Meet Your Neighbor: TRIPS offers low-cost rides throughout Fremont for all

Sheri Trusty
·3 min read
Tim Bergeman, Assistant Director, Seniors and Transportation Services for GLCAP, said he hopes all Fremont residents will view TRIPS as a viable choice for inexpensive, in-city transportation.
Tim Bergeman, Assistant Director, Seniors and Transportation Services for GLCAP, said he hopes all Fremont residents will view TRIPS as a viable choice for inexpensive, in-city transportation.

FREMONT — There is an ongoing misconception about the TRIPS Fremont Shuttle buses that travel through town every weekday from morning until evening. Locals mistakenly view the public transportation buses as a resource for the elderly or people without reliable vehicles, but that is simply not true.

TRIPS is for everyone.

TRIPS, a program of Great Lakes Community Action Partnership (GLCAP), boasts a fleet of 16 buses which run two fixed routes comprising 17 stops within the city. Routes run Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cost is $1 per ride. Fixed routes may deviate up to a quarter mile to accommodate riders’ needs. In addition to the fixed routes, TRIPS also offers demand service, which requires 24-hour advance reservation, for $2 to $4 per ride.

Fixed route stops include Kroger, Community Health Services, Birchard Public Library and the Department of Job and and Family Services. The routes give riders easy access to grocery stores, health services, recreation and their jobs.

“I would love if people would see this as a way to get to work,” said Tim Bergeman, assistant director, seniors and transportation services for GLCAP. “We go anywhere up and down (Ohio) 53 — Walmart, the Social Security office, and the business park. We have lots of route deviations on State Street.”

TRIPS to add bus shelter at Walmart in 2023

Next spring, riding with TRIPS will be even more comfortable when a bus shelter is constructed at Walmart. The shelter is a project of Creating Healthy Communities, a Sandusky County Public Health program funded through the Ohio Department of Health. The goal of the program is to increase public access to healthy food and physical activity. TRIPS is a practical means of achieving a culture of health.

A TRIPS shuttle bus picks up passengers at the Sandusky County Senior Center, one of 17 bus stops around Fremont.
A TRIPS shuttle bus picks up passengers at the Sandusky County Senior Center, one of 17 bus stops around Fremont.

“Working with transportation is one of our strategies,” said Laura Bogard, Sandusky County's Public Health Nurse who manages the grant. “This will help people get to the grocery store, recreation areas and doctor appointments.”

Bogard and Bergeman are part of the Public Transit Improvement Project Workgroup which also includes Lori Beers, Ken Frost, Pam Kensler, Jim Posey, Mindy Birkholz and Kristie Bilger.

The team researched the best location for the shelter by pinpointing a number of criteria including ridership data from 2021.

“Walmart is a transfer point for the orange line and the green line, and a lot of people from Fort Stephenson stop there, so Walmart was our top spot,” Bogard said. “Walmart Manager Rob Hershey was very interested from the beginning. He has been very good to work with.”

Bogard said the shelter, which will be built by city employees, will likely be constructed in spring 2023.

TRIPS committee working to increase awareness

In the meantime, new signage is being placed at route stops around the city to increase awareness of TRIPS services and provide other important information.

“The updated signage will promote downtown events, new stores and local initiatives,” Bergeman said.

The TRIPS buses are equipped with bike racks, so riders are encouraged to bring their bikes for greater access through the city or for rides on the North Coast Inland Trail.

“Since I began working in Fremont, I’ve learned that the city has many more opportunities for people to be mobile than a lot of towns, and the shuttle service covers so much of the city,” Borgard said. “The bus routes cover many services, including medical, food and recreation. If people want a night out, they can ride to restaurants for a dollar.”

Bergeman said many people have expressed surprise over the low cost of TRIPS bus fare.

“People say, ‘It’s only a dollar?’ We’re trying to make it easy for people to move around,” he said. “It’s unique because it’s available to everyone. People see it as a last resort, but it’s a viable alternative, not a last resort.”

For more information on TRIPS, including a list of shuttle stop times, visit glcap.org/trips. To schedule a Demand Service ride, call 419-332-8091.

Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: TRIPS offers low-cost rides throughout Fremont for all