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COUNTY TRANSPORTATION PLAN GETS FEDERAL BOOST
Mike McCagg
ccSCOOP News
10-05-09 – 10:00 a.m. - Columbia County’s efforts to rethink how it provides public transportation to its residents received an infusion of federal money last week.
The county has received word that it has been awarded a grant of approximately $135,000 from the federal stimulus program—enough money to purchase of two small buses and bus stop shelters, said Ken Flood, Commissioner of Planning and Economic Development. Board of Supervisors Chairman Art Baer (R- Hillsdale) said that exactly how the funds will be used will not be determined until a comprehensive study, already underway, of the county’s transportation needs is completed.
The study, being completed with the help of a consultant who is also looking at Greene County’s transportation needs, is assessing the requirements of all residents in the county, not just those who rely on bus services to get to and from shopping centers or Albany. “The idea is to create a more efficient system,” said Flood. “We are looking at everyone who needs transportation services, whether it’s the veterans’ bus, OFA (Office for the Aging), or Social Services clients.”
“Essentially, it’s about how can we can provide better service for less money,” Flood continued. “Right now we have all of these departments providing all of their transportation services without any connection of services.”
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Baer added that the study will look at “all possible uses” of county buses, not just current users of the buses and other transportation programs.
Flood said the consultant’s study is due to be submitted to the County Planning Department by the end of the year. In the meantime, Baer reported, the county is completing its acquisition of two new buses already on order. That will bring the current fleet of county buses to four, two of which, Baer reported, are “on their last legs.”
The county currently contracts with Coxsackie Transportation to provide bus service throughout the county and to Albany. That contract is set to expire “in the near future,” Baer explained, adding that it has yet to be determined if the county will continue contracting for service or will develop its own bus system. “We will be going out with an RFP (request for proposal) for the bus routes, and will also be asking ourselves, ‘What are the economics if the county takes this service under its purview?’” Baer said.
Asked whether the comprehensive plan would examine combining the City of Hudson and county bus services, both Flood and Baer said that this was not being considered, though county service would be provided to city residents. “We expect to be picking people up. A lot of people from Hudson will be utilizing this in Hudson.”
Flood said the city trolley buses are not certified by the NYS Department of Transportation and, therefore, cannot travel outside the city. For this reason, any service from the city to other parts of the county would have to utilize county vehicles.
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