Published: October 11, 2008 10:31 pm      

DMT and CRIS add transportation services

DANVILLE — Recent federal funding will soon make getting around easier for area residents who rely on public transportation.

Both Danville Mass Transit and CRIS Senior Services, along with 16 other agencies and local governments in the central part of Illinois, were recently awarded funds through the Job Access and Reverse Commute Program or the New Freedom Program. DMT received $339,060 and CRIS was the recipient of $159,000. These grants will enable these agencies to either establish new transportation routes or extend the hours of service on existing routes.

Dick Brazda, DMT director, said although the grants were just announced Tuesday, “they were a done deal. These projects were selected three or four months ago.

“We knew we had the approval,” Brazda said. “We’ll begin implementing the changes in a few weeks, around the end of Oct. or in early Nov.”

City bus riders should be pleased to hear of the changes. Buses will run an hour later, with the last trip beginning at 7:15 p.m. Mondays-Fridays.

New DMT service will also include Lynch Road during rush hour and three new Saturday round trips between Georgetown and Danville.

“This will make jobs more accessible for low-income individuals and those who are currently unemployed,” he said. “We’ll also be offering expanded service to those who attend DACC (Danville Area Community College) or who work later in the day.

“As details become available,” Brazda said, “we’ll issue a new version of both our map and our schedule.”

Amy Marchant, CEO of CRIS, said those who use CRIS transportation will also have to wait until expanded service is implemented.

“The grants have been in the works for up to a year,” Marchand said, “but we still don’t have official notification of this award.”

Information came to the Commercial-News in the form of a press release from Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s office. The release indicated that the grants were from Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Public and Intermodal Transportation.

But Paris Ervin, spokesperson for IDOT, said her agency simply distributed federal funds that were already awarded.

Before applying for the grants, CRIS held a series of meetings with community leaders from the northern part of the county, Marchant said. “We met with representatives from Hoopeston, Rossville and Bismarck. Hoopeston Multi-Agency contributed ideas. We wanted input about what the people in that area needed.

“Service on a vehicle we’ve nicknamed the Corn Cruiser should begin in about a year,” she said. “It will take people from the northern part of the county to doctors in Danville, to Wal-Mart, to the Village Mall .

“It’s exciting to me that by using our routes people from Hoopeston will be able to go anywhere Amtrak goes via Champaign,” she said.

“People will have to stay tuned for when the service begins,” she advised.