Transportation system first to be overhauled by Market Authority
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, March 17, 2002
HIGH POINT — The most visible change that will be apparent to those attending the April market is a new transportation system designed to whisk visitors to, from and within the market's maze of showroom buildings with a minimum of waiting time.
That's a tall order for an event as large and complex as the High Point market, but officials of the International Home Furnishings Market Authority are convinced the Raleigh, N.C., company they've hired to run the system is up to the task.
"I don't think people who have been coming here for years realize the magnitude of the changes they're going to see with this new system," said board member Bruce Miller, who's also chief executive officer of the International Home Furnishings Center.
Gone are the hodgepodge of vans, church buses and municipal buses that made up the bulk of the shuttle fleet for years. They're being replaced by motor coaches, mini-buses and trolley buses.
But more importantly, the old shuttle schedules that were often inconvenient and unreliable are gone as well. New schedules feature additional shuttle routes, more stops, more shuttle vehicles and more evening pickup times.
"Visitors can literally come to the market and not worry about getting a car," said Market Authority Chairman Steve Kincaid. "If you can get to the airport, we can take care of you the rest of the way."
You CAN get there from here
The execution of this massive order will fall upon McLaurin Parking Co., a Raleigh company that specializes transportation and logistics for large events. The company's credits include the 1999 U.S. Open golf championship in Pinehurst, N.C., where tens of thousands of people descended on a town much smaller and much harder to reach than High Point.
McLaurin will, among other things, secure all the needed buses and hire and train all drivers, supervisors, parking lot attendants and others needed to operate the system. In past years, many of these jobs had been filled by volunteers, but this year, all such workers will be uniformed McLaurin employees.
Market Authority President Judy Mendenhall said McLaurin officials have already ridden every shuttle route — several of them more than once — to develop accurate timetables and design good maps. Plus, they've promised that each shuttle vehicle will be equipped with a radio linked to a central dispatching room that will be set up inside the Market Authority's offices during market.
That will enable additional buses to be dispatched quickly to a shuttle stop that has an unexpectedly large number of people waiting, she explained.
"This first time, we may actually have more buses than we really need, but that's okay because we don't want to run short," said Mendenhall.
The revamped transportation system has three major components — a series of routes to and from area hotels and motels, shuttles to and from five satellite parking lots in High Point, and "market express" shuttles that move visitors around downtown High Point.
Mendenhall said the hotel shuttle network is the most extensive of the three, encompassing some 20 routes and 24 motor coaches. In October, 19 coaches were used on 16 routes, and the last of the buses left downtown High Point before 7 p.m.
Timing is everything
Mendenhall said that last departure was too early for many market-goers — especially sales representatives — so an additional evening departure between 8:30 p.m. and 8:55 p.m. has been added to most routes.
Plus, the route system has been reworked so that there are only a handful of so-called "feeder hotels" that do not have a shuttle stop of their own, but require shuttle riders to walk to a nearby property.
She said past hotel shuttle systems had far too many feeder hotels, including one route that required riders to cross a busy, four-lane divided street during the evening rush hour.
According to Mendenhall, the new system is being promoted heavily through mailings to potential attendees, and the Market Authority is encouraging hotel managers to promote it to their guests. In the past, she said, very little information about market transportation was made available to hotels, so employees often were unable to answer basic questions about the system.
Meanwhile, McLaurin plans to use trolley buses on the two "market express" shuttle routes in downtown High Point to make it easier for buyers to navigate the market's myriad of showroom buildings. At past markets, only one such route was used, which often resulted in long waits for those unable or unwilling to walk to various buildings.
The "market express" and satellite parking lot shuttles are free, while hotel shuttle tickets can be purchased for $30 before April 4. (They're $45 after April 4.) They can be ordered on the Market Authority's Web site, www.highpointmarket.org.
In addition, special airport shuttle rates have been negotiated. One-way trips are $15 to most locations. The only exceptions are hotels and motels in Winston-Salem, which cost $22 per trip, and Burlington, which is $25 per trip. The negotiated fares are for one rider, but additional riders to the same location can travel for an additional $3 each.
| Trolley buses are being designated for two market express routes. |
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High Point pushes shuttle plan
Feb 17, 2002
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