Trumbull Co. OKs $118K extra for transit service

By Ed Runyan

A Niles official is expecting about 50,000 riders this year, an increase of 15,000 over 2008.

WARREN — A 43 percent expected increase in ridership, coupled with less money from the U.S. Transit Administration than hoped for, has led the Trumbull County commissioners to approve an allocation to the Niles Trumbull Transit Service that is $118,000 more than last year.

The commissioners approved giving the service $580,000 this week from senior- services levy money. This levy was approved by voters in November 2005 and provides $2.6 million annually for services for Trumbull County residents age 60 and older.

The Niles Trumbull Transit Service received $462,000 each of the previous two years.

Mark Hess, Niles coordinator of engineering, grants and development, said Niles Trumbull Transit, which the city operates, had about 35,000 riders in 2008 and expects that number to rise to around 50,000 by the end of this year.

“It’s a successful program and growing, so that’s why we provided the additional money,” said Paul Heltzel, county commissioner.

The service also saw a spike in ridership during the last three months of 2008, which caused the city to increase the transit authority’s budget for 2009, Hess said.

About two weeks ago, the city learned that the amount the service would get from its annual allotment of U.S. Transit Administration dollars was $470,000, an increase of $79,000 — or 20 percent — over 2008. That is about the same increase as in other recent years.

But that was not as much of an increase as Niles officials had hoped for, Hess said.

Niles Trumbull Transit shares the federal money with the Western Reserve Transit Authority and Shenango Valley Shuttle Service and negotiates a distribution with the two other services.

Hess said he believes Niles Trumbull Transit will be in a stronger position to secure a larger share of the federal money in 2010 because it will have more data available to substantiate its ridership.

Hess said one reason ridership has increased is that the city of Warren joined as a member city a couple of years ago. Much of the increased ridership has come from there, Hess said. When a city, township or village becomes a member of NTTS by paying an annual fee, the cost to the rider goes down.

Community Bus Services, which provides the buses and drivers for NTTS, is on state Route 169 in Warren.

Other member communities are Niles, Hubbard, Howland, Girard, Liberty, McDonald, Cortland and Weathersfield.

The cost for people in member communities is $1.50 per one-way trip for those 60 and older, $1.50 for people with disabilities or youths age 2 to 12; and $4 per trip for everyone else.

Riders from a nonparticipating community pay $2 for a one-way trip for people 60 and older; $4 for a one-way trip for people with disabilities and children age 2 to 12; and $8 for everyone else.

For more information on the service, call (330) 369-2600.

runyan@vindy.com