The Scope and Limits of Rural Public Transportation

Let’s play Jeopardy.

The following are answers to what question? A woman in transitional housing needs to get to work; a person needs to get from the prison to the probation office; a veteran needs to get to the VA hospital; a shut-in needs to get to the podiatrist; someone under sixty without a car needs to renew a license, get groceries, go vote, or get a document from the county offices; a visitor who flew into Crawfordsville Regional Airport needs a ride to the Ironman.

The question: What is… the need for public transit in a rural community?

Every community has its own diversity issues, for which planners and leaders must account, always asking, Are we serving everyone, even the invisible and quiet voices?

There’s an assumption that living in a rural community is a tradeoff. In exchange for all the benefits- a lower cost of living, the quiet, access to nature, and a sense of belonging- we presumed that everyone will own a car with its incumbent costs of insurance and maintenance. But survey data from the 2019 American Community Survey shows that approximately a million American households in mostly rural communities do not own or have access to their own vehicle. About two and a half million people cannot drive themselves to work or for other outings. They need public transit, but not the default type of fixed route transit.

Building and sustaining public transportation begins with recognizing the need, having the will to resolve the problem, and funding it. In short, with innovations in the industry, funding isn’t the obstacle that we might assume it is. Most people think of public transportation as fixed-route busing. In Indiana, with its more rural mindset, even Indianapolis’ city leaders constantly fight for funding and infrastructure. They know they need to create an affordable system for populations who need to get to the higher-paying jobs in commerce parks built on the fringes of the city. Here in Montgomery County, we need public transportation for many of the same reasons, but solutions will look different.

While Sunshine Vans transport those over sixty and the disabled to medical appointments, social and nutrition programs, and the grocery, and we have the new VA van with three volunteers to transport vets to appointments in other cities, both of those serve narrow populations. The Sunshine Van program runs on grants and donations with the website encouraging family members to donate punch cards to low-income elderly and disabled. Riders need to call and schedule transportation twenty-four to forty-eight hours in advance, depending on the type of appointment and wheelchair needs. Crawfordsville Parks Department, which runs the Sunshine Vans, offers wheelchair access and limited out-of-city limits rides that cost anywhere from four to fifteen dollars. Furthermore, hours are limited to Monday to Friday between 9 am and 3 pm, and rides that are longer than twenty-five miles require more arrangements. Veterans needing rides need to call Joe Ellis at the county VA office at 765-361-4133.

Our public transportation is cobbled together, a variety of services with loose connections and dubious market prominence. It’s difficult for younger, low-income citizens or people who need a ride to Indianapolis, Lafayette, or other cities. Someone might catch a ride from those cities but not to them, as Pam Field of Crawfordsville Shuttle Service noted. Rides can cost four or five dollars one way within the city, or about ten to fifteen dollars round trips with

Crawfordsville Shuttle Service. She offers rates from fifty dollars to Purdue, sixty dollars to other areas in Lafayette, and ninety-five dollars to the Indianapolis Airport.

What happens when a person needs a ride to the courthouse, the new county building, or from the jail to the probation offices? Our city and county leaders have noticed that some people end up relying on friends or family, sometimes to their own detriment. Calling 211 will connect for some emergency transportation and intervention.

Why is this not enough? At times we’ve had taxi service and an Uber search shows drivers locally, but these are at the will of the drivers. More formal services previously mentioned are limited to certain populations, pre-scheduling, and fixed hours. Furthermore, everyone must have the resources to know the options that will fit their circumstances. What happens when visitors fly in for the Ironman? What about a family whose car breaks down and they can’t get to an appointment?

What could city planners consider to cover the gaps and inconsistencies? Some companies offer apps (like VIA) to bring together local options in one place, creating a system called microtransit. On-demand rides allow users to select transportation options that meet their real-time needs and reach more county residents. Apps like this will also provide data to improve options for more rural or low-income citizens.

Whether a mother in transitional housing needs a ride to Heritage, or an aging woman wants to keep her independence, or a father in Darlington with a brokedown truck, or teens who want to get to MXI (the Malcolm X Institute at Wabash) for an event, Montgomery County needs an intentional microtransit system. What’s do-able is funding a system that is dynamic, responsive, and more equitable.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, multi-is¬sue political organization which encourages informed and active participation in government. For information about the League, visit the website www.lwvmontcoin.org; or, visit the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County, Indiana Facebook page.