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With third-party operator ending service, Jones County plans to bring 5311 public transit in-house
Summary
The county was notified the third-party operator for its 5311 demand-response transit service will stop in June; commissioners were briefed on moving the program in-house, which would make county employees the drivers and dispatcher and require the county to assume insurance responsibilities for vehicles owned by the state.
Jones County officials told the board May 6 that the county's 5311 demand-response transit operator has notified the county it will end service in June, and staff recommended transitioning the program to in-house operation to avoid a service gap.
Planning staff reported the current third-party operator, a regional community action agency, plans to discontinue service at the end of June and that the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has for years encouraged counties to reduce reliance on third-party operator arrangements. The county's transit plan would convert the operator's role to county employment: one part-time dispatcher and three full-time drivers would become county employees, with the county assuming insurance responsibilities for the GDOT-owned vans while continuing to use those vehicles.
Staff said there are no other local third-party operators available and that the county will need to recruit drivers, finalize job descriptions, and assume administrative reporting currently handled by the contractor. Commissioners asked questions about insurance for the vans and about coordinating with neighboring counties; staff noted insurance currently was under the contractor but would move to the county once drivers are county employees.
No formal vote was required at the meeting; staff presented the plan as informational and said they would continue work to hire staff, adopt county payroll/HR processes for transit employees, and coordinate with GDOT on insurance and vehicle arrangements.
Ending: Staff will continue developing job descriptions, coordinate insurance coverage for the GDOT vans, and return with implementation steps and any required budget amendments.
