Surveillance cameras installed in Carroll County Transit vehicles
CARROLLTON – Surveillance cameras recently began operating within Carroll County Transit public transportation vehicles.
The cameras are part of a Carroll County Transit surveillance policy approved by county commissioners, which oversee the agency.
"This is more of a preventive thing," county Commissioner Christopher Modranski said.
"We are just taking the next step to better improve our ridership. It will give us an insight to see what transpired inside the vehicles. In all the departments that we have, we are responsible for people's lives. This is just another tool we have to protect our citizens."
More: Carroll County public transit system cuts operating hours
The cameras were paid for with a $22,994 grant from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Funds were filtered to Carroll County by the Ohio Department of Transportation.
The surveillance equipment will be useful "in accidents or if something happens to our vehicles, we can go back and see what it was," said Sonja Trbovich, agency director. "We just turned them on. Now we will just wait and see how things play out."
Carroll County Transit has nine modified minivans and three small buses that are Goshen Coaches.
Unlike Stark Area Regional Transit Authority, the Carroll County system does not operate fixed routes. It operates on an on-demand basis. Customers are expected to call at least a day in advance to make an appointment to be picked up.
Since June 2020, Carroll County Transit has been operating on a reduced schedule of 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. But on Feb. 28, the transit system will return to its full schedule of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The reduced hours was the result of some Carroll County Transit employees leaving their jobs because of concern over possibly catching the coronavirus.
"A lot of my staff did not return," Trbovich said. "We didn't have enough staff. Now that I have enough staff, I am going back to normal hours."
Reach Malcolm at 330-580-8305 or malcolm.hall@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: mhallREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Surveillance cameras now operating in Carroll County Transit vehicles
