Dec. 1—A new service now fills in the time gaps that the existing City Line Trolley and Spirit of Kokomo services don't cover.

Coordinated Assistance Ministries (CAM) is now offering Howard County Connect, a transportation service that will operate only in the evenings on weekdays and all day on the weekends for all adult county residents to use.

The shuttle service is free and will offer to-and-from transportation to "essential" places, such as work, the grocery store and medical appointments, beginning today. Destinations must be in Howard County.

Operating hours are 6 to 11:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Users must call 765-431-1874 at least one hour in advance of pickup to schedule a ride.

The new service is thanks to funding by the United Way of Howard and Tipton Counties, in partnership with CAM and Adams Auto Group and Mobility.

"Transportation is an identified need in the community ... and the Trolley hours, it does help quite a few people, but having some weekend hours and some additional hours during the week has the potential to help folks that already have lower income and don't have a reliable transportation from having to spend money on a cab service just to get to work," Dennine Smith, executive director of CAM, said.

The funding from United Way is good for one vehicle for one year, Smith said. The service will essentially serve as a pilot program for the year to gauge interest and demand for such a service.

If Howard County Connect proves popular, Smith said, the plan is to continue the service for longer than a year.

"What we're hoping to do during this project is to show the need, and if this is something the community would like to continue to invest in, maybe obtain some additional partners and keep this service going," Smith said.

Tyler Juranovich can be reached at 765-454-8577, by email at tyler.juranovich@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @tylerjuranovich.