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If a grant comes through, ACRTA would dispatch mini-buses or vans to provide transportation in Mercer County.
Photos courtesy ACRTA
CELINA - The Allen County Regional Transit Authority has applied for a grant to expand public transportation services in Mercer County.
With letters of support from numerous entities, including the Mercer County Commissioners, ACRTA executive director Brian Wildermuth believes his agency has a good chance of landing a grant through the Ohio Department of Transportation to establish basic public transportation accessible to everyone in Mercer County.
"The letters - and how … passionate it really seemed like your community is about it and supportive of it - was very huge," Wildermuth told The Daily Standard.
ACRTA should know by the fall whether the Ohio Workforce Mobility program grant application is successful, Wildermuth said. If awarded the grant to finance the bulk of the expenses the first year, ACRTA could have a public transportation system up and running in Mercer County by fall 2027, Wildermuth estimated.
Reestablished in House Bill 54, the Ohio Workforce Mobility program directs federal funding through the state transportation budget to projects that support workforce transportation by connecting residents to economically significant employment centers, bridge service gaps between rural and urban transit authorities, and enhance mobility for residents in areas with limited or no public transit access, according to an ODOT news release.
"At present, there is no form of public transportation in our county," Mercer commissioners wrote in a letter of support. "In our discussions, we have learned that the neighboring rural county of Van Wert, Ohio, has been experiencing success with an ACRTA expansion. We hope to have that same opportunity for success."
If a grant comes through, ACRTA would dispatch mini-buses or vans to provide transportation in Mercer County.
Photos courtesy ACRTA
Mercer County's public transportation system would mirror that of Van Wert County: a combination of microtransit, or zones, and demand response.
Microtransit, according to the ACRTA website, is a flexible, on-demand public transportation service that uses vans or mini-buses.
"Think of it as a hybrid between Uber/Lyft and public transportation," the website states.
Residents can request trips through either the ACRTA app or the dispatch office. Micro-transit rides can be booked for same-day transportation and riders must be traveling within the microtransit zones.
"Microtransit is a zone, and actually you would have two zones for sure to start off," Wildermuth said. "Your first one would be Celina city limits, and then the second one is a zone that would match up with our service over in Van Wert, which then gives people the option to be getting around in Van Wert or catching a bus that then would even get them to Allen County."
In Van Wert, micro-transit fare is $3 while traveling within the same zone, and $6 if crossing zones.
"It's a zone that you will be picked up and dropped off within that zone, or going from zone to zone," Wildermuth elaborated about the microtransit system.
Demand response is a door-to-door transportation that is requested at least one day in advance, according to Wildermuth. The fare structure would be based on Mercer County townships.
"Technically, it goes anywhere. We can go anywhere in the state," he said. "Your townships in the county, we will have a price that will get you … from point A to point B in county."
Travel outside the county would be assessed on a per-mile basis.
"You can be picked up anywhere and brought anywhere," Wildermuth said of demand response.
Mercer County Job and Family Services director Angela Nickell welcomed the prospect of public transportation in the county.
"If we can get everybody on board, I'm really hopeful that this will be a good alternative for people, for safe transportation," she said. "You can use it for anything - grocery shopping, doctor's appointments, visit. It's not really restricted."
In their letter, county commissioners said it is their understanding that 50% of Ohioans live in urban areas, which accounts for nine of the 88 counties.
"Mercer County is one of the remaining seventy-nine counties, and is considered rural, with a population of less than 50,000 people. Rural areas such as Mercer County face significant transportation challenges, with people primarily relying on personal vehicles to overcome distance to essential services, including employment and healthcare," the commissioners wrote.
Given the expense of personal vehicles - including ownership, maintenance, repairs, fuel, and insurance - a significant portion of Mercer County's population is stymied with transportation options, commissioners asserted.
"Not everyone is able to afford, or even have access to, a personal vehicle. This curtails growth because reliable transportation is essential for our local workforce. Our economy is largely manufacturing, agriculture, and retail," they wrote. "In cooperation with other rural counties and local businesses, and with an expansion of ACRTA services, we could address and improve transportation accessibility for our growing population."
Access to reliable transportation, they continued, would improve the financial security of individuals and businesses alike.
"This would provide options for seniors and the disabled," they wrote. "We can think of no individual or entity that would not benefit from the offering of ACRTA services."
The Allen County Regional Transit Authority has expanded to Van Wert County and may make inroads in Mercer County.
Photos courtesy ACRTA
