If anyone around here deserves some federal stimulus money, it's Benzie Bus.
The transportation system, which is growing almost by the day, is doing exactly what stimulus money is supposed to do -- stimulating the local economy. In this case, the bus system is helping people go shopping, get out to local restaurants and doctor appointments and even get to and from their jobs.
Without Benzie Bus, some of those people wouldn't be doing any of those things or, more likely, not as often and not as easily.
Driver Barry Rudd, who has worked for Benzie Bus since there was a Benzie Bus, says the system has been a game-changer.
"We've given new life to a lot of people who could not get out at all," he said. "They can go visit friends ... they're so mobile now."
Benzie Bus has seen ridership explode since it took over five buses previously operated by the county's Council on Aging. The system had about 40,000 one-way passenger rides in 2007 and nearly 70,000 in 2008, Executive Director Susan Miller said.
Miller said the system is now drawing more non-elderly riders from the general population who use it to get to work and go about their daily business.
Benzie Bus is hoping for $2.1 million in stimulus money for a new headquarters and bus garage. The system's entire fleet -- nearly 20 buses now -- is stored outside and it works out of two sites. Having a place where buses can be parked inside would save on maintenance, and having a single building would save on overhead. The system also expects a $190,000 federal earmark.
Whatever they're doing, they're getting it right. That's what the stimulus program must be all about -- rewarding success and helping people do more.
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