OATS Transit, which has been providing for the transportation needs of seniors, disabled and rural families since 1970, is having to pause and adjust some services to the rural communities they serve due to a lack of federal funds.
OATS Transit Regional Director Rene Frazier said OATS Transit services are not discontinued, but are on pause. Frazier said the hope is the routes will be unpaused when the fiscal year rolls over on July 1, 2025. Frazier said routes in one area county will not see changes, but two other counties will see route changes due to the funding cuts. Taney County routes will not change. Barry County routes will be consolidated and Stone County routes will see the biggest changes on their agency on aging routes.
“OATS Transit does provide rural public transportation in conjunction with specific contracts,” Frazier said. “The short version is our public transportation funding requires a 50% local match. In many counties, we can meet that match using county senior tax boards. The Taney County Senior Citizens Fund Board is wonderful. I go to their meetings often and they do a lot of great things for Taney County residents. There will be absolutely no change to services in Taney County.”
The full article is available at bransontrilakesnews.com
(Story by AJ Fahr, bransontrilakesnews.com)
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