Dec. 28—EDITOR'S NOTE — This is one in a series looking at what Lake County communities and agencies experienced in 2022 and what is facing them in 2023.

Like all countywide agencies, Laketran was acutely affected by the pandemic but is moving forward adapting to functional life in "the new normal."

The sustained feat, officials noted, remains a challenge, though certain facets of transit operations continue to ebb and flow, and, markedly endure, nearly three years after the health crisis began, with new projects and plans on the horizon as community engagement persists for the agency.

Ridership recovery

This October, Laketran ridership reached pre-pandemic levels for the first time since March 2020.

According to officials, the agency's Dial-a-Ride service alone has seen an 18 percent increase over 2021 ridership, with a 28 percent overall ridership increase to date.

"We're excited to see our riders back on board," said Laketran Board President Brian Falkowski. "It means people are back to work, shopping, and getting to the appointments they need and have created a habit of relying on public transportation to get there."

Balancing hiring, growing ridership

While increased ridership is always good for public transit agencies, its volatile growth through various stages of the pandemic, compounded by a workforce shortage, has been a test for Laketran and transit nationwide.

"Our biggest challenge this year has been balancing our ridership on Dial-a-Ride and hiring drivers at the same pace — we've been short about 40 to 50 drivers all year," said Laketran CEO Ben Capelle. "This past October, a month that traditionally has higher ridership, truly stretched our abilities. For our Dial-a-Ride service, we faced the difficult task of managing on-time performance while operating above capacity.

"Like every industry, we're seeing more and more retirements, but there is a lot more competition for drivers out there," he added. "We're competing against the flexibility (you get) when you drive for DoorDash or Uber, while increased online shopping has created additional demand for delivery drivers with companies like Amazon, UPS and FedEx.

"We adjusted our starting wage, but, as you can imagine, bus drivers transporting seniors and people with disabilities require a lot more training than a person who transports boxes.

"And we take immense pride in our drivers," Capelle continued. "They're not just trained to drive a bus, but to serve people with varying disabilities, safely maneuver mobility devices, perform CPR and more."

While new realities have seen Dial-a-Ride "essential trips" shifted to "first-come, first-serve," Laketran has worked to tackle the staffing shortage, hosting four hiring events this year and recruiting 66 drivers.

The most recent class of 16 drivers will be on the road at the beginning of 2023. The agency is currently seeking 20 additional drivers and will host its next hiring event Jan. 4.

"Parts of 2022 were some of the most challenging we have had in the last 10 years, but I am confident the worst of it is behind us," Capelle said.

Additional projects, highlights

—Headquarters expansion

Laketran currently has a headquarters expansion project out to bid and hopes to break ground in the spring, officials noted, adding the agency secured a $14.6 million federal grant to fund the majority of the project that will upgrade its bus garage and add to its operations and maintenance facility.

"Both our ridership and number of employees have more than doubled since our headquarters was built 30 years ago," Falkowski explained. "This grant will allow our services to become more efficient and reliable today, and prepare us for the future."

Moreover, the project will allow the agency to continue improving Dial-a-Ride service, Capelle said.

"We are out of space for buses and the staff that manage them," he added. "This will be a transformational project for Laketran and Lake County, and I am extremely excited for it to begin."

—High school programs

Laketran collaborated with Mentor Schools, Wickliffe Schools and Painesville City Schools to allow local high school students to ride Local Routes 1-9 fare-free to improve access to after-school jobs, internships, activities and local resources.

The agency will be expanding the program to Fairport Harbor and Willoughby-Eastlake school districts and iSTEM School in Painesville.

—Mobile food pantry

In May, Laketran added new locations to its Lake County Mobile Food Pantry program to serve Wickliffe, Painesville and Madison.

The program now alternates weekly distributions between Lake Erie Church of God in Madison, New Hope Baptist Church in Painesville, the Wickliffe Senior Center and the Mentor Park-n-Ride on Tuesdays of each month.

The pantry is a collaboration between Laketran, Lake County Commissioners Senior Services, Lake County Council on Aging, Lifeline and the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.

The agencies work to secure donations, with each taking reservations, managing volunteers and distributing food.

—Transit GO Award

Laketran was awarded $25,000 for the regional Paradox Prize grand prize to support its Transit GO program, a benefit that aims to help improve workforce development for local businesses by allowing Lake County employers to provide free transportation to help their employees get to work.

"This program can attract employees to Lake County businesses instead of other areas of the region," Capelle said.

In 2023, Laketran plans to expand Local Route and Dial-a-Ride service, operating one hour earlier and one hour later on weekdays and increasing weekend service to hourly.

"As a result of launching our Transit GO program and to better understand the needs of local employers, we identified the need to begin our bus service at 5 a.m. to help employees, especially those in the manufacturing sector, get to work by 6 a.m.," Capelle added.

The recently signed federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Acts will provide the agency with an additional $775,076 annually through 2028 to fund service improvements.

Laketran is currently working to hire drivers to start the service by summer 2023.