Having a truly Tri-State bus system serving Ashland, Ironton, Huntington and points in between has been tried before without much success. However, with gasoline prices soaring to nearly $4 per gallon, the timing may be right for the launching of bus routes serving all three states. After all, with each increase in the price at the pump, taking the bus becomes a more appealing option.
The Tri-State Transit Authority has signed a contract with the Ironton-Lawrence County Community Action Organization to provide continuous bus service to Huntington and Ashland beginning July 1. It will be the first time in more than 20 years since bus routes connecting all three states have been tried, although buses operated by Ashland have always been able to connect in Catlettsburg with Tri-State Transit Authority buses serving Kenova, Ceredo and Huntington.
The Lawrence County Port Authority is the recipient of grants from the federal government and the state of Ohio to operate the new bus lines.
One route will run continuously between Ironton and Proctorville with stops at Pullman Square, St. Mary’s Hospital and Marshall University in Huntington, at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club in Burlington, at Ohio University-Southern and at Ironton Hills Plaza. In other words, it will enable residents of Ironton and Proctorville to take the bus to classes at Marshall University instead of driving to the campus and going through the hassle of finding a place to park.
The other route will connect Ironton with Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital, the Ashland Wal-Mart, King’s Daughters Medical Center and with other routes operated by the Ashland Bus System.
Buses will run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays with the initial fare projected to be 75 cents. (If gasoline prices continue to soar, there may be an increase in fares before the new routes pick up their first passengers.)
Will the new routes prove popular? Who can predict? Skeptics remember when routes connecting the three states were tried in the early 1980s, but they soon were discontinued because of a lack of ridership. However, times have changed. If the service is dependable and there are no long waits for the next bus to come along, we think far more people will ride the new routes than rode similar routes 25 years ago.
If the new routes do prove popular, steps should be taken to make them permanent by making the Tri-State Transit Authority live up to its name. Only by establishing a single authority over bus routes in all three states can a truly tri-state bus service become a permanent part of this region.
Lacking a crystal ball, we make no predictions about how popular the new routes will be. All we will say is that this is the ideal time to at least try to provide bus service to communities in all three states.
Editorials
Truly Tri-State — 05/10/08
The timing seems right for resumption of bus service
- Editorials
-
-
Try again
It is time for Kentucky Speaker of the House Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, and Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, to cease playing political games and redraw district lines that are compact and are based far more on population changes during the first decade of this century than on partisan politics.
-
'Asset poor'
More than one in four Kentucky households are “asset poor,” meaning that they are living from paycheck to paycheck with little or no financial cushion to fall back on should they suddenly lose their jobs or have another emergency resulting in a temporary loss of or delcine in income.
-
Safer mines
The head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) says coal operators throughout the country are improving their operations and, as a result, mines are becoming safer. However, MSHA chief Joe Main said too many coal operators still “don’t get it” and are continuing to cut costs by ignoring safety. That’s why MSHA plans to continue targeting mines with a history of repeated violations for additional inspections.
-
Not far enough
For the past three sessions of the Kentucky General Assembly, bills that would raise the minimum dropout age from 16 to 18 have been approved by the Kentucky House of Representatives by wide bipartisan margins only to die in the Senate without even a vote.
Now the Senate Education Committee has unanimously approved a dropout bill hailed as an alternative to the House bill, but it does not go nearly far enough. It is a halfway measure that would have only a limited effect on preventing teenagers from quitting high school before graduation and virtually assuring themselves of lives on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder.
-
Not their job
The local government committee of the Kentucky House of Representatives has wisely killed a bill — dubbed “Cooper’s Law” — that would have allowed the family of the Lexington toddler with cerebral palsy to have a playhouse on their property despite a deed restriction that apparently prohibits such structures.
-
Keeping FADE
Despite an increase in cost to the department, Carter County Sheriff Casey Brammell told the Carter County Fiscal Court that his department will continue to be active in the FIVCO Area Development Drug Enforcement (FADE) Task Force — at least for now.
-
Needed changes
The soaring enrollment that Kentucky’s community and technical colleges have experienced in recent years could come to a sudden end — or at least be slowed — as about 5,500 students in the statewide system that includes Ashalnd Community and Technical College are expected to lose their financial aid under new rules being implemented by the federal government.
-
Released early
While it is disappointing that 75 of the 952 prisoners granted early release in January have violated the terms of their releases, the good news is that none of the former inmates have been charged with new felonies. That’s an early, but positive, indication that the nonviolent felons released before their sentences were up have been carefully selected and are among those least likely to return to a life of crime.
-
Obese children
Almost a decade after former Gov. Ernie Fletcher called childhood obesity an “epidemic” in Kentucky, a majority of Kentucky adults still think that there are too many overweight children in the state and they place the bulk of the blame squarely on the shoulders of their parents.
-
Retiring
Dr. Gregory Adkins has served as president of Ashland Community and Technical College during a period of rapid growth and substantial changes. Adkins announced last week that he will retire June 30 after almost 11 years as the head of the school that now is located not only just off 13th Street in Ashland but also is in EastPark more than 20 miles from the Ashland campus.
- More Editorials Headlines
-
Try again
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
