By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
Perhaps one of the best-kept local secrets, although it’s certainly not intended to be a secret, is that Crawford County does have a public transit system. Not only does it exist, but those responsible for it would like area residents to get involved in an effort to expand it.
“To get a hold of those people who don’t know public transportation exists – therein the problem lies,” said Peg Wells, executive director for the Crawford County Council on Aging which is responsible for the service.
Wells, a representative of Crawford County Job and Family Services and one from the Crawford County Board of Developmental Disabilities compose a coordinated task force group that is tackling the issue of expanding and improving the service.
“We all realize public transportation can’t reach all the needs here in the community,” Wells said. She added that perhaps the biggest challenge is to make people aware it is available and when, where and how they can access it.
Many, if not most, people in the county have seen the Council on Aging vehicles out and about throughout the county. Few, however, are aware anyone can access those vehicles for chauffeured transportation within the county’s borders. For a nominal fee people can call for a ride for any reason, Mondays through Fridays, so long as it doesn’t require the vehicle to go beyond county lines. The earliest the vehicles can go out is 6 a.m. and they must leave on a return trip by 5 p.m.
But Wells said there is a need and a desire to meet that need to do more. And that’s where she says residents can get involved by simply taking an online survey at www.ohiotransitsurvey.com.
“It could be very helpful for us in that we will help identify areas we are not already meeting,” Wells said. “It appears to me if we can identify a larger need there would perhaps be additional funding to meet that need.”
Additional information on the survey can be found at www.TransitNeedsStudy.ohio.gov.
“This survey is wonderful. It should be available to those people we’re trying to reach,” Wells said. “We talked about expanding into the evening, but we would have to rob Peter to pay Paul. Something would have to go during the day and we’re running full.”
Currently the Council on Aging has 11 vehicles. Nine is considered the peak amount and state regulations require that the agency have two additional vehicles available. Eighty percent of the purchase cost of those vehicles is taken care of by a grant.
“Vehicles are not really our problem,” Wells said. “Drivers, maintenance – that’s where the expense is. It’s that operating, that’s where we really need the money. If we had 15 (vehicles) we couldn’t put them on the road.”
Wells is hopeful that if the survey indicates a strong need and desire to use public transit in the evenings and weekends more money will be made available to expand the local public transit services.
Currently there is a component for medically related transport outside the county for those on Medicaid. That service is contract with Job and Family Services for those 60 and older.
There is another component for public transportation administered by the Department of Developmental Disabilities although it does not use their vehicles. It is a coordinated service using for-profit providers when needed and it is more expensive than the in-county, Mondays through Fridays transportation provided by Council on Aging.
“It’s for-profit versus non-profit,” Wells said. “I know we’re not going to meet all those needs with that.”
To use the public transit system anywhere in Crawford County, contact the Council on Aging at 419-562-3050 or toll free at 1-800-589-7853.