ZBus to See New Service

Although a tight city budget has cut funding to the Southeast Area Transit, there is good news for the transportation service.

The city cut its subsidy to ZBbus by 50%. This year they will only receive $80,000, even though, ZBus will add an additional service available to all Muskingum and Guernsey county residents.

"We’re actually going to be able to institute a new service this year," said Steve Connell, General Manager of ZBus. "We were the recipient of the stimulus money. And we are in the process of acquiring four minivans that are wheel-chair accessible."

The vans will be a premium curb to curb service that will cost riders a fee.

It is slated to start in Mid-March.

The vans will be funded by some of the $750,000 the service was awarded with stimulus funds.

"The main challenge with this organization, as it is with all rural transit systems, is funding," he said. "Even in the main metropolitan areas like Cleveland and Cincinnati, they’ve all had to raise rates or cut services because of the funding difficulties they’ve encountered because of the difficult economic climate we’re all in right now."

This year ZBus is operating on a $2.6 million budget. Connell says 50%of the funding comes from the state and federal governments, while the other 50% is funded locally.