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News
Park-n-Ride funding questioned : News : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisPark-n-Ride funding questioned
| Oswego Board expected to vote on new pact Sept. 18
| by John Etheredge
| 9/6/2012
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Oswego Village Board members questioned the village's continued funding of weekday bus service to the village's Metra Park-n-Ride facility during a committee meeting Tuesday evening.
Board members posed their questions as Steve Jones, village administrator, detailed a proposed agreement that if approved by the board would continue bus service to the facility.
Since it opened in June 2004, the village has contracted with the Pace Bus Service to transport area Metra riders between the Park-n-Ride near Orchard and Mill roads and the downtown Aurora Transportation Center.
The village's current contract for the service with Pace is set to expire Dec. 31.
Over the past several months village staff, as directed by the board, has negotiated a new agreement for the bus service with the Kendall Area Transit (KAT) bus service. KAT was established three years ago by the Kendall County Board to provide dial-a-ride service to county residents. However, the village has yet to join KAT.
Under the proposed agreement with the village, KAT would provide both dial-a-ride service to all village residents and weekday bus service to the Park-n-Ride.
Jones noted the village would pay KAT significantly less for the Park-n-Ride bus service than it currently pays Pace, while at the same time the agency would increase the number of morning departures from three to five, and evening return trips, also from three to five.
Board members voiced support for joining KAT to secure the dail-a-ride service for village residents.
However, they questioned the village continuing to subsidize the Park-n-Ride due to cost and low ridership.
Village President Brian LeClercq said at the board's next regular meeting on Sept. 17 board members will be asked to vote on three issues: extending the Pace contract, contracting with KAT for the dial-a-ride service for all village residents, and contracting with KAT to provide bus service to the Park-n-Ride.
The village board used federal grants to construct the Park-n-Ride eight years ago as the first step towards securing a Metra commuter rail station on the site.
The village also used federal grants to pay for Pace bus service to the Park-n-Ride during its first five years of operation. However, the grant funds ran out three years ago and since that time the village has been using its own revenues to pay for the bus service.
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