Medina County Public Transit to make changes to its south circular service

Medina County Public Transit wants to make improvements to its south circular service and make the route fall more in line with the rest of the county. Medina County Public Transit Director Shannon Rine said the agency's south circular service has been in place for a number of years. It is a fixed route in the southwestern region of Medina County. "A driver on Tuesdays only, by their request, would go out and drive this route and pick up everybody they could," he said. "They are taken into town to shop and whatnot and then bring them back to their homes." There is only one bus taking the route, Rine said. As a result, customer feedback has shown that the bus would fill up, so people at the end of the line would not get picked up. "With the amount of people growing out there, we're not just able to do it the original way of running out and picking up 10 to 12 people," he said. "There are a lot of people out there who need the service." Medina County Public Transit is looking to respond to the need by having riders call in for service, so the agency knows who is out there and who needs to be picked up, Rine said. The change would make the route consistent with the service the agency provides countywide. "We're going to be putting flyers on the buses and trying to communicate word of mouth, since it seems to be the best way to do it," he said. A public meeting was held earlier this month, which discussed the transition, Rine said. It was recommended that Medina County Public Transit offer service to the area on Tuesdays and Thursdays. "In the public meeting, we discovered not everybody has a cellphone, so what we're doing is working on a sign-up sheet," he said. "We're going to try to put a sign-up sheet out there where the clients can sign up for service for the following week." Medina County Public Transit is aiming to make the transition in July. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.