County forms Transit district

Whitman County commissioners Monday created a rural transportation district which will allow the Council on Aging and Human Services to apply for grant funding that will provide a rural van service in Whitman County.

Council on Aging operates COAST senior transit services. Karl Johanson, executive president of the Council on Aging, said the agency is applying for a grant from the state Department of Transportation that would fund two 12-passenger vans.

Johanson explained the Council on Aging can not apply for the state funds because it is not a public entity. The Unincorporated Transportation Benefit Area, as it was officially named, was formed to give the county a venue to endorse the grant application.

The vans would be used to run a Vanpool service from Oakesdale, Garfield and Palouse to Pullman.

“That’s where the jobs are at, Pullman and Moscow,” said Commissioner Greg Partch.

Riders would be charged $75 per month to access the van service.

Johanson said the agency anticipates 10 riders will use the service each day. He said the agency would recoup its costs with as little as four or five riders per day.

Johanson noted the district will have the ability to tax its constituents, but a levy would have to be approved by the voters in the district. He anticipates most of the riders will likely come from within city limits.