City applies for grant that would expand bus service to Cincy

The city of Athens has applied for an Ohio Department of Transportation grant that would expand intercity transportation from Athens not only to Columbus but also Cincinnati.

Mayor Paul Wiehl told City Council last week that the objectives of the Ohio Rural Intercity Bus Program are to help meet travel needs of non-urban populations in the state and to support a new transportation network infrastructure.

"We have an intercity bus program right now, which is Lakefront, going from Athens to Columbus," Wiehl said. The new system, he explained, would add service to Cincinnati.

A grant from ODOT would cover 50 percent of the cost of the bus program. Other match money, Wiehl said, would come through the Greyhound bus line. Most of the money would be "pass through" and the city wouldn't actually see any of it, Wiehl explained, except for operating expenses such as ticket taking at the Community Center.

"They have made us aware that they would like to see us have somebody who manages it, which would mean hiring somebody," Wiehl said. "They would cover 80 percent of that."

The city now has submitted the application. The next step in the process is to put out a request for proposal (RFP) from other for-profit bus companies throughout the state in order to begin the bidding process for the job, Wiehl said.

"In that RFP, we can actually build in the other 20 percent, so we'll have to do that if we want to go forward with this," he told Council. "There's no guarantee that we'll get it."

Wiehl gave Council members a sample operating budget looking at the administration of the potential program. With a full-time administrator and the expenses for ticket sales, cost comes in at $130,000, he said.

Total cost for the bus program, he said, is around $800,000. Right now, the cost of the Lakefront system is about $300,000, he said.

Wiehl said that the schedule he had would have three buses stopping in Athens four times per day.

Transportation committee chair Christine Knisely said that there has been interest expressed before about expanded routes, especially among Ohio University students.

"Parents contact the bus lines, interested to find out before they come here," Knisely said. "In fact, I've actually taken someone to the dorm and they've said, 'I'm from Cleveland. How's my daughter going to use public transportation to get home?'"

In 2010, the city projects having about 3,700 passengers between Columbus and Athens, Wiehl said.

"We don't know what Cincinnati is going to look like," he said. "And I think that's one reason why they would like to see an in-house person market it."

WIEHL ALSO MENTIONED at the meeting that rate increases for the city's bus system would begin in January.

Cash fare for the bus in Athens will go up from $1 to $1.50, he said. Fares for 30 rides will go up from $17.85 to $25; and the reduced fare for elderly and disabled persons will go up from $0.50 to $0.75. The 30-ride will go from $8.40 to $12. The 90-day pass will go from $45 to $60, and the reduced 90-day pass fare will go from $22.50 to $30.

The city bus fares haven't been increased for a number of years, and the city has been subsidizing the program with other funds as of late, leading to the decision for rate increases, Wiehl said.

"And we're still short," he said. "We'll still be short again this year... As far as I know, there's no bus system in the country that doesn't cost the city some money. You just can't run the rates for that."