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Whitfield County to search for new rural transportation provider

By: Erin Fuchs
(Contact)

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Margaret Zeisig

DALTON, Ga. — Amid criticism an increased scrutiny of the bus system here, the agency that runs the six buses said Thursday it will quit.

Whitfield County Administrator Bob McLeod announced that North Georgia Community Action has decided not to seek to renew its contract after it expires Oct. 1.

“We’re going to try to take steps to do more with the transportation system,” Mr. McLeod said.

North Georgia Community Action’s executive director, Jonathan Ray, wouldn’t say why they won’t renew their contract, but he denied it was in reaction to recent criticism.

“I’d rather just not make a comment,” Mr. Ray said. “I’d rather it not turn into a ... battle in the papers.”

Whitfield officials met with bus operators last month and asked them to collect data on average travel times, and to consider designating one bus for the general public.

County Finance Officer Ron Hale said recently that the county brought a few “concerns” to bus officials.

“Rather than answering them,” he said, “they chose to back out.”

The Mountain Area Transportation Service, or MATS, buses run on limited schedules with uncertain travel times and require 24-hour notice for a pick-up. For some everyday riders — like seniors and the disabled — the buses are a godsend.

But the system is difficult for sporadic riders, some have said. Whitfield County social workers, whose clients often can’t afford cars, have lamented the lack of viable public transportation here.

“The bus situation ... It’s pretty much been a nightmare forever,” said Edith Rogers, a longtime social worker.

A January 2006 Public Transportation Needs Study — commissioned by the Dalton-Whitfield County Metropolitan Planning Organization — found MATS unsuitable for commutes to a job because of its “short operating schedule.”

County officials met with social workers on Thursday to distribute surveys about the MATS service.

The county needs specific complaints or comments to make the buses more workable, Mr. McLeod said.

Social worker Tom Bartley, who works with the Family Support Council, said Thursday he’s only heard awful stories about the buses.

Is he hopeful county officials will improve public transit?

“It surely,” he said, “can’t be any worse than it’s been.”