The article describing See Plymouth’s $30,000 grant to operate a free Ride Circuit shuttle between the Kingston commuter rail (CR) station and Plymouth Visitor Center left me with many questions. Shuttles like this are a common solution to the “last mile” problem.” But is it a cost-effective solution and the best way to get additional tourist dollars into the pockets of downtown/waterfront businesses?
Tourism “success” is presumably measured by the number of visitors coming to Plymouth and by how much they spend when they get here. The Independent article states that the Ride Circuit shuttle will have riders from the south due to the new CR line into Bristol County, and that commuters may also use it. The new Fall River/New Bedford CR line through Bristol County does not connect with Kingston, so no additional tourists will be coming from the south. And while a few daily commuters may use it to get to Kingston in the a.m., it’s highly doubtful. Moreover, local commuters won’t spend any “new” money downtown like “new” tourists would. As a result, only those tourists coming from the north on the existing Kingston CR line will benefit from the free shuttle and bring their “tourist dollars” with them to spend in Plymouth.
If I’m coming to Plymouth by train on any day, Thursday through Sunday, I’m going to spend at least six to eight hours visiting, with my arrival and departure dependent on the CR schedules. The problem is that the current Kingston station train schedule on those days will allow the five-passenger Ride Circuit van to make only two to three roundtrips daily to/from the downtown/ waterfront. That means a full EV shuttle vehicle would carry only 10-15 “new” tourists back and forth to the downtown/waterfront each day, or maybe 40-60 new visitors every week over the three-month (say 12-week) trial period. It also means that it will cost an estimated $50 per person (600 riders total) to provide the free Ride Circuit shuttle during the trial period – assuming potential tourists even know about it.
How is the program being marketed by See Plymouth to Kingston commuter rail users? Does See Plymouth monitor average spending by day-trip tourists and families? If it’s at least $50 per person, one might argue the Ride Circuit service will “justify” the $30,000 grant amount. If not, why not just give 600 random visitors a $50 cash voucher to spend in Plymouth, or contract with local Uber/Lyft and taxi drivers to provide the lack of service being used to justify the Ride Circuit grant?
A $30,000 state grant isn’t “free” money; it’s your tax dollars. The lowest expectation we should have from such a grant is that the economic benefit to local businesses is at least equal to the amount of the grant. It’s not at all clear to me that this particular solution to Plymouth’s “last mile of tourism” problem is a cost-effective one.
– David J. Friend