By John Arthur Hutchinson, The News-Herald | Posted 1/27/15

Lower fuel costs have brought some additional good news for people who want to use Laketran. Because of an estimated $581,000 savings of fuel costs in 2015, Laketran trustees voted at a meeting Jan. 26 to restore the county transit agency’s Saturday fixed route services starting May 2 for at least 24 months.

Laketran joined a consortium of five other transit systems to help obtain favorable pricing and in December was able to secure a bid and awarded a diesel fuel contract to Great Lakes Petroleum Co. for $2.15 per gallon for the 2015 fiscal year.

“While our traditional sources of revenue have been lagging or uncertain, like state and federal funding, we have been able to restore service through many new revenue streams,” Laketran General Manager Ray Jurkowski said.

The agency is grateful that lower fuel prices have allowed restoration of this service, but Jurkowski cautioned no one is certain how long it may continue. 

“Given the uncertainty of state and federal funding, we cannot guarantee Saturday service beyond two years,” he said.

 Fixed route services on Saturdays had been eliminated in 2009 as part of Laketran’s financial recovery plan.

Trustee Brian Falkowski, whose fellow trustees elected him to serve as the board’s president for 2015, was pleased the Saturday fixed routes could be restored for the time being through lower gas prices and locking into a lower cost for the time being.

 “Everyone on this board and in this agency has been fighting to get service restored,” Falkowski said.

 The Concord Township resident succeeds former Laketran Trustee Board President Kevin Malecek, who resigned from the board prior to the meeting because he will be sworn-in as a Lake County commissioner on Feb. 4 at Mentor Council Chambers.

 These routes are slated to operate on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. starting in May:

 • Route 1 — services Painesville, Mentor, Great Lakes Mall in Mentor and Lakeland Community College in Kirtland

 • Route 2 — Great Lakes Mall, Lakeland Community College, Mentor, Willoughby, Wickliffe and Euclid

 • Route 3 — Great Lakes Mall, Lakeland Community College, Mentor and Wickliffe

 • Route 5 — Painesville/Fairport Harbor Circulator

 • Route 6 — Willoughby Hills, Wickliffe, Willowick, Eastlake, Mentor, Great Lakes Mall, and Lakeland Community College

 These routes except Route 1 on Saturdays will initially be served with smaller buses until officials decide an increasing ridership dictates the need for a larger bus.  Route 1 will begin Saturday service with the traditional 35-foot coach bus. Smaller buses have been equipped with:

 • Electronic destination signs that can be seen in both day and night service

 • Bicycle racks that encourage multi-modal travel

 • Customized interior lighting when the vehicles are used at night in fixed route service

 • Pull cords so passengers can signal the driver when to get off at a particular stop along a fixed route

 • Electronic registering fareboxes

 • A wheelchair lift

 Laketran will hold two public hearings about the restored Saturday service with dates to be determine. For more information, contact Laketran at 440-350-1012.