Editor's note: This story has been changed to clarify the precise action the county took to abrogate the multi county pact.
McLean County's decision to drop Show Bus as its rural transportation provider and explore a partnership with Connect Transit poses challenges and tight deadlines for other counties in the region that Show Bus may still serve. The county exited the intergovernmental agreement that enabled development of the Showbus service network in nine counties.
The McLean County choice is having a ripple effect that could complicate a lot of things: the shape of the rural transportation network in the region, the kinds of rural service offered, state grants to buy new vehicles for rural programs, and even the existence of social service agencies.
Other counties in the state-defined Region Six Human Service Transportation Plan are reassessing their needs following the McLean County decision. In Ford County, for instance, County Board member Cindy Ihrke told a Region Six policy and technical committee meeting Monday that her county is now talking with Livingston and Iroquois counties to form a tri-county group for rural service.
"However, Ford County, I think our needs are possibly a little different," said Ihrke.
Ihrke said Ford County has one operational route from Show Bus that might not fit in the future.
"We don't have really high population areas up in the northern part of our county where people can kind of congregate. So for us, a lot of the people who would need a transportation service, they are outside of a town," she said.
Ihrke said Ford County is talking with Vermillion County about its on-demand rural service to see if that concept fits for Ford County.
HSTP Region Six Coordinator Jennifer Sicks of the McLean County Regional Planning Commission said introducing a border between service providers like Showbus and Connect Transit can also complicate getting people where they need to go.
"Part of the overall system was taking people from smaller counties with fewer resources into, in our case, Kankakee and McLean and Pontiac where there are more healthcare resources, hospitals obviously," said Sicks.
There are also deadline pressures. During the spring session of the General Assembly lawmakers pass appropriations bills that include transportation money for rural downstate service. Show Bus administrator Laura Dick said you have to be specifically named in the downstate program to receive an appropriation, and the Illinois Department of Transportation [IDOT] is taking four to five months even for a simple pre-award. Dick said she's concerned because there's history. One county had this happen some years ago when they were told everything was in order and it wasn't.
"We had committed to a lot of service and the downstate money did not come through. So, we took a monstrous loss that first year to continue providing the service with no downstate money. We couldn't do that again. We just can't. it was a horrible hit but we had already started the service there," said Dick.
Dick also said most entities have not recovered completely from the pandemic. Removing McLean County from the Show Bus region forces lawmakers to consider, say, Livingston, Ford, and Iroquois counties individually when they have not had to do that before. The funding ceiling may not match the reality of the costs to deliver services, especially in a tight budget year.
Another concern could come into play if it is determined that Show Bus should continue routes in other counties into McLean County.
"Most of the people we bring into McLean County are high-risk people. They are not a population that we would feel comfortable dropping at a terminal to be served by Connect Transit," said Dick.
She said not only is that not a good transfer for the riders, but it would also not be fair to Connect Transit because it adds to Connect Transit’s Americans with Disabilities Act certification and compliance burden for people who don't even live in McLean County.
Dick said separating McLean County could affect funding for other counties. This has to do with two different kinds of service, subscription service for fixed routes, and service contracts with not-for-profit organizations. The subscription contracts raise money for local matching grant requirements. The contracts say if there are any extra seats on those contract routes, general riders can hop on. Dick said that's a great way to extend service and generate local matching money, matching money which counties so far have been off the hook to pay.
She said a geographical limit on service could jeopardize those subscription contracts to take clients where they need to go.
"We've done it for Head Start. We've done it for developmental services. We've done it for senior centers. So, the other thing it does is it strengthens the ability of the network of social services to survive, because transportation is so very expensive," said Dick.
The change also complicates an annual request for proposals, typically released in January. Region Six Coordinator Jennifer Sicks said it's really tough to detail what you want if you don't know what your needs are.
Usually, no other providers than Show Bus have taken a shot at getting the grant and contract. Sicks said that may change if there are smaller territories to cover, adding more time needed to assess bidders.
She said they are running out of time.
“I'm not panicking yet. Actually, I may be. But I'm a little concerned that some of these aspects we're not quite coming to grips with and it's important that we get moving on them right away," said Sicks.
Yet another factor complicating the discussion is the November election which created turnover on several county boards in the region — turnover which sent rural transportation expertise out the door.
Sicks says the region also can’t make some decisions until McLean County finalizes an agreement with a new provider. Potentially that is Connect Transit, though that has not yet happened.