Laketran finds funding for Saturday Dial-a-Ride

Lake County, OH— On Monday, October 27, 2014, Laketran’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to temporarily add Saturday Dial-a-Ride service for seniors and people with disabilities starting on January 10, 2015.  The service will operate from 8:00am to 6:00pm.

 Since the service cuts of 2009, Laketran’s primary goal has been to find funding to restore service to the community.  While Laketran is primarily funded by a local sales tax, a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) New Freedom grant has offered Laketran a unique opportunity to restore  Dial-a-Ride service with the assistance of a federal grant program designated to provide service for seniors and people with disabilities.

 “Seniors and people with disabilities in Lake County who rely on Laketran will now have access to shop, work or enjoy weekend activities independently,” explains Kevin Malecek, board president of Laketran “This opportunity is moving Laketran in the right direction by bringing service back on the road, but it is no means a permanent fix.  A permanent fix would mean there would be a dedicated source of funding to guarantee service beyond a few years.”

 The Saturday Dial-a-Ride service is being funding by a competitive FTA New Freedom grant that requires a 50 percent match for operating funds.  NOACA received ten applications totaling over $1 million in requests. Laketran received 73 percent, $420,080, of the total $577,600 funds awarded.    Laketran expects the grant to be able to provide service through mid-2017. 

 “We’re very happy with the outcome of the grant application.  Laketran has not operated weekend service since our service cuts in 2009.  This was a competitive grant and the application proved providing Saturday Dial-a-Ride service will result in the most impact for seniors and people with disabilities,” shared Ray Jurkowski, general manager of Laketran.

For more information or gain public input, Laketran will hold two public hearings on Wednesday, November 19 at 10:30 am at Painesville’s Morley Library and Thursday, November 20 at 6:00 pm at Willoughby Public Library.  

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