GREENFIELD — Hancock County Senior Services will present the findings of a survey that will help guide the future of public transportation in Hancock County.
Senior Services and the Hancock County Community Foundation will be host on Tuesday to a community discussion on the results of the recently completed Hancock County Transportation Outreach Survey. The meeting will be at 9 a.m. in the GBC Community Room at the Hancock County Public Library.
RLS & Associates, a firm out of Dayton, Ohio that provides transportation management consulting services, prepared the survey results.
The community foundation awarded Senior Services one of its $25,000 Big Impact Grants in 2017 in celebration of the foundation’s 25th anniversary. Senior Services used the grant to fund the transportation survey as well as a pilot program for Saturday transportation services for about six months, which ended in December.
Senior Services distributed the survey via its drivers to clients; at its office and public events; and online.
Bob Long, executive director of Hancock County Senior Services, will present the results and invite questions and comments at next week’s discussion.
Senior Services and its Hancock Area Rural Transit run a fleet of vans Monday through Friday that transport those in need of a ride anywhere in the county. Riders 60 and over pay a donation at their discretion for transportation for essential visits, such as to doctors’ offices. Other stops carry a $4 fare. Customers under 60 can get rides for $4 per stop as well.
Long said some of the objectives of the survey were to garner feedback from those who use the transit system, the community’s level of awareness of the service and ways Senior Services can plan for the future.
Katie Ottinger, community investment and grants officer for the Hancock County Community Foundation, said in an email that the survey drew almost 950 respondents.
Long said HART is unique in that it’s the only public transportation service in the county and that it serves a mix of urban and rural areas.
The purpose of the survey was not only to address Senior Services and HART, Long said, but the broader subject of public transportation needs across the county.
“That’s why we’re so excited about different community leaders and different government entities and other interested individuals being at the little overview I’m going to do next week,” Long said. “It’s really a countywide issue. It’s not something we as a nonprofit can address all on our own.”
That’s especially true as Hancock County grows, and along with it, its senior population Seniors tend tend to have more mobility issues and benefit from public transportation, Long added.
“This is an issue that is vital to quality of life,” he said.
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"This is an issue that is vital to quality of life."
Bob Long, executive director of Hancock County Senior Services
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WHAT: Community discussion on results of Hancock County Transportation Outreach Survey
WHEN: 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 9
WHERE: Community Room B in Hancock County Public Library, 900 W. McKenzie Road, Greenfield
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