CHAIRMANS COLUMN FOR 3/1/2018 REGISTER STAR
COLUMBIA COUNTY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
For those that lack in personal transportation or who otherwise might feel like turning the driving over to someone else, the Columbia County Public Transportation system offers options that currently serve roughly 70 percent of the county population on at least a weekly basis.
Let’s take a look at where we’ve been over the recent history of the system’s development, and see where things stand today.
Toward the end of the 2000s, the county Board of Supervisors put together a transportation plan that identified future needs, taking into account the system in place at the time. At the time, the county initiated service from outlying towns primarily to shopping areas and medical appointments.
Around 2010, a New York State granted enabled the county, in conjunction with Greene County, to assemble a coordinated plan with an eye to save money and see what partnerships might be developed. That study, as it turned out, noted that Columbia County was on the right track with its efforts to that point.
Several years later, the then-mayor of Hudson, Rick Scalera, approached the county with the idea to consolidate the city’s local service with the county, with the idea to offer improved service and save taxpayer funds. As the city eliminated its trolley service, the county expanded the routes it offered and the times it operated. With the newfound ability of city residents to reach Greenport shopping areas, ridership increased by 30 percent.
As recently as 2017, the county received a petition from Philmont residents seeking once a week bus service to Greenport. The new route has proven well ridden, with the additional good news that the added route was instituted at essentially no cost to the county, thanks to state and federal reimbursements.
Now in the fifth year of a contract with Philmont’s Johnston Transportation, the county has been pleased with the quality of service and attention to the ridership. From the board of supervisor’s side, the county is able to keep the cost of a ride ($5.50 from Hudson to Albany and back, for instance) reasonable to the rider, simultaneously keeping the tax burden under control. The board is highly attuned to the needs of both constituencies.
Those seeking information on routes and fares may go to the county website (columbiacountyny.com) and visit “County Services,” or call the county planning department at 828-3375. For those in need of route deviation service (defined as ¾ of a mile or less off the scheduled route), contact Johnston Transportation at 672-4901 on the day prior.
Currently, the county awaits delivery of two new buses, which will replace two of the five buses that compose the fleet. The purchase of a new bus can be an arduous process –those on order at this time required a one-and-a-half year’s lead-time. On the positive side, the state and the federal government reimburse the purchase of a new bus at 90 percent of the cost.
The county is, of course, always on the lookout for ways to improve on its bus service. Those with comments or suggestions should contact the County Planning Department at 828-3375.