The views and opinions of this article may not reflect the views of The Rapid City Post, its affiliates, or advertisers. 

The people of Rapid City are efficient problem solvers. I genuinely believe this fact, and I see evidence of it every day when I drive to work. I drive North bound on Campbell St. from E. Minnesota St. to get to my job by the mall. Every morning I get a perfect view of a cattle trail worn into the dirt next to Campbell St. between E. Oakland St. and Bridge View Drive. That trail is worn there because people are efficient problem solvers: If you want to get to Main Street from Campbell St. on foot, the kosher route is to take a long, round-about way through a hilly neighborhood… I’ve ridden my bicycle from Campbell to Main, and you can bet money that I chose the 200 yards of dirt trail rather than the hill. Some may call it lazy; I prefer to call it efficient problem solving. 

I tell you this story because I know there are many like it all across Rapid City. People not in cars, taking interesting/obscure routes to get to places. I can promise you, they’re not doing it for fun. They’re doing it because they are efficient problem solvers, but this does mean that Rapid City has a problem to solve. In this case, I believe the problem is that Rapid City has a subpar public transportation system. There are many factors to this problem–see above for an example of not having sidewalks where people actually walk–but I want to focus on the bus system, everyone’s favorite Rapid Ride; because as much as I want Rapid City to be walkable and bikeable, I believe that an improved bus system is the real meat and potatoes that Rapid City needs.

First, I want to praise improvements when they do happen: In January, Rapid Ride bus stops were added to Google Maps, and in February, Rapid Ride came out with a new interactive bus route map. These are fantastic improvements! About a year ago, I rode the bus for a month straight, and let me tell you, their old system made me feel like Indiana Jones trying to decipher my way to the Lost Ark. I played with Rapid Ride’s new tools for five minutes, and even in that short amount of time I was impressed with how much easier it is to create a travel plan. I’ve also seen the new buses rolling around. I haven’t ridden on them yet, but I’m excited to hopefully try them out sometime in the future. 

While these improvements are good, they still don’t address some of the biggest issues that plague the bus system. For me personally, the lack of timely availability is the biggest issue. I work from 8am to 4:30pm, and I am on the first and last buses of the day to go by my apartment. Do you have work hours outside 7-4? You can’t ride the bus. Do you want to stop for groceries after work? You can’t ride the bus. Do you work or have plans outside 10-4 on Saturday? Saturday has reduced hours, so you can’t ride the bus. Do you want to ride the bus to church on Sunday? The bus doesn’t run at all on Sunday, so you can’t ride the bus. We don’t live in a sleepy, small town where life only happens 9-5 Monday through Friday. We live in a growing city, where many people are working, shopping, socializing, traveling, and living seven days a week from the early morning to the later evening. Every person I just described is being left behind by the current bus system. 

It also doesn’t feel like the bus system is growing with Rapid City.  One single bus serves the entire west side, the Borglum route. Borglum may have been the sculptor behind Mount Rushmore, but my man could probably use a little help servicing the west side. Yet, I suppose the west side should consider themselves lucky. Rapid Valley doesn’t have a single bus route available to them, and guess where the new Pennington County Auditor’s office is located? That’s right, If you want to take the bus to the auditor’s office, you’re going to get dropped off and still have a half hour walk to get to the auditor’s office. Do I even bother mentioning the airport? I love being a friendly neighbor, but the amount of rides I’ve had to give/get makes me wish for even a low frequency route to the airport. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I would love to see Rapid Ride provide the opportunity for reasonable transportation, for the majority of people, to the focal points of Rapid City. 

Sadly, I can already hear people yelling: “But what about the Money?! How are we going to pay for an improved bus system?” I’m not going to try and answer that question today, but the leaders of Rapid City seem to have the political willpower to find funding for new police precincts, new tourist-shopping-activity theme parks, and new tax cuts for homeowners. Yet, our leaders don’t have the political willpower to find the money to make sure that our neighbors have a dignified way to move, to work, and to live their lives here in Rapid City. 

Speaking of money, I am writing and sharing this because of money. I am a young, working adult here in Rapid City, and my number one personal economic concern is transportation. I would love to be saving money to buy a home, or to start a family, or to start my own small business, or even just to pay back my student loans quicker, but instead, my number one saving goal is for transportation. My car is old, and I fear nothing more than the day when it will inevitably die on me because I know that my ability to keep my job–and thus my life in Rapid City–relies on my car.  In my opinion, this is a huge problem that affects many people in Rapid City, and I want to try and fix this problem. My desire to fix this problem made me search out other problem solvers here in Rapid City, and that is how I found the Rapid City People’s Alliance (RCPA). RCPA is full of passionate people who see and experience the real problems that affect the people of Rapid City, and they understand that the only way to solve these problems is for neighbors to come together and problem solve with one another. If you would like to join or support this group of problem solvers, I would implore you to check out https://rapidcitypeoplesalliance.org or to find us on Facebook or Instagram. If public transportation isn’t your jam, don’t worry. RCPA has the People’s Agenda: a whole list of issues that affect the community, created with input from the community. RCPA is tackling the People’s Agenda to improve the lives of everyone here in Rapid City, and I promise you, there’s something for everyone!

The views and opinions of this article may not reflect the views of The Rapid City Post, its affiliates, or advertisers.