Free circular route for riders ages 50 and older offered on Wednesdays
Several community organizations have recently stepped up in a new partnership to help to fill a public transportation need, and this week, a free shuttle route launched for local adults ages 50 and older in Logan County.
BelleHop is available on Wednesdays, beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing in a circular route until 3 p.m. in a variety of planned stops around Bellefontaine.
Bridges Community Action Partnership and A Way Out Transportation in Marysville are joining together to offer this free service, which is wheelchair-accessible. Representatives from both organizations gathered Wednesday, Aug. 6, at the Logan County Libraries’ Knowlton Library main branch to host a ribbon cutting to kick off the program and send the first shuttle on its route.
Pinkie Housler, A Way Out Transportation coordinator, said a similar shuttle program has been offered with great success in Union County. She began receiving requests for the services after the RTC Transportation Services shut down its public transit at the beginning of this year.
Tam Blakely, Logan County Mobility Manager, and her colleagues at Bridges Community Action Partnership also had been delving into this transportation issue and were excited that A Way Out Transportation could provide the vehicle and driver for the program.
The route begins at the Knowlton Library, 220 N. Main St.; continuing to The Heights, 611 Saxon Drive; Luther Manor, 1108 Greenwood St.; Shawnee Springs, 400 Kristina Drive and then stopping at the following stores: Kroger, 2129 S. Main St.; Aldi, 2175 S. U.S. 68.; Walmart, 2281 S. U.S. Route 68; and continuing to the Logan County Friendly Senior Center, 934 S. Main St.
The shuttle will pick up and drop off riders at each of these stops along the way:
- Logan County Library: 10:00 a.m., 11:05 a.m., 12:10 p.m., 1:25 p.m., 2:35 p.m.;
- The Heights: 10:10 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 12:20 p.m., 1:35 p.m., 2:45 p.m.;
- Luther Manor: 10:25 a.m., 11:35 a.m., 12:40 p.m., 1:55 p.m., 3:00 p.m.;
- Kroger: 10:35 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 12:50 p.m., 2:00 p.m.;
- Aldi: 10:40 a.m., 11:50 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:10 p.m.;
- Walmart: 10:45 a.m., 11:55 a.m., 1:05 p.m., 2:15 p.m.; and
- Friendly Senior Center: 10:55 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 2:25 p.m.;
Riders are invited to take the shuttle to enjoy shopping, socializing and visiting the Logan County Friendly Senior Center, with no limits on how long they stay on the shuttle.
There also is no bag limit for shoppers.
Indian Lake resident Kay Daugherty heard about the new program through her friend, Blakely, and was excited to be one of the first riders on Wednesday morning.
“I wanted to try it out and I also think spreading the word about it is important,” she said.
Andrew Binegar, Bridges Community Action Partnership executive director, said there is room to expand BelleHop’s services and stops, based upon on riders’ feedback.
“We’d love to hear about other stops that people would like to see included, and maybe even expand to other days in the future,” he said, noting that they would also like to eventually add a shuttle route in the Indian Lake area.
Bridges Community Action operates in six counties, and is also marking its 60th year in operation this year, Binegar said.
For updates about the BelleHop, visit the Bridges Community Action’s Facebook page or visit https://www.bridgescap.org/.
