A question over the price of weekend rides was resolved.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES — Indications are that Trumbull County senior citizens are beginning to use the $1.50 and $2 rides that started last Tuesday with money from the senior citizens levy.
Mark Hess, Niles development coordinator who runs the Niles-Trumbull Transit System, which received the contract to provide the rides, said ridership on the system's routes increased from an average of 50 riders per day to as much as 200.
Hess said around 200 riders used the service either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. He didn't know which day.
Niles-Trumbull Transit received a $462,000 contract from the Trumbull County commissioners on April 25 to enable NTTS to provide one-way rides to senior citizens age 60 and over for only $2 through the rest of 2007.
The bus system was already offering rides before Tuesday, but at a higher cost.
New prices
Senior citizens in member communities — mostly in the southern third of the county — were paying $2 per ride before Tuesday. The contract allowed NTTS to lower the price to $1.50. Member communities are Niles, Howland, McDonald, Liberty, Cortland, Warren, Girard, Lordstown, Hubbard Township, Bazetta and Weathersfield.
Nonmember senior citizens were paying $8 per one-way ride before Tuesday; they now pay $2.
Members of the Senior Citizens Advisory Council contacted Hess this week, he said, when they discovered that NTTS was planning to charge $4 per one-way ride to senior citizens on weekends and had advertised the new rates in an area newspaper.
Hess said the Request for Proposal that governed the NTTS contract only called for $2 rides five days per week, but NTTS officials agreed to drop the price to $2 on weekends also.
NTTS is operated by the city of Niles, which contracts with Community Busing Inc. to provide the services.
Voters approved a 0.75-mill levy at the polls in November 2005 to provide a variety of senior citizens services. The levy will generate $2.6 million annually for five years.
The phone number to call for rides is (330) 369-2600.
runyan@vindy.com
Monday, May 7, 2007
A question over the price of weekend rides was resolved.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES — Indications are that Trumbull County senior citizens are beginning to use the $1.50 and $2 rides that started last Tuesday with money from the senior citizens levy.
Mark Hess, Niles development coordinator who runs the Niles-Trumbull Transit System, which received the contract to provide the rides, said ridership on the system's routes increased from an average of 50 riders per day to as much as 200.
Hess said around 200 riders used the service either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. He didn't know which day.
Niles-Trumbull Transit received a $462,000 contract from the Trumbull County commissioners on April 25 to enable NTTS to provide one-way rides to senior citizens age 60 and over for only $2 through the rest of 2007.
The bus system was already offering rides before Tuesday, but at a higher cost.
New prices
Senior citizens in member communities — mostly in the southern third of the county — were paying $2 per ride before Tuesday. The contract allowed NTTS to lower the price to $1.50. Member communities are Niles, Howland, McDonald, Liberty, Cortland, Warren, Girard, Lordstown, Hubbard Township, Bazetta and Weathersfield.
Nonmember senior citizens were paying $8 per one-way ride before Tuesday; they now pay $2.
Members of the Senior Citizens Advisory Council contacted Hess this week, he said, when they discovered that NTTS was planning to charge $4 per one-way ride to senior citizens on weekends and had advertised the new rates in an area newspaper.
Hess said the Request for Proposal that governed the NTTS contract only called for $2 rides five days per week, but NTTS officials agreed to drop the price to $2 on weekends also.
NTTS is operated by the city of Niles, which contracts with Community Busing Inc. to provide the services.
Voters approved a 0.75-mill levy at the polls in November 2005 to provide a variety of senior citizens services. The levy will generate $2.6 million annually for five years.
The phone number to call for rides is (330) 369-2600.
runyan@vindy.com
Monday, May 7, 2007
Indications are that Trumbull County senior citizens are beginning to use the $1.50 and $2 rides that started last...
