Organizations from throughout Berrien County have been invited to the table to offer their thoughts on how the county could best provide a reliable transit service now that talks have officially started.
The Healthy Berrien Consortium kicked things off with a meeting on Thursday, seeking input from a variety of stakeholders, and one thing it’ll consider is the needs of schools around the county. Berrien RESA Superintendent Eric Hoppstock tells us schools may offer bus services to students, but they don’t necessarily meet all of the changing needs those students have.
“This is important for us as we get more and more of our high school students into job-embedded experiences,” Hoppstock said. “Not everybody has reliable transportation, so public transit then plays a big role in an individual being able to better themselves through work experiences.”
Hoppstock says the school bus may be able to get the student to class in the morning, but it won’t necessarily be there at the end of an apprenticeship shift. Therefore, the scheduling of trips will be important.
Another concern for the consortium is healthcare. Corewell Health Foundation President — and Healthy Berrien Consortium Chair — Melinda Gruber tells us people need a way to reach their doctor’s office, the hospital, their grocery store, and their pharmacy. And Corewell has another concern.
“I would say not only is it people who are coming to the hospital as patients or visitors, but also we have a number of team members that rely on public transportation to get to and from work,” Gruber said.
These talks all started due to financial challenges at the Twin Cities Area Transportation Authority, known to many as Dial A Ride. Gruber says Dial A Ride’s problems have been a real concern for Corewell and its partners.
“We can’t have any of our services fail, and long-term, we need a viable transportation system in our community.”
Both Gruber and Hoppstock say the county now has a real opportunity to address the need for a transit system. They also agree that funding will be its biggest challenge. The consortium meetings will continue for the next few months, and the funding question will be the main topic of two of those meetings.
The Michigan Department of Transportation has indicated to Berrien County that it wants to see the establishment of a replacement for TCATA by the end of next year.
