Kent County Transit Needs Assessment (KCTNA)

The Grand Valley Metropolitan Council, in cooperation with ITP/The Rapid, successfully applied for and received a Service Development New Technology grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation to conduct a transit needs assessment for Kent County. The purpose of the Kent County Transit Needs Assessment (KCTNA) was to complete an assessment of the unmet need and demand for transit in Kent County, particularly those parts of Kent County that are not currently served by The Rapid. The information collected as part of this study provides information about the potential expansion of transit service beyond the current scope of existing transit service providers in the county.

In December 2009 RLS & Associates, Inc. was selected as the consultant to perform the KCTNA. Below are work documents from the study, including the final report. The KCTNA study was completed in July, 2011, after final presentations were made to both the GVMC Board and to the Kent County Board of Commissioners.

KCTNA Documents

The Grand Valley Metropolitan Council hosted a series of five public focus group meetings in June, 2010 to discuss the unmet transportation needs and the benefits of public transportation for the local community. Six public meetings to review the Draft KCTNA report were held May 23-26, 2011 at various times and locations. These meetings were an opportunity for the public to hear and comment upon the results of the study including information about: existing transit services, costs, and ridership; an estimation of the level of unmet transit demand in Kent County; potential transit service options; alternatives to finance proposed service options and related governance alternatives.

For more information or if you have questions, please contact Abed Itani, Director of Transportation Planning, at (616) 776-7606.