Residents in Van Buren said they thought public transportation to Fort Smith was a good idea.
Dianne Morrison, Director of the Frontier Metropolitan Planning Organization, said they sent out surveys to people in Van Buren to see if they felt buses were a good idea for the area, and what they would use them for.
"We found that most people were really interested in getting transit service to Van Buren to be able to go to work, shopping and errands and also to, one person even wrote in that they want to go to church," said Morrison.
She said they received over 900 answered surveys and 80% of them said they in favor of a bus system in Van Buren to Fort Smith. Morrison said the next step for them would be to have city planning meetings so residents could express what areas they wanted to be able to access the most. She said that would assist them in planning and implementing routes.
According to Morrison, a budget for the buses had not been discussed yet. She said they were just focusing in on if it would be a good investment for the area.
Morrison said they would have summer planning meetings for the routes and she hoped by next summer they could start discussing a budget and where the money would come from.
Some residents told 5NEWS they would use the transit, while others said they would not, but they still thought it was a good thing for the community.