SIDNEY – Members of the Shelby County Transportation Planning Committee discussed the prioritization of the county’s unmet needs during the third quarter meeting of the year on Thursday, Aug. 26.

According to Michelle Caserta-Bixler, mobility manager at Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley, the county’s top four needs were shifted and others were eliminated.

In the No. 1 slot, Caserta-Bixler said Thursday the committee identified the need to hire more Shelby Public Transit drivers. This includes the need for more origin to destination service. This newly identified need replaces and re-prioritizes the need to educate Shelby County residents on public and coordinated transportation down to the third spot on the list.

The second unmet need remains the need for additional hours during early mornings, evenings, and holidays for transportation to accommodate chronic medical treatments and same day service requests. Third on the list is the unmet need for transportation for employment and non-medical trips. And the fourth unmet need remains affordable out-of-county service.

Caserta-Bixler noted in a follow-up email about Thursday’s meeting, that because there were changes in the prioritization and some needs were added and removed the Ohio Department of Transportation would like the committee to go through the formal plan amendment process to update the local needs.

For more information about Shelby Public Transit, visit http://www.sidneyoh.com/public-transit or call 937-492-6117.