By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH – Efforts to increase public transportation opportunities in Berrien County could run into major funding problems if new partners don’t come on board. That was the message last week from Berrien County Community Development Director Dan Fette to the Berrien County Board of Commissioners.
Fette reported on the status of the Berrien Bus program at last week’s meeting. The county took over operations of the transportation service last summer when previous operator TMI went out of business. TMI officials blamed pandemic restrictions suspending public transportation bus services imposed last spring.
Last summer, county officials decided to take over Berrien Bus which operates Berrien Bus and the Buchanan Dial-A-Ride programs on an interim basis and revisit the issue at a later date. The options mentioned then included finding another contractor to operate it or continue to manage it in house.
Commissioners and county officials have been grappling with public transportation issues for the last few years. Past proposed solutions have included calls to offer more on demand and other routes between population centers in the county. Officials also have talked about a possible countywide millage.
Last week, Fette gave a little of the history of the county’s efforts related to public transportation as well as the situation with Berrien Bus. He noted that the county board formed an advisory transportation committee in early 2019 and later created a pilot program to model some of the services outlined in the Connect Berrien Service Plan.
The pilot program never got underway with the onset of COVID and the governor’s stay at home orders. Meanwhile, the pandemic restrictions caused TMI to announce last May that they were going out of business. The county decided to take over the operation in June.
Since then, Fette said efforts have moved forward on two fronts: one to have the Niles Dial-A-Ride take over the Buchanan operation and then to meet with municipalities to find ways to sustain rural transit services. He said he expects the transfer of the Buchanan Dial-A-Ride to Niles to be done by this October.
As background on the second issue-sustaining rural transit services-he informed the board about the Berrien Bus operations. He noted that Berrien Bus operates both contract and on-demand services.
The contract services are with agencies such as congregate care facilities, the area agency on aging and Berrien RESA. He said the contracts have generated surplus income over the years to offset losses in the on-demand part of the business.
He told commissioners that the pandemic changed that situation since not only was general ridership-on demand services curtailed, so were the contract services. In addition, there were reductions in federal and state funds to the point that the contract income can’t offset general ridership losses.
“Some additional source of local revenue will be necessary to preserve public ridership,” Fette said. “Because the contract net income is insufficient to cover the operating losses in general ridership, we are seeking operational partnerships with local communities for additional local revenue.”
“We envision these partnerships to be more than just purchase contracts,” he added. “Local partners would be offered both vested financial and operational interest in the system operating within their community.”
He said one proposal being considered is to provide a cost-share dedicated public general ridership system within municipalities. Municipalities would agree to pay for an annual block of vehicle hours at a certain dollar per hour basis and Berrien Bus would assign a portion of its fund balance for an initial period to help subsidize the service.
He noted that such partnerships are allowed under state law and have proved successful in other counties around the state. Doing so would also take away the need to impose a county wide millage.
With Berrien Bus now operating at a loss, he said he plans to start discussions immediately with local municipalities with the goal of having new partnerships agreed to by mid summer. “The demand service is limited to begin with,” he said. “The only option to make it usable is to find local partners to provide a foundation we can build on.”
Fette said that the contract services can operate indefinitely since the revenue there covers the costs. If no partners are found to continue the general on demand services, “then I think we know where we stand and have our answer that way,” he said.
Commissioner Teri Freehling said her main concern continues to be finding ways to meet the needs of the general public who are dependent on public transportation. “We need to make sure we meet the needs of those who are transit dependent and don’t neglect them,” she said.
County Administrator Brian Dissette pointed out that the goal is keep Berrien Bus operating and not to expand into the local systems being operated in the Twin Cities and Niles. He said the goal of last week’s discussion was to bring the issue to the attention of the county board and the general public.
He said federal CARES Act funds will help Berrien Bus to continue operating for a while. “With the CARES Act money in place, we have some time to find partners and solutions,” he said. “We want to find a solution and not leave those who depend on the service scrambling.”
County Board Chairman Mac Elliott said “the devil will be in the details.” “We will have a pretty good view in the next six months or less as to where we stand,” he said. “As much as we aspire to maintain public transportation, we may be confronted with some budget constraints if we have to go it alone after CARES Act funds dry up.”
Besides the Fette report on the status of Berrien Bus, county commissioners approved two annual resolutions relative to public transportation. The first announced the county’s intention to apply for state and federal grant assistance in the 2022 fiscal year. The second resolution reiterates the county’s commitment to non-discrimination.
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