Dan Brennio, administrator for Owen County Public Transit, told the Grant County Fiscal Court on Oct. 3 that his agency is preparing to expand service into Grant County by dedicating vehicles to a combined intra-county route and by piloting a deviated fixed route between Williamstown and Dry Ridge.

Brennio said the transit agency currently runs about nine to 12 vehicles daily and is “a 100% federally funded” operation, which shapes how it purchases vehicles and staffs service. He told the court almost 80–85% of the agency’s trips are Medicaid-related brokered rides, and that Medicaid reimbursement levels and enrollment have a direct effect on operating volume.

The proposed deviated fixed route would stop at a small number of fixed stops in town but could diverge up to about one mile from the route to pick up riders on demand. Brennio cited examples in Georgetown and Danville where similar services grew from a few dozen riders initially to several hundred per day.

He outlined several operational constraints: federal grant rules require an appointed account executive; drivers must meet background- and drug-testing standards; and some trip types are governed by Medicaid brokerage rules that assign trips to subcontractors. Brennio said his agency is an exempt rural provider permitted to transport patients to out-of-county medical facilities but that inner-city versus rural classifications under federal rules are complex. “The true definition of inner city means that your pickup has to occur in a rural area, and you have to connect to a fixed route or a Greyhound bus station,” he said, describing federal definitions he is disputing with the Federal Transit Administration.

Brennio gave specific figures: current public fares have not changed since 2016 and are $3 for the first 10 miles and $0.40 per mile after that; the agency recently was allocated $800,000 to purchase six inner-city vehicles (an RFP had not been released at the time of the meeting); and he has authority to purchase vehicles under the federal grant without asking the fiscal court for operational funding. He also said he had recently purchased eight additional vehicles, allowing him to increase fleet capacity.

Court members asked operational questions, including whether Crittenden would be included as a stop; Brennio said it could be and named potential stop sites such as Kroger and city parks as good locations. He said staffing and finding qualified drivers is a constraint and that counties could consider helping with salary support for a local hire if they wished to participate.

Brennio said the agency is working on federal compliance reviews and expects to return to scheduling and stakeholder planning after that work is complete. He advised the court he was not requesting county funding at this time but would return to coordinate on potential stop locations and partnerships once the compliance work is finished.

Court members and staff thanked Brennio and asked him to follow up when the agency is ready to plan stops and staffing.

The presentation also covered program details such as the agency’s routing and scheduling software upgrade (intended to enable online booking and payment), donated surplus vehicles for senior centers, and limitations on charter trips due to federal program requirements.

Next steps: Brennio said federal compliance work would likely conclude in October and that the agency would pursue local stakeholder planning and outreach in November.