HANCOCK COUNTY — Hancock Area Rural Transit plans to restart its pilot program for offering rides on Saturdays, a long-awaited addition that was postponed indefinitely in 2017 after the organization fell short of its $200,000 fundraising goal.
The program, slated to begin in July, will offer first-come, first-served rides to county residents from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, said Hancock County Senior Services executive director Robert Long.
A $5,000 Hancock County Community Foundation grant will allow the pilot program to operate for six hours every Saturday until December, he said.
“We’re happy to add this to our list of services,” he said. “We’ve had requests in the past for service on Saturdays, and we’re going to give it a try and see if there’s enough volume to sustain it.”
He said leaders with the organization are seeking funding opportunities for the extra day of services for if the pilot program proves to be well-used by the community.
The amount charged per ride doesn’t come close to covering the cost of providing the service to Hancock County residents, officials said in 2017. The service, with a fleet of more than a dozen vehicles, charges $3 a ride and offers trips by donation for those 60 and older. Senior Services’ annual budget totals about $617,000; rider fees generate about 10 percent of that per year, officials said.
Federal funding goes a long way to close the gap each year, but often such funds require a local match, officials said. The shortfall in raising a local match is what led to the organization pausing the Saturday transportation pilot program last year, officials said.
A $220,000 federal grant program administered by the Indiana Department of Transportation was expected to help fund the pilot program at the time, but that grant required the agency to raise a dollar-for-dollar match from local sources, including towns, townships and county governments as well as United Way funding and others. Senior Services was able to gather $165,000 of the local funding, so the agency lost out on the chance for an additional $49,000 from INDOT, officials said.
Before HART received federal funding, the transportation system could only provide rides to seniors and was limited to certain destinations, like doctor’s appointments. With the federal funding distributed by INDOT, the transportation program can take seniors to any county location and has expanded to the general public.
The transit system currently employs about 20 drivers, many of whom have reported hearing their clients ask about whether pickups might one day be available on evenings or weekends.
Those who wish to schedule a trip with HART may do so by calling 317-462-1103 between the hours of 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Long said clients are already scheduling rides for the first day of the pilot program, July 7.
“It’s first come, first serve as far as scheduling, so people needing rides should call sooner than later,” he said. “Hopefully this (pilot program) will make peoples’ lives a little easier.
