The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Officials get on the bus and ride to learn needs
A handful of bus riders met county representatives Jan. 27 during a ride through Lorain and Elyria.
Lorain County Commissioner Sharon Sweda and Sharon Pearson, Lorain County mobility manager with United Way of Greater Lorain County, rode on the Lorain County Transit Route 1 bus line in an effort to better understand transportation needs in the county.
In speaking with a bus driver and riders during a short stint on the bus, Sweda said she was impressed by the bus line’s accessibility and lively atmosphere.
She said she decided to join Pearson in her plans to ride the buses after consistently meeting with her for over a year.
“You can’t talk about it if you don’t really know it intimately,” Sweda said. “So, I said, ‘Well, I’m going to ride with you.’”
The main issue with public transit is the lack of state funding that would pull different resources and transportation expansions together, the commissioner said.
“The point is that so many different organizations are talking about transportation,
and yet we aren’t connecting any dots,” Sweda said. “They’re all working in little silos rather than working together, and I think that stems a lot from the fact that we don’t have the good state funding to draw it all together and create the guidelines and the working structure.”
Pearson said only three
percent of state funds are allocated to transportation.
“One of the things that we found out is a lot of people aren’t aware of all the options that exist,” she said on the state of transportation services in the county. “One of my primary jobs is to make a list of all the transportation jobs that are out there.”
Pearson also works with the community to test pilot projects to see what sticks for transportation services.
A recent addition to transportation services was provided in partnership with Lorain County Veteran Services, which now allows those who served the country to ride on any route at any time for free.
In the first month of service after its implementation Nov. 11, Sweda said veteran ridership improved 33 percent and was up to 40 percent by the end of 2019.
“We had 215 fixed route riders and 59 dial-a-ride, so that made 274 just from Nov. 11 through the end of the year,” she said.
The county is looking to involve Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio with implementing bus stops at its city pantry outreach food drop points.
“From time to time, they go into the community because the community can’t always get to the food bank,” Sweda said. “The problem that we have is while they may get there, they’re walking with groceries and no transportation to carry all those groceries.
“... It’s small steps, but it’s ways to expand what we got going.”
Sweda said better public transit can keep senior citizens independent, take transportation burdens off families and improve access for residents.