CARTA Executive director Tom Dugan told authority members Thursday that up to one-fifth of the people working at the new Volkswagen plant may opt to ride buses to work, rather than driving their own vehicles.
That's because the parking lot for the new plant is huge, he said, and "the last ones to arrive may have a half-hour walk just to get to the plant . . . Its a half mile from the end of the parking lot to the plant entrance . . . We would transport right to the door."
He said he has been meeting with VW officials to discuss the ways in which CARTA can help provide transportation to and from the assembly plant for workers.
"They've been wonderful to work with," he said, "but at this point it's just planning and talking . . . We're exploring possibilities."
It's impossible to realize just how large the VW operation will be, he said, until getting a first-hand look at it personally.
"They're even putting in their own fire station out there," he said. "Building VW is like creating a whole new downtown."
In other news, Mr. Dugan said CARTA has received five new buses that are so large several routes will have to be changed to accomodate them.
The buses are 102 inches - or more than a single lane - wide, he said. "Essentially, they're going to be taking up two lanes."
To accomodate them, he said, bus routes will be changed to eliminate traveling through Wilcox Tunnel and across the Market Street Bridge.
The East Lake route, which runs along Dodds Avenue, also will require changes, he said.