The Thunder Bay Transportation Authority will be able to expand its presence in Alcona and Montmorency counties thanks to state grant it received late this summer.
In August the authority received a grant through the Michigan Department of Transportation New Freedom Program. The grant was a 50 percent match, with MDOT and the authority's fund balance each contributing $233,000 for a total of $466,000.
"This new freedom funding is targeted towards individuals with handicaps but it will be open door. Anybody from the public will be riding on it," said Billi Edmonds, chief financial officer of Prell Services, the manager of the Thunder Bay Transportation.
The funding will be used as seed money to establish a fixed route within the City of Alpena along with a demand service route two days a week in Alcona County and two different days in Montmorency County. Alcona and Montmorency's portion of the program is expected to cost about $125,000 with the rest going to Alpena's route.
"We're just really excited to increase our presence in that area and meet the transportation needs of Alcona and Montmorency County," she said.
Edmonds said the authority is working with the Alcona Transportation Team to figure out what the community wants to get routes established and build up the number of riders. The transportation team is a collaboration of service agencies working to address transportation issues in the county. The team is having a meeting today to get the agencies together to start the process.
"We don't know if the route will stay within the county or if it's going to come into Alpena," she said.
The authority has started working with Alcona first because the transportation team and the authority already have been meeting for about a year. Once the groundwork is established with Alcona, the authority will the move on to getting the appropriate parties in Montmorency involved. Planning for Alpena's route will begin in January when the authority's strategic plan begins, Edmonds said.
Edmonds said the authority has agreed to provide money from its fund balance for the freedom program's local 50 percent match requirement for the first two years and then see if it's a self-sustaining program through riders or other funding sources. The authority will have to apply for the freedom program grant on an annual basis.
The authority requested money for a bus to service the Alcona and Montmorency counties but didn't receive it. Thunder Bay Transportation will use one of its spare buses for the time being and apply next year, Edmonds said.
Patty Ramus can be reached via e-mail at pramus@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5687.
