About $840,000 in outside funding expected for next year — that was provided by the state — switched to the federal government program and about 60 percent is now restricted to capital expenditures leaving about $300,000 for operations.
It costs the county just over $1 million a year to run the door-to-door service, and there were 47,949 trips in 2012. The county contracts with Universal Transportation Systems to provide the service and about 14 vans will drive people anywhere they want to go in the county for a $2 — $1 for elderly and disabled — fare each way.
Mason says about half the trips they make are for elderly and disabled and a large portion of the trips are for employment and medical visits.
Unless the county creates fixed routes it faces the loss of operations funding, unless it partners with the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) or the federal government fixes the glitch. Back in May, Darryl Haley, executive director of development for SORTA, offered to take the $837,512 the county will receive in federal funding to help offset losses they are experiencing running the Kings Island route to Cincinnati — almost $400,000 — and return $158,000 to the county.
Mason said SORTA sent a second offer, upping the county’s take to $350,000. The commissioners asked her to go back and propose a 50-50 split of the federal funds. Mason said Haley should be responding sometime this week. Haley could not be reached for comment.
The commissioners have all along said that there will be a transit system in the county. How it looks — depending on funding — is subject to change.
“I don’t think under any scenario we can say it’s going to be as is,” said Commissioner Dave Young. “Is there going to be a transit system? Yes. Is it going to look like it does today? No.”
The county has chipped in $340,000 to sustain the service in the past and almost $100,000 in fare collections would bring revenues up to $780,000 without the Metro deal and $858,756 with the deal.
Most of the riders who use the system go from Franklin to Lebanon, Mason to Lebanon, within Mason and within Franklin. Efforts have been made to get a legislative fix for the glitch that restricted funds and Young said he hopes local congressional legislators will try again.
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