$207K grant to bring 'vital upgrades' to Mitchell's Palace Transit amid surging demand
May 20—MITCHELL — The city's public transportation service will be receiving major upgrades, thanks to a federal grant that was awarded to the city.
The Mitchell City Council approved accepting a $207,000 grant on Monday that will fund the handful of upgrades to Palace Transit's fleet of buses and vehicles.
Among the upgrades funded from the grant are vehicle cameras, tablets for drivers to communicate with dispatchers and a new dispatch software.
Jessica Pickett, the city's community services director who oversees Palace Transit, said the upgrades are vital with the increased demand the transportation service has been experiencing over the past few years.
"We've seen an astronomical increase in ridership since we've lost all the taxi services," Pickett said.
Increased ridership is a healthy sign of growth, but more riders require more security. Pickett explained why cameras inside the buses and vehicles are necessary.
"We need vehicle cameras for behaviors and any incidents that may occur on the buses and vehicles," Pickett said.
The grant will also fund upgrades to the dispatcher, including new tablets, routers and antennas.
"The biggest things we are receiving are our tablets, routers, cradle points, which are all vital equipment for our dispatch. That's how our drivers and dispatch communicate with each other," she said. "We are also looking to update the dispatch software to make for more efficient operations.
After Mitchell lost several taxi businesses over the past few years, Palace Transit became the only reliable transportation service with set business hours until a new local taxi driver opened in the fall.
Despite a new taxi service operating, Pickett said demand for Palace Transit hasn't slowed. Pickett did not have this year's ridership numbers available during Monday's meeting.
Palace Transit had provided over 20,000 more rides in 2022 than it did in 2021. In 2022, the transportation service began offering same-day rides for $10 throughout the 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. business hours. The demand for same-day rides has also held steady since rolling it out in 2022, Pickett said.
With no signs of slowing down, Pickett has been pursuing grants to help keep Palace Transit's fleet of vehicles and operations operating swiftly.
In addition to the new upgrades, Palace Transit recently replaced two old buses. A South Dakota Department of Transportation grant funded the pair of new 16-passenger buses.
"I don't see demand slowing anytime soon. We have to have efficient operations to handle the demand," she said.
