Up until just a couple years ago, Meigs County in southeast Ohio didn鈥檛 offer public transport. Now, it鈥檚 building a .
Since it started offering transit services in 2022, the county has seen ridership more than double.
鈥淲e're already above our 2023 numbers,鈥� said Theresa Lavender, director of public transport and the county鈥檚 department of jobs and family services. 鈥淪o the sustainability for ridership is there. The need for transportation is there.鈥�
She says a transportation hub will allow the county to continue expanding its services.
鈥淲e want to make sure people can get to where they need to go,鈥� Lavender said.
Public transport in rural Ohio
Ohio鈥檚 cities have buses and streetcars, but move to the countryside, and public transportation becomes a lot less accessible. According to from Ohio State University, 83% of urban residents say they have access to transportation near their home, while just 11% of rural residents say the same.
鈥淲e get them to medical facilities. We get them to community events. We get them to the local senior citizens office, pharmacies, grocery stores and employment.鈥�Theresa Lavender, Meigs County Public Transit
25 Ohio counties have system. Prior to 2022, Meigs County was among them.
鈥淲e heard story after story about folks who weren鈥檛 able to leave their house,鈥� said public transit administrator Adam Warden.
鈥淲e're really seeing folks that previously were not able to access the public in general for basic needs. They couldn't go to the grocery stores or make it to special appointments, like dialysis, because they took too long.鈥�
How public transit helps
Since Meigs County started providing rides, it鈥檚 served more than 700 people. More than half are seniors.
鈥淲e get them to medical facilities,鈥� Lavender said. 鈥淲e get them to community events. We get them to the local senior citizens office, pharmacies, grocery stores and employment.鈥�
The county has very few medical providers, so sometimes transit needs to go beyond county lines.
鈥淭hat's a big hurdle we're overcoming,鈥� Lavender said. 鈥淕etting people where they need, not only in the county, but outside the county because Meigs County is so rural and vast.鈥�
Lavender expects the demand for public transit to continue rising.
鈥淲e are here to stay,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd we're really going to be able to grow and expand our services.鈥�