While every member of the Sedona City Council-formed Transit Task Force supports some type of service for businesses and the community, the question regarding what would work best remains.

The support for a transit service was apparent at Tuesday’s Aug. 31 Transit Task Force meeting.

The Sedona City Council plans to eliminate RoadRunner buses by July 1, and it developed a task force to look into alternatives.

Sedona Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff said council has been steadfast in wanting to do away with the current RoadRunner service.

The city and businesses realize the importance of a transit service, she said.

“We definitely know the current service is not the right one,” she said. Wesselhoff also said the task force may have to be creative to come up with a workable concept.

Task Force member Greg Zucco said any transit the city chooses should appeal to all constituents.

Lonnie Lillie said people want to be able to park their vehicles and have another way to get around town.

“I would hate to see [the RoadRunner] go away,” he said.

Task force member Helen Knoll said design goals are extremely important as well as having an affordable service.

“We want a quality experience for our visitors,” Knoll said. “We are about the community and doing things together.”

If the transit is available, Knoll said people would use the service.

Chairman Max Licher said the task force needs to look into areas to give people options.

Northern Arizona Intergovernmental Public Transit Authority General Manager Jeff Meilbeck presented the task force with comparison models, reasons people use public transit and service models.

Lillie said he wants the city to hold off disbanding the RoadRunner to give it one more year to evaluate the service.

The completion of the State Route 179 Improvement Project could result in the RoadRunner becoming more successful, Lillie said.

Zucco said at least two council members have stated the transit, as is currently is, will be eliminated.
Community Services Director Andi Welsh told the task force Mayor Rob Adams has asked for a special council meeting in September to discuss transit.

Lillie said the city needs a buy-in from businesses, and shops, restaurants and lodging need to decide what they could do to support the service.

Wesselhoff said incentives to encourage people to take public transit should be discussed in a future meeting.

“The current system may not have had the time to show its success,” she said.

At its September meeting, the task force will discuss ways to increase ridership and is scheduled to be given a presentation from Zucco involving small electric vehicles.