High Point makes market shuttles free
By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, August 18, 2003
High Point — High Point market organizers will offer free airport and hotel shuttles to all market attendees beginning in October, under a plan approved by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
The free shuttles, funded by a $900,000 state grant for the 2003–04 fiscal year, includes transportation between downtown High Point and more than 100 area hotels.
In addition, a free shuttle will take marketgoers between the Piedmont Triad International Airport and downtown High Point.
"This is a very exciting announcement to make," said Steve Kincaid, chairman of the International Home Furnishings Market Authority's board of directors. "It's a really big deal for us."
At the most recent High Point show, a seven-day hotel shuttle ticket was $35 and a trip to the airport from downtown High Point was $15.
"It's just another thing people don't have to pay for," Kincaid said. "We're trying to make the market a little more user-friendly."
The North Carolina legislature approved the $900,000 grant several weeks ago, but until last week, it wasn't known if any of the money would be available for the October market.
In fact, the Market Authority already has printed thousands of brochures that include prices for shuttles. The group will have to get word out to market attendees that such services are now free.
Market Authority President Judy Mendenhall said McLaurin Parking Co., a Raleigh, N.C., transportation services company, will continue to operate hotel shuttles, but probably will need more vehicles for the 22 shuttle routes. She said McLaurin officials believe ridership could double once people realize the service is free.
The airport shuttles will be operated by the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation, or PART, a regional transportation service funded largely by a tax on rental cars. Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 14, two days before the market's official opening, shuttles will depart from the airport's baggage claim area every 30 minutes between 6:15 a.m. and 7:15 p.m.
Airport shuttles will go only downtown, not directly to hotels, but Mendenhall said many buyers go downtown to work at market before checking in at their hotel or other lodging. Transit employees can assist with luggage, and storage space for bags is available at the International Home Furnishings Center, she said.
Mendenhall said shuttles between downtown High Point and several satellite parking lots will remain free, as will shuttles to outlying showrooms.
The Market Authority had allotted about $970,000 of its $1.52 million budget for transportation and parking, but Mendenhall said much of that money could now be used for promoting the market. The group's original budget had allocated only $158,000 for such purposes.
