FALLS COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — “We can do door-to-door pick up and take them to dialysis, and it’s literally life saving for them,” said Executive Director of Heart of Texas Council of Governments, Russel Devorsky.
When living in rural counties, transportation can sometimes be difficult, but the Heart of Texas Council of Governments is looking to change that through a transportation system known as 'Blue Transit'.
It offers reliable transportation for resident in rural areas, like in Bosque, Falls, Freestone, Limestone, and Hill County, and the service is being offered at almost no cost.
"If you stay in Falls County for instance, it would be $1 each way — if you go from Falls County to McLennan County or one of our other counties, it’s $2 each way — so $2 or $4 — it’s not much,” said Transportation Manager at Heart of Texas Council of Governments, Rep Pledger.
Officials tell 25 News many neighbors have already taken advantage of the transportation.
“We have some school children that are picked up and go to school, we take a lot of senior citizens that have doctor visits and we do a lot of dialysis people — a lot of these people are not in the best of health and they can’t drive,” Devorsky said.
It can all be done with the press of a button.
“It’s not a fixed route, which means you can call our phone number, schedule an appointment, and a bus will come to your front door and deliver you to the doorsteps of where you’re going,” Devorsky said.
The transportation system has been offered since 1972, but a recent re-branding from white to blue buses has led to an increase in visibility and ridership.
“We wanted to be unique and stand out so people would know what we were," Devosrky said.
"Our first year — 2019 — we saw a 23 percent increase in ridership, and last year had an 18 percent increase in ridership."
This is a service they believe local neighbors deserve.
“It gives me a great sense of pride knowing that we provide a service that is of great benefit to the people,” Devorsky said.
To schedule a ride call 254-292-1873 or click here.
