Baldwin County Transit Program

About the Program

Category: Transportation (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

The Baldwin County Public Transportation Department is dedicated to providing transportation to all county residents, all in wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Many residents often rely on public transit to reach their destinations, like going to medical appointments or getting to their place of employment. This program ensures that the transit-dependent population has a reliable source of transportation.At the start of 2019, the community was complaining about the fact that there was a lack of availability for transit trips, and many trips were being denied. County Manager Carlos Tobar discovered that the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) did not allow the county to use an alternate vehicle as a spare bus when one of the vehicles were out of service. After conversations with GDOT staff, an existing 15 passenger county van was allowed to be used as a spare bus.The program also increased service hours to better serve the transit-dependent population,especially shift workers. Even during the onset and height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the transit system only lost 1% ridership. Medical trips increased significantly as well as employment trips, showing the importance of this service even when many parts of normal life were shut down.