Stuart

Hoff just won't give up.

Though

his attempt to set up a viable bus service in

Fayette County hasn't worked out too well so far,

Hoff is still knocking on doors and putting

together plans in hopes of having a measurable

impact on local traffic, he says.

"I

want to create the most inexpensive, thorough and

complete transportation program possible for

Fayette County," Hoff said this week as he

made plans to once again launch a shuttle service

for Delta Air Lines employees through his

company, Phoenix Star Transportation Service Inc.

He

also is working to set up an employee shuttle for

Peachtree City's industrial areas, among other

projects.

The

Delta shuttle didn't work the first time he tried

it, Hoff said, because although front office

management had approved the plan, it wasn't

coordinated through security. Passengers had to

be dropped off too far from where they actually

worked. "We had about 65 passengers out of a

possible 4,000, so I consider that a complete

failure," said Hoff.

But

now the program has been reworked, Delta has

e-mailed its workers in the Fayette area, and

plans are in place to open the gates and bring

the buses closer to the work place, he said.

boon to the plan has been Delta's decision to

subsidize its workers' ticket costs to the tune

of $65 a month. Any employer can get a full tax

deduction for such a subsidy, he said, due to the

federal government's concern about air quality in

the Atlanta area.

He

also is lowering the price, he said. Delta

workers can now ride for $2.50 each way, 10 trips

for $25, or about $85 for the average work month,

minus the company subsidy. With Delta's subsidy,

Hoff said, a worker's cost to get to work and

back drops from $5,736 a year to use their cars

to $1,380 to ride the bus.

Next

on the agenda, Hoff said he is working to

establish a park and ride shuttle to downtown for

anyone in the county. He has two park and ride

locations in Peachtree City and is adding a

third, and one in Fayetteville.

The

downtown trip is going to be more expensive

- $80 for ten one-way trips - but Hoff

insists that even at that price many people can

save money, not to mention aggravation. And

workers should lobby their employers for

subsidies, he said. The tax deduction is

available to any company. Beyond that, Hoff said

he is working on a coordinated, county-wide

effort he is calling "operation take

charge," in which the county government

would act as conduit for federal funds.

His

not for profit Transportation Management

Authority would manage the park and ride

operation and other services in Fayette, and

would coordinate with similar TMA's in Clayton

and other counties.

"What

everybody would like to see is a coordinated

county effort," he said.

Hoff

will ask the county commissioners to accept the

federal funding, but first he is lobbying

business and nonprofit organizations for support.

He

will address the Fayette County Chamber of

Commerce's breakfast meeting April 19 in hopes of

getting that group's support, and has been

talking with the chamber's Government Affairs

Committee already. "I want to come up with

something that the Chamber of Commerce says is

good for Fayette County," he said.

Hoff

also hopes to garner support from the South Metro

Human Resources Association.

If

all goes well, eventually local people will have

an alternative to the current drive-time

headaches, he said, adding that employers who

subsidize the program will benefit, too.

"If

a worker can take a nap on the way to work and on

the way home instead of going through the stress

of driving a car, that's a more productive

worker," he said.

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