TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority has scheduled a series of hearings this week to receive comments about public transportation needs in the Toledo area.
Several of the hearings will be in communities that have discussed withdrawing from TARTA, including Perrysburg, where an opt-out referendum is on the March 6 ballot.
The hearing schedule is:
- Tuesday, 1-3 p.m. at the Maumee Branch Library, 501 River Road in Maumee
- Tuesday, 6:30-8 p.m. at the Way Public Library, 101 E. Indiana Ave. in Perrysburg
- Wednesday, 1:30-3 p.m. at the Sylvania Senior Center, 7140 Sylvania Ave. in Sylvania
- Wednesday, 6:30-8 p.m. at The Ability Center of Greater Toledo, 5605 Monroe St. in Sylvania
- Thursday, 6:30-8 p.m. at the Way Public Library, 101 E. Indiana Ave. in Perrysburg
- Thursday, 1-3 p.m. at the Rossford Community Center, 400 Dixie Hwy. in Rossford
Steve Adkinson, marketing director at TARTA, said the move is in an effort to get input from the community.
"We understand that there are unmet transportation needs in the community, as well as community programs," said Adkinson.
From a TARTA news release:
The hearings, all scheduled for suburban locations, are part of the transit authority's update of a transit plan required by the federal government to maintain eligibility for grants from two programs: Job Access/Reverse Commute and New Freedom Initiative.
Job Access/Reverse Commute provides funds for transportation programs that help people, especially those with low incomes, to get to jobs that are not well served by traditional public-transit service.
In the past, this has included funding for a program managed by the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments through which low-income residents receive assistance to buy automobiles, James Gee, the transit authority's general manager, said.
New Freedom Initiative pays for services the transit authority offers to disabled people that go beyond the minimum necessary to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Mr. Gee said.
Recent examples of such services include providing Toledo Area Regional Paratransit Service clients same-day rides to nonemergency medical appointments -- most TARPS rides must be reserved at least 24 hours in advance -- and developing a system that automatically telephones TARPS riders when their bus is approaching their pick-up point.
Copyright 2012 WTOL. All Rights Reserved.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and Toledo News Now, a Raycom Media Station. 
