Randy Waltermyer, the Transportation Services Director for the Chester County Planning Commission, held a presentation for the members of the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce during a luncheon  last week. At the meeting, he put forward the idea that that a better transportation system for the County is essential to a thriving business community.

“It was eye-opening to see how much emphasis the business community places on public transportation,” Waltermyer stated when talking about the research conducted into this area.

One of the business owners interviewed during the research commented that a reliable shuttle service to and from the train station could help him increase his recruiting ability by 50 percent, while a lot of other businesses said that recruiting Millennials would be much easier with a better rail and bus system. A better public transportation system would help business growth in the county, says Waltermyer.

Yet, there are significant challenges. Chester County has a very diffused population, and public transportation viability depends on a high concentration of commuters. In addition, the current transportation system lacks a paperless payment system, has poor parking at many train stations, and has a significant number of bus stops without shelters.

These are just some of the issues that encourage people to drive instead using public transportation options, commented Waltermyer. He also added that out of the nearly 200,000 nearby working residents, less than 10 percent use public transportation.

In an attempt to address some of the issues that prevent people from taking full advantage of public transportation in the county, Waltermyer has come up with several potential solutions which include, among other suggestions, doubling the number of existing commuter train parking spaces to 6,000, developing a mobile app for commuters and adding bus shelters to 75 percent of Chester County’s 847 bus stops by 2030.

He also recommended building train stations in West Chester and Phoenixville, however, the estimated cost of bringing a full commuter rail service that would serve West Chester businesses better ranges from around $300 to $400 million.