four of the nine apartment buildings are outside the borough.
As currently designed, the shuttle does not stop at Montgomery County-owned Marshall Lee Towers, the only apartment building in the borough that serves the elderly and disabled population. The closest stop would be one block away.
A former president of Conshohocken’s Borough Council, Sandy Caterbone, recently posted on Facebook the following about the shuttle:
Has anyone read about the shuttle that Conshohocken is proposing? Well, if you like bars and restaurants, you’re great and if you live in any of the four apartment complexes outside of the borough wow. But what about the seniors that would like to go to maybe Weiss [Weis] or giant [Giant] or even CVS? Doesn’t seem to be any stops near those locations. I guess seniors are supposed to spend their money and time at the bars and restaurants that they can’t afford, where most of the stops are located! Who is thinking of these things? Or should I restate, who is not thinking when proposing these ridiculous, ridiculous and extremely ridiculous proposals.
To correct one thing Caterbone stated, Giant is a stop on the route.
But the larger question Caterbone raises is whether the Borough of Conshohocken should be focusing on providing transportation to mainly the people in the apartments, focusing on seniors, or some type of combination.
We were part of discussions about a shuttle as far back as when the Rambler still operated. It originated in a defunct business development committee. Back then our impression of what it was to be was to bring people up and down Fayette Street and not really something meant to offer door-to-door service.
It is important to note, that since the time of these initial discussions, four (three in the borough and one just across the border) of the nine apartment buildings listed as stops. didn’t exist. These new apartment buildings shifted the population of the borough to its edges. There are also two new large office buildings. So the town has changed and the service the borough is seeking to offer has expanded.
Let us know what you think in the comments.