Transit system preparing to haul more senior citizens

A Senior Advisory Committee member says transportation is a high priority.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- The Niles-Trumbull Transit System is gearing up to service more senior citizens.
"We'll be ready to go," said Mark Hess, the city's development coordinator who also runs the local transit system.
Hess said Thursday that he has had preliminary discussions with senior-citizen representatives since county voters approved a senior levy last November to generate about $2.6 million annually.
During the campaign, levy sponsors promised that the money would be used for transportation, meals and in-home service, among other things.
Hess said the Niles-Trumbull transit system has increased its budget to $808,000 this year, an increase from about $695,000 in 2005, to expand its service countywide at affordable fares.
The system is comprised of member communities Niles, Liberty, Cortland, Howland, Vienna and McDonald.
How this works
Seniors in these communities pay $2 for a one-way ride, while those in nonmember communities pay $4 each way. The service is door to door.
Ridership is between 18,000 and 20,000 annually, with seniors and the handicapped comprising nearly all of the riders, Hess said.
"We will see a big demand for the system," Hess predicted. "We're assuming it will basically double."
Hess expressed optimism that Niles-Trumbull Transit would get the contract because Niles was approached rather than it approaching the Senior Advisory Council. The council will recommend where the levy money should be spent with the county commissions having final approval.
That doesn't mean, Hess said, that the Youngstown-based Western Reserve Transit Authority can't make a proposal.
James Ferraro, WRTA executive director, said he will make a proposal if asked and can compete with the Niles-Trumbull system.
The final decision, Ferraro said, will rest with "very political alliances" such as those between Mayor Ralph A. Infante and the county commissioners.
Niles-Trumbull system representatives will go before the advisory council in about a month to make its proposal, Hess said.
High priority
Janet Schweitzer, executive director of SCOPE of Trumbull County Inc., said transportation service to seniors is "very much in the planning stages."
Schweitzer, a levy sponsor, said the council is reviewing what is available to seniors so services aren't duplicated.
She noted that senior transportation is a "very high priority" for the community and that proposals will be accepted and evaluated.
The Niles-Trumbull system gets its revenue from a variety of sources. In 2005, it received $270,000 in federal funds, $58,000 in fares, $151,000 from the county and $215,000 from member communities based on $1 per resident.
On Wednesday, Niles City Council approved an agreement with the WRTA and Shenango Valley Shuttle Service in Sharon, Pa., to divide $3,111,295 in Federal Transit Administration funds.
Under the agreement, the WRTA, the largest of the transit systems by far, will receive nearly $2.5 million. Niles will receive $30,200 and Sharon, $357,729.
yovich@vindy.com