By Max Reinhart, The News-Herald

With the holiday season just around the corner, Laketran has good news for some area shoppers and employees.

Once again the Lake County bus service will temporarily extend its hours starting Nov. 3.

Laketran General Manager Ray Jurkowski said since the organization made service cuts in 2009 it has budgeted efficiently in order to temporarily restore those hours when riders need them most.

“We felt that restoring bus service during the holiday season would best serve the community to increase access to holiday job opportunities and encourage shopping in Lake County,” Jurkowski said. “Through prudent budgeting, we have found a means to bring service back to the community – even if it’s only temporary.”

The holiday season hours will temporarily extend weeknight service from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday service also will be restored, with hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on two-hour headways. The times also apply to Veterans Day, which this year falls on Monday, Nov. 12. 

The restored times apply to local fixed routes and Dial-a-Ride service and continue through Jan. 12.

According to Laketran Director of Marketing and Public Relations Julia Schick, Laketran had a 12 percent increase in ridership from November 2011 through January 2012 thanks to the extra hours.

Schick also said a survey showed that 35 percent of extended hours riders used the additional service to do holiday season shopping, 12 percent used it to get to and from college, while almost 50 percent indicated they used it to get to work.

“Many of our riders work at retail stores and restaurants that stay open later during the holiday shopping season, so we want to provide an opportunity for riders to work these late hours and shop locally here in Lake County,” Schick said.

The extended times restore what were Laketran’s standard hours of operation prior to its 2009 service cuts when significant losses in sales tax revenue and state and federal funding forced a reduction in services. In 2010, the board determined it could eliminate a scheduled fare increase and decided to add back an hour of weeknight service to its schedule.

Board President Kevin Malecek said Laketran still aspires to bring back the extended hours on a permanent basis, when the organization finds more certain financial footing.

“Along with many other agencies, Laketran had a difficult decision to cut service to balance our budget during the current recession,” Malecek said. “We hope this reassures the community that our primary goal, while being good stewards of taxpayer funds, has been to bring service back to the community when the financial opportunity arises.”

For more information, call Laketran at 1-888-LAKETRAN or 440-354-6100.