Council OKs Transit Budget, New Van

The City Council has approved next year’s transit budget, which includes money for a new van to expand the program that provides transportation for seniors and the disabled.

The program, which includes both Paratransit/Dial-a-Ride and the city’s fixed-route bus service, will have an operating budget of $2.6 million.

Buying a new van and hiring an additional driver will cost $150,000, $130,000 of which would come from federal funding.

The Dial-a-Ride program served 32,000 people this past year, a 5.4% increase over the previous year.

The city’s director of community services, Diane Jones, said the service had to be increased to prevent the city from denying some people rides.

“What we expect is between 10 to 15 denials a day . . . because we don’t have any more capacity,” she said. “We are filled from the time we start operating in the morning until we close at night.

At the meeting Monday, the council agreed that $835,000 would come from the general fund, and the remaining $1.34 million would be covered by Federal Transit Administration assistance funds.

The rest of the money will come from revenues generated by thetransit system, which city staff said brings in nearly $403,000 a year.

Councilman Paul Miller said the increased demand for the Dial-a-Ride service is a measure of its success.

“There’s no question it definitely meets a need,” he said. “Obviously the service is very successful to the point we have to keep expanding.”