Opposition To Proposed Douglas County Transit System Continues To Grow

Douglas County’s proposal to start its own public transit system is getting some push-back in the form of an online petition.

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As of Monday evening, the petition has gotten more than 2,300 signatures and counting in two days. It cites possible increases in property taxes and crime as reasons the new public transit isn’t needed.

Ray Mauldin, who works and lives in Douglas County, signed the petition.

“If you have some kind of bus line that goes outside of Douglasville, that makes transportation to and from the city easier,” Mauldin said. “I mean, you might get an undesirable element, somebody who wants to come out here, do some ill will and leave.”

Right now, the Georgia Regional Transit Authority runs limited bus service out of Douglas County to other parts of the metro area.

The county proposal would create a bus system to run on major roads within the county.

Gary Watson, the county’s Multi-modal Transportation Center director, said he disagrees and cited a transportation study that came out last year on how to best serve Douglas residents.

“That study presented us with about 15 different recommendations on how we could do that,” he said. “The number one recommendation was to have a fixed route bus service.”

Watson said the county has applied for $6 million in federal grants to pay for start-up costs.

A fact sheet from the county said the bus system is needed to help serve 20 percent of county residents who are seniors or disabled.