Bloomfield Transit gets a brand-new ride; more seating for passengers

BLOOMFIELD -- After six years, the Bloomfield Transit System has a new vehicle.

Thanks to a 80/20 grant through the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), the city of Bloomfield is now able to offer a more comfortable ride to its citizens.

Penny Schatz has been Transit Director for the city of Bloomfield for 10 years, and said she looks forward to each new year and what it brings to Bloomfield Public Transit users. She said the Bloomfield Transit System applies for grants every year; but they never know what they might get from one year to the next.

The new vehicle -- a 2015 Ford Eldorado -- was received on Oct. 17th. The original price was $46,730.00 from Central States Bus; but, the City of Bloomfield Transportation System paid $9,346.00 and MoDOT paid $37,384.00 through available Transit asset funds.

Vehicle expectancy is 10 years for MoDOT vehicles in the Transit sector. The vehicle that the 2015 Ford Eldorado replaced was a 2002 Ford Star Craft.

According to Schatz, the new vehicle offers one more seat than the former vehicle, and is more streamlined. It also boasts a wheelchair lift; although, it isn't just senior citizens who utilize the service.

"I would say approximately 20 percent of our customers are senior citizens," Schatz explained. "We have all types of people that utilize our service. A lot of people use us to take them to and from work, or to the store to shop."

Schatz went on to explain that there are even children who regularly use the service to go to daycare.

"I would say, roughly, about 11 percent of our population uses this service," Schatz remarked. "We've come a long way. We recently connected with the city of Dexter. We go to commuter parking and trade off customers. We actually get a lot of riders from Dexter, because Bloomfield is the county seat; so, we get plenty of people that need us to get them to court or the juvenile office and things of that nature."

Bloomfield Transit did keep its former vehicle longer than expected. Schatz explained that it had approximately 70,000 miles on it -- all from being driven inside of Bloomfield. According to Schatz, the 2002 Ford was sold at Kelly Blue Book value of $5,000. The City of Bloomfield was able to keep 20 percent of that since it came from a 80/20 grant.

The final cost for the 2015 vehicle was $8,346.00.

"We work hard to better serve our community in any way that we possibly can," Schatz remarked. "Bloomfield Transit would like to remind the public that we serve the public. You do not have to be elderly or disabled to ride. In fact, most of our riders are not either. Anyone can ride. Anyone wanting to know more about the Bloomfield Public Transit System please call 568-3960."