SCPDC contracted to negotiate Good Earth contract in Thibodaux

Thibodaux extended its contract with South Central Planning and Development Commission for 12 months in order to negotiate terms for Terrebonne’s Good Earth Transit System to operate as Thibodaux’s future public transit system.

Thibodaux City Council furthered its contract at last council Tuesday’s meeting at no additional cost.

Thibodaux Mayor Charles Caillouet believes the extension will give the city time to establish a contract with Good Earth and purchase transit buses for the city.

South Central Planning performed a public transit feasibility study in 2007 for Thibodaux and completed it in August 2008.

“A transit would do a number of things for the city.” Caillouet said. “It would give the people a way to travel throughout the city for the purposes of going to school, to work, to the doctor or just to shop.”

“Not everyone in the area has access to a car,” the mayor added. “A lot of people are jobless in this area for one simple reason: They don’t have a means of transportation to get them to and from work. We are trying to fix that.”

Thibodaux is looking to assemble a bus system, similar to what is typically found in small-to medium-sized populated areas. Caillouet said the city would need three to four buses in its public transportation system.

The mayor said the partnership between Good Earth Transit and the City of Thibodaux would be a win-win for all.

“Both governmental entities are looking at an partnership,” said Windell Voisin, public transit administrator for Terrebonne Parish. “Both administrations believe that it would be in our best interest for us to work together to come up with something.”

Voisin said it took two to three years for Good Earth to develop a sound transit system.

The public system has been running since February 1997.

“People use the transit system for employment needs, social needs, educational needs and healthcare needs,” he said. “It’s our job to make sure that they get there in a timely manner without too much overhead cost.”

Voisin said that Thibodaux is implementing a transit system for the same reason Terrebonne did.

“We are all trying to service an unmet need,” he said. “There is a gap in the transportation system that needs to be filled. People need adequate means of transportation to keep the economy thriving.”

Terrebonne’s Good Earth Transit System currently has 250 bus stops including stops in Lafourche Parish at the Thibodaux Regional Medical Center and Nicholls State University.