Sunday, September 6, 2009 9:49 PM CDT
Transit district helps residents get where they need to go
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
PARIS
Casey resident Margaret Gosnell, 68, does not own a car and has to use a walker, so going to the doctor’s office had been a real challenge for her.
Gosnell said her trouble finding reliable transportation ended last year with the start of the East Central Illinois Mass Transit District, which serves all ages in Edgar and Clark counties. She now regularly rides the district’s shuttle buses to medical appointments in Casey and in Paris.
“I tell you it’s a wonderful service,” Gosnell said. “I have no other way of going, not at all.”
Kami Miller, chief executive officer of the Paris-based mass transit district, said this nonprofit district was established in May 2008 by resolutions from the Clark and Edgar county boards as a unit of local government, not funded by taxes.
The shuttle buses hit the road in July 2008 with donated funding from local townships as well as state and federal grants, Miller said. The district’s scope of services and operating hours have gradually increased since then.
Miller said the district’s fleet of eight shuttle buses operate 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday every week, except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day, in all townships in Clark and Edgar counties. Miller added she would like to eventually extend the hours and days of service.
Passengers call the district, 466-6921 in Edgar County or 1-866-384-0503 in Clark County, to make appointments for rides and they get picked up curbside. They can purchase individual tickets, books of discounted tickets, or passes. The buses are equipped with wheelchair lifts and securements.
“If they come out to the curb, we will help them on,” Miller said.
Miller said the shuttle bus service is well used by senior citizens who need rides to local medical offices, noting that a bus takes passengers every Tuesday to medical appointments in Terre Haute, Ind. She said the buses also often take riders on shopping trips to the Wal-Mart stores in Paris and Marshall.
Gosnell said she appreciates that the bus drivers can give passengers two hours or more if needed to go shopping.
“They don’t rush you,” Gosnell said.
Miller said the district also serves young workers who need rides to their job sites, noting the district has a partnership with the Embarras River Basin Agency. She suggested that if three or more people are going to the same job site, in a carpool fashion, they should contact the district about getting discounted tickets.
“It is very beneficial for them to call in and let us know what they need,” Miller said. “We can try to give the community what they need.”
Last month, the district used federal grant funding administered by the state to begin offering transportation to job training programs at Lake Land Community College in Mattoon and Danville Community College.
The district also serves some much younger students. Miller said the shuttle buses give rides to approximately 20 in-town Paris students who live too close to their school building to use the Paris school district’s buses.
Since the district’s inception, it has operated out of the Paris senior center building near the courthouse square. Miller said the district maintains a transportation contract with the senior center and is seeking additional contracts. She said the district is also seeking grant funding to eventually move to a building of its own.
“We have outgrown our facility here,” Miller said.
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 238-6861.
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