SUNBURY - Day one of the new Northumberland County transportation system, managed by rabbittransit, York, went off without a hitch Friday, according to the company's executive director.
"Service was delivered today, just like it was on June 30," Richard Farr said. "This was the first day of the 60-day transition period. There may be some bumps in the road, but we will be working with the staff to get through them."
Meanwhile, Farr acknowledged the resulting "shake-up" for county employees, at least one of whom is speaking out against the change for fear someone may be laid off.
Rabbittransit, part of the York County Transportation Authority, was hired by Northumberland County commissioners at their June 21 meeting. At the same time, the commissioners voted to discontinue the Medical Assistance Transportation Program, which is offered by the Department of Public Welfare and PennDOT as a free transportation program for low-income eligible residents to get to medical and dental appointments.
Despite state reimbursement, county officials said the number of eligible residents was rising due to changing state criteria, and increased gas costs had caused the transportation department to lose $421,000 in general fund money in 2010.
Fare may rise again
Because of the same issues, rabbittransit, since its hiring, was granted an emergency 30-cent fare increase by PennDOT, effective Friday, raising the price to $1.45 for a one-way ride.
Farr said that may not be the last increase.
"Northumberland County did not go after a fare increase in six years," Farr said. "I'm sure other drivers have seen their costs of operating a vehicle, from gas to insurance and upkeep, go up with the rate of inflation. It would be very tough for a company to keep up the service at a lower rate."
Erin Walters, spokesperson for PennDOT transit department, said the rate hike was necessary to ensure the York Company would take over.
"No operator would provide this service at a loss," she said in a statement. "The emergency fare increase was necessary to ensure continuation of service and at least produce higher-cost recovery until we can fully assess the service, determine and implement cost efficiencies and productivity improvements. At that time, we will also determine the most appropriate fare structure and fare levels."
Farr said rabbittransit is working to give riders new features, such as automated call availability to allow rides to be scheduled at any time.
"We are not looking to do sweeping changes, but have been analyzing the operation for the past six days and getting an understanding of how the system runs," Farr said. "They have a decent system and we are going to be looking to see how it can be enhanced."
Jobs at stake
One former county employee spoke out Friday about the change.
"I've been a dispatcher for four years, and we do not know what the future holds," said employee Joseph Dowkus, of Paxinos. "There are some people that have been working for 15 years, and it may force them into early retirement."
Dowkus said one of his co-workers was not able to get a 90-day refill on his medicine because his county insurance was going to run out in 60 days.
Farr said following the transition, the company will evaluated its needs in consultation with Easton Coach, which will be the service provider. Current county employees will have to go through a hiring process, he said.
"Employees will be hired, but we don't know if they will come over at their same compensation rates," Farr said. "These are people who are dedicated to their jobs and I understand this is a shake-up for them and they have concerns."
Ultimately, Farr said, the focus needs to be on the people filling seats.
"There is a very high percentage of users in the county, and we want to make sure they are going to be able to get their medicine, get to their appointments and get to the senior centers for hot meals and socialization," he said.