TRUMBULL COUNTY Officials talk about progress of busing

Weekday ridership on the transit system is approaching 60 trips daily.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- As Trumbull County's demand-response busing system continues to roll along, community leaders agree there are still some policies that need to be worked out.
Representatives from the Niles-Trumbull Transit System's participating communities met Friday to discuss the program, which is completing the third month of its pilot year.
The brainchild of Niles Mayor Ralph A. Infante, NiTTS is a public transportation system operated by Community Bus Services. Residents throughout Trumbull County can schedule a door-to-door ride anywhere in the county, though rates are lower for those who live in participating communities.
Participating communities are Niles, Cortland, Howland, Vienna, McDonald, Liberty and Weathersfield, though Fowler and Kinsman have expressed an interest in participating next year.
Funding sources
During the meeting, Infante updated area legislators on the status of the program, which is increasing its ridership and looks to finish its first year under budget. With $587,000 -- a combination of money contributed by area communities, county commissioners and grants -- set aside for the first year of funding, NiTTS could finish the year next September with a $100,000 surplus, he said.
"In the beginning we were a little worried we might go over, but things look really good now," Infante said.
Mark Hess, Niles' engineer and community grants coordinator, said that funding from the Federal Transit Authority is secured for the next nine months but that the program will need to justify itself for a new funding application for 2005. At that time, he said, NiTTS will compete for funding against the Youngstown-based Western Reserve Transit Authority and public transportation systems in the Shenango Valley.
Ridership figures
Infante also reported during the meeting that weekday ridership on NiTTS is approaching 60 trips daily, with three vehicles generally used to meet the demand. Saturday trips average between 40 and 50, he added.
To increase ridership, representatives discussed increasing marketing efforts to better explain the service and promote it. Future efforts could include using billboards, or direct mailers in utility bills.
slshaulis@vindy.com