Voters in Otsego County will be asked on May 2 to approve funding for the county’s bus system.
Before the pandemic, the bus system gave rides to roughly 60,000 people across the county. That number is now around 40,000.
Tim Cherwinski is the director of the bus system. He says the service primary helps senior citizens and people who can’t drive to appointments or run errands.
And since the service has been used less since the beginning of the pandemic, Cherwinski says they're now asking for a little bit less money.
"We do notice the decrease in passengers however with inflation and stuff, you know, there's, there’s been an increase in products used whether it's bus repair or I mean even wages, employees," said Cherwinski.
If the millage passes, the funding will provide nearly $800,000 dollars to the bus system in its first year in 2024.
There's little opposition to the millage and it's something elderly populations have benefitted from, according to Cherwinski.
"They're happy that we're there to kind of expand their independence," said Cherwinski. "They don't have to depend on family members and, I mean, and there's some up here that don't, don’t even have family that live up here."
