BY SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON -- While the cost of the Warren County Transit system is going up, some riders say the quality of service is not.
The door-to-door service is proposing a 20 percent fare increase. At the same time, the county has agreed to pay an additional $114,000 this year for the operation.
But Marcia Mosier, 62, of Mason, said she avoids the service after it left her stranded two hours last February at Bethesda North Hospital. She relies on family members to cart her around.
The Warren County Community Services held the contract for the transit system before 1995, when the county awarded it to Universal Transportation Systems (UTS) of Fairfield.
Brenda Ponder, transit manager for Universal, says the door-to-door service is more convenient than ever and available to the general public because it dropped contracts with groups like Head Start. "We try to get our people to their jobs on time and clients that need to go to their doctors' appointments," Ms. Ponder said. "We try to accommodate everyone and make sure everything is operated in a timely manner."
Mrs. Mosier doesn't believe it. "I've always had to wait with the transit bus, but it's worse right now than it has been," she said.
The system runs two ways three times a day from Warren County to Cincinnati and Dayton and throughout the county on weekdays for residents who call and request a ride.
The Warren County Commission renewed its contract with Universal in November. Now it's poised to raise passenger rates.
A public hearing on the issue is scheduled for 11 a.m. Jan. 26 at the Warren County Administration Building, 320 E. Silver St., Lebanon.
Jerry Haddix, the county's grants coordinator who oversees the transit system, proposes raising rates from $1.25 to $1.50 for one-way trips within Warren County, and from $2.50 to $3 for one-way trips to Cincinnati and Dayton.
The elderly and the disabled receive half off regular fares for trips within the county thanks to a state grant, Mr. Haddix said. The reason for the boost in fares, Mr. Haddix says, is a surge in prices charged by Universal.
The contract for 1998 totaled $684,535, including federal, state and county monies, he said. The recently approved contract for 1999 jumped to $798,600. The county's share went from about $100,000 to $167,000.
An increase in passenger rates, if adopted by the county commission after the public hearing, would reduce the county's cost, Mr. Haddix said.
The county switched to Universal from nonprofit Warren County Community Services in 1995 because it stood to save $200,000 a year, said County Commissioner Pat South.
Universal increased the cost of the contract this year because of higher labor costs, she said.
Vehicle repairs and other costs have pushed up the price, she said.
Mrs. South admits there were a number of complaints in the first year of Universal's contract from seniors who were
left waiting or couldn't get access to the transit system. But the number tapered off after their problems were resolved, she said.
But some seniors have given up on the service.
Christine Warman, a resident of Deerfield Commons Retirement Community in Mason, says she relies on her daughter and won't ride the transit system anymore.
"It's not convenient at all for old people," she said.
