Knox County and the city of Galesburg are taking steps toward extending public transportation into rural areas.
The city recently completed a transit study with Nelson Nygaard Consulting Associates that provided a comprehensive analysis of the public transportation system. It also looked at the city’s capacity to extend transit service into Knox County.
Transit Manager Kraig Boynton said the city provided around 120,000 rides last fiscal year between fixed routes and the paratransit system.
“As we move out into the county, that's going to be a population of about 20,000 more people than what's in Galesburg,” Boynton said. “So that growth potential is there, and we know there's a need just based on the calls that we receive already.”
Boynton said they’re working with the Rural Transit Assistance Commission in Macomb at this point in the process, and it could take some time for rural transit to get going in the county.
“It’s not like a switch where we're going to turn it on right away and have transportation out in the county. We have to make sure that we have the capacity to serve those individuals are out there by staffing and also having vehicles that are in good shape for us,” he said.
Boynton said they’re conducting a survey of rural residents and local agencies to determine needs. The survey will be available on the county’s website.
“If you know of organizations out in your area that we may not know of, it would be great if you could contact me and let me know,” Boynton said. “I'll get with those organizations so that we can get them to complete the survey and get a better handle of where we will move forward.”
Knox County Board chair Jared Hawkinson said the board discussed the need for rural transit several years ago, but this is the “first, positive step” toward making it happen.
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