Rover to transition to Chester County government
Rover Community Transportation Service, which has been providing residents with rides to club meetings and medical appointments for years, will transition to a Chester County-run operation starting April 1. It will be overseen by the Chester County Department of Human Services.
Rover, which dispatches about 65 buses per day in Chester County, offers diversified transportation for Chester County residents, especially those who cannot drive or have no other means of transportation, including seniors, individuals with disabilities and those requiring medical assistance transportation.
The service has been contracted by the county with Rover since its start in 1984.
Over the past four years, Chester County’s Department of Human Services has employed a consultant to review the county’s community transportation needs and costs, and the department has partnered with PennDOT to assess ridership feedback.
Final reports from both the consultants and PennDOT note high rider satisfaction (93 percent) with the Rover service. The move to a county-led operation addresses the cost efficiencies of providing the community transportation service itself while maintaining a high quality of service.
Ridership of Rover Community Transportation currently stands at 55 percent of pre-COVID levels, and state and national trends indicate that future usage of paratransit systems will remain uncertain.
“Because of the uncertainty in ridership levels, and the cost to subsidize the community transportation service, the county will take the lead on providing the majority of community transportation service, from April 1 of this year,” said Pat Bokovitz, director of the Chester County Department of Human Services.
However, Rover said in a statement it is not happy with the decision.
“We are very disappointed that the County has chosen to assume management of the services that we have been providing with fidelity to the residents of Chester County for nearly 40 years,” the statement said. “It has been our great pleasure to provide paratransit services. We will continue to provide as many services as possible, as permitted by the county in a reduced contract.”
Said Bokovitz: “We appreciate the expertise and service provided by Rover in running this service. It has been valuable to the residents of Chester County since its start nearly 40 years ago, run with the professionalism that is the hallmark of the Krapf family and its transportation companies.”
According to the PA Public Transportation Performance Report conducted in 2020, Rover provided 261,317 trips for riders at an average cost per passenger of $24.32. This cost ranked 16th lowest in the state of the 44 Paratransit providers and was the lowest in Southeastern PA (where cost of living is higher than most parts of the state.) Rover officials said this was below the state average of $27.43, and the median of $25.29.
“Nevertheless, Chester County believes that by operating these services themselves, they will be able to reduce their own costs,” the statement from Rover read.
A new Department of Community Transit has been established by Chester County Government to accommodate the Rover service. Positions of employment will begin to be offered to Rover employees — from schedulers and dispatchers to drivers — within the coming weeks. Further details of the community transportation service will be provided as the timeline for the April 1 transition gets closer. All current ridership services will continue as scheduled.
Despite Rover’s contract ending at the end of March, Rover still holds an active contract for transportation to Stepping Stones Clubhouse, Human Services Inc., Fellowship Health Resources, Cornerstone Clubhouse and Handi-Crafters in Thorndale.