KVSV

SOLOMON VALLEY TRANSPORTATION

 

Solomon Valley Transit

By Terry Bailey

 

Wide open spaces have been both a blessing and a curse to those who live in the Great Plains. Pioneers who settled here enjoyed the ample space to spread out and escape the crowded cities back east. In the early days, towns and cities were not close together and as time has passed, small farm towns are fast disappearing leaving metropolitan areas few and far between.

The end result is that access to everyday necessities has become harder and harder to find. The depopulation of the Great Plains has created fewer communities with fewer services. Shopping in small towns can be limited, but getting to the big towns is not easy. Medical care is getting harder and harder to access in small town America. Treatment by a specialist almost always means a drive to Salina or Wichita.

While these distances are a slight inconvenience to young adults and middle aged folks, driving 60 or 100 miles can be done with no problem. However, for those with disabilities, undependable transportation or the infirmities of aging, traveling these distances makes those services almost impossible to access.

The end result is that those with disabilities or the aged are often forced to give up their homes in rural areas and move to the city so they can access needed services. Or they can do without these life enhancing services. Jay Rowh, North Central Kansas Silver Haired legislator said, “We do not believe people should be punished for wanting to remain in the area of the state in which they grew up.” Providing cheap, available public transportation is one way to insure people can remain in their home communities and still have access to needed services.

Prior to July of 2011, citizens of Mitchell County had very limited access to any sort of public transportation. The Mitchell County Council on Aging provided service with one vehicle and one driver. The transportation was limited to trips within the City of Beloit with limited availability of service.

A collaboration between Stephanie Simmons of the Mitchell County Regional Medical Foundation, Jay Rowh of the Mitchell County Council on Aging and a Silver Haired legislator, David Dick, then the Administrator of the Mitchell County Hospital Health Systems, and Representative Susan Concannon was the driving force behind the formation of the Solomon Valley Transit.

Representative Concannon had these comments, “The discussions originated when a community health assessment revealed Mitchell County was deficit in access to healthcare, specifically travel to and from appointments. We saw this as an opportunity to work with the Area Agency on Aging and the State of Kansas to improve and expand our public transportation system to benefit the overall health of our citizens. The community stakeholders recognized the need and really stepped up to the plate providing the necessary matching funds. This is a beautiful example of what can be done in our small communities when we identify a need and find ways to cooperate and collaborate for success.”

It seemed evident to these four that there was a great need for public transportation in our area and that it was not being met. As a result of the group effort between these individuals, the Mitchell County Regional Medical Foundation was formed of which Solomon Valley Transit was a major component.

In the beginning the stated mission statement of SVT was to safely enhance access of transportation for the general public of our regain. Their existence was further clarified by their value statement which stated: by fulfilling our mission we will connect our passengers to their daily needs and services through an efficient, courteous, and reliable transit system.

SVT was put into service with a very modest fleet of vehicles and drivers. Original drivers started with SVT in July 2011 were Janna Frodsham, Sandy McBlair and Sue Creitz. They are still drivers at this time. Ken Sheppard was one of the original drivers but has since relocated to Topeka. When services began the fleet consisted of 2 vehicles, 1 bus and 1 handicap accessible mini-van.

The Solomon Valley Transit program hit the ground running and experienced phenomenal growth. In their first year of operation, July 2011 through June of 2012, 4,900 passengers were transported a total of 69,000 miles. From July 2012 through June of 2013 the public transportation program traveled 81,000 miles while transporting 6,300 passengers. SVT continued to show steady growth throughout its third year of operation traveling 99,000 miles while serving 6,500 citizens in our area. In the last fiscal year, July of 2014 through June of 2015, SVT continued to serve more and more people and traveling more and more miles. Last year 8,100 passengers were transported a phenomenal 132,000 miles.

Why such a steady phenomenal growth number of people served and miles traveled? According to Stephanie Simmons Solomon Valley Transit was a matchup of a need that existed with a program that evolved to serve that need. In the city those with temporary or long term need for transportation can rely on cabs and city buses to fill their needs. In rural America, those without friends or relatives to help out in times of need, were simply out of luck to get to places they needed to go. Flexible, available and affordable means of transportation was a big need. Solomon Valley Transit filled that need.

 

END OF DAY ONE SEGMENT

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BEGINNING OF DAY TWO SEGMENT

 

As the demand for more services grew the pool of vehicles grew to serve the demand. Currently SVT fields a fleet of 6 vans and 2 buses. Not only did their fleet of vehicles expand, so did their geographic area. The original territory served was Mitchell County. Since then it has expanded to serve those in Osborne and Jewell County. Their staff of paid drivers has increased to 14.

Several factors sets SVT apart from other rural transportation systems. SVT does not operate on a fixed time schedule. While others require the passenger to fit their needs to the schedule of the system, SVT makes their schedule meet the needs of the passenger. Other systems have a set fee schedule for transportation. SVT also has a fee schedule. They have a suggested donation of one dollar to any destination in the three county area and two dollars to anywhere outside of the three county area. Most rural systems are limited to transportation within a city or a county. SVT has no limitations for needed travel. SVT has delivered people to medical appointments in Salina, Hays, Wichita, Great Bend, Topeka and even Kansas City. This past September SVT provided transportation to and from the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson on three separate days.

It is obvious that fees of one or two dollars would not support the costs of providing transportation. According to information provided by Simmons, the underlying funding for the program comes from a USC 5311 grant through the Federal Transportation Administration with funds also coming from the Kansas State Department of Transportation. Jay Rowh said, “The first year of the program, we had a budget of $35,000. Our budget for the current year is $275,000. Of that total, the Federal government contributes fifty percent, the State government contributes twenty percent and our local funds must cover the other thirty percent. That is why our local fundraising efforts are so very important.”

Some myths have continued to persist regarding SVT. It is NOT a service available only to those with handicaps. While it is a great service for those with handicapping conditions, being disabled is NOT a requirement to ride with SVT. Being economically disadvantaged is NOT a qualifying condition for the service. How much money you have or do not have is NOT a consideration to ride. Service with SVT has no age requirement. It is NOT a service just for the elderly; it is a service for everyone. The ONLY qualification for riding with Solomon Valley Transportation is that YOU NEED A RIDE.

With the weather becoming colder and colder as winter approaches, it might be necessary for more and more people to find a ride by public transportation. Those who have relied on family or neighbors may find them busy with holiday or school activities. Folks may find it necessary to do some of their holiday shopping out of town. Regardless of the reason, those who have not utilized the Solomon Valley Transit services in the past may find these services a necessity in the future.

Leanne Eilert, secretary at Mitchell County Hospital Health Systems, is the transportation coordinator for SVT. For those interested in arranging for transportation through SVT in Beloit, they should call Leanne at 785-534-2395 for additional information. For those in the Osborne area the phone number is 785-346-6951. Standard hours of service are Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. It is suggested that for short trips within the county potential passengers should call the day before their needed ride. For longer trips out of the county, more time might be needed to schedule the trip.

While the original four leaders brought the idea to life in the beginning, the current Board of Directors draws from a wide array of community leaders. Current board members are: Jeremy Armstrong, Mitchell County Hospital Health Systems - Kiley Floyd, Osborne County Memorial Hospital – Harold Heidrick, Hilltop Lodge – Pat Isbell, treasurer, Beloit Medical Center - Tammy Kimminau, SVT Transit Manager – Pastor Rick Raymor, Beloit Ministerial Alliance – Elaine Schreuder, Post Rock Cancer Society – Glenn Rodden, City of Beloit – Jay Rowh, vice president, Council on Aging and Silver Haired Legislator – Stephanie Simmons, president, Mitchell County Regional Medical Foundation – Skilar Winder, Social Worker – Cortney Murrow, Mitchell County Health Nurse – Leila Becker, Jewell County Hospital – Rick Horn, Emergency Management – and Leanne Eilert, secretary, Mitchell County Hospital.

 

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