DANVILLE – Montour County is moving forward with a new public transportation provider. In May, commissioners announced their decision to allow Rabbit Transit of York County to take over management of public transportation.
Commissioner chairman Ken Holdren says meeting PennDOT regulations was becoming a burden for the county, “We were having troubles with meeting the PennDOT requirements for their reporting in a structured way in terms of mileage usage and the cost. That was then compounded by the mandate from PennDOT to move to their statewide transportation system which is called EcoLane.”
In order to maintain compliance, the county would have to hire additional staff, “This is additional staff that would not be covered by the current reimbursement structure with PennDOT. Therefore, we were looking at increased costs that would have to go on the backs of the taxpayers.”
Holdren says the cost for medical trips, senior center visits, and four necessity trips each month will remain at 75 cents each way. The fare for discretionary trips will increase, “What does change is for the non-necessity rides within the county. Anything within the 10 mile radius, today the riders are paying $1.45 cents each way.”
On July 18 that cost will increase to $1.95 per boarding. Residents should use the new toll free number to schedule rides starting July 5. It is 1-800-632-9063.
