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Rural transit providers tell appropriators they need more state aid as ridership, costs rise
Summary
Pat Hanson, director of South Central Adult Services in Valley City, told the appropriations committee her multi‑county transit system provided roughly 112,000 rides last year and needed increased state aid to avoid drawing large local contributions to sustain service.
Pat Hanson, director of South Central Adult Services in Valley City, testified to the committee on behalf of rural transit providers and described growing demand and funding stress for county and regional transit systems.
Hanson said her eight‑county system provided roughly 112,000 rides last year and that demand had grown by approximately 9% over the previous year. She described the service as door‑to‑door public transportation — not solely senior transportation — and said the system carries dialysis patients, people attending medical treatments, and others for whom public transportation is the only option. “We can't sustain 400,000 a year in local money to support the system,” Hanson told lawmakers, describing a year in which her system relied on more than $400,000 in local contributions beyond federal and state aid.
Hanson outlined vehicle costs and fleet composition: 50 vehicles in her system (a mix of cutaway buses and minivans, all lift or ramp equipped), with recent minivans costing about $79,500 and cutaway buses in the $120,000–$130,000 range. She credited a prior DOT vehicle replacement grant (roughly $15 million statewide) for enabling fleet refreshes but said rising driver wages and operating costs remain a pressure.
Hanson asked the committee to consider increases to the state transit aid distribution (the program that allocates highway tax‑derived transit aid to rural providers) and noted two pending bills that would add state money for fixed‑route and rural paratransit services. Committee members asked about fares, Medicaid billing and maintenance arrangements; Hanson said most maintenance is done through local dealers and that the system accepts Medicaid trips and bills state systems where applicable.
Why this matters: Rural transit keeps people connected to medical care and daily needs in areas without other options; providers said current state aid formulas and levels constrain service growth amid rising costs.
