BAT Self-Perform Updates

FEBRUARY

We let people know through social media posts that Benton County Public Works had put forward a proposal for a Self-Perform Analysis of Benton Area Transit. The following is one of the Facebook posts we made in February sharing information about this and the STIF (statewide transportation improvement fund) Meeting that took place on March 2nd, 2026:

"Benton County Public Works has made a proposal to discontinue its 50-year relationship with the local nonprofit Dial-A-Bus, which serves our senior and disabled neighbors’ transportation needs. The County is proposing to bring the special transportation program in-house. This decision is projected to increase the cost to the County, with no increase in capacity. It will also forfeit 50 years of institutional experience serving vulnerable populations in favor of a program that does not currently exist. If Public Works follows the previous experiment they deployed two years ago, seniors and people with disabilities can expect their average ride times to increase by 1 to 2 hours per round trip.

For the past year, Public Works has not met statutory public engagement requirements. Thus, very few users or stakeholders are aware of the proposal.

On March 2nd, at 2:00 pm, there will be a public meeting held by the County at the Madison Office Building, 500 SW 5th Street. This meeting will provide the first opportunity for the public to ask questions or express their thoughts about this proposal. Please consider attending this meeting, emailing the County Commissioners, or both if you would like your concerns to be heard."

For more context, the STIF Meetings are run by Benton County, but are mainly made up of an advisory committee of volunteers who would be most affected by changes to public transportation. This includes users of BAT/Dial-A-Bus, a representative from OSU, and representatives for people with disabilities, low-income folks, people over 65, and environmental and bicyclist advocates. This committee hears proposals from Benton County and works together to present their opinions to local government officials on these matters.

MARCH 2

More than 50 clients, volunteers, and other stakeholders attended the STIF meeting on March 2nd to share opinions on Benton County continuing the self-perform analysis for creating an in-house transportation program that would end their contract with Dial-A-Bus. Public comment was unanimously against the County proposal and lasted about an hour. You can view the full public comment video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9unp5Q0RG3A

The most common questions and concerns raised by attendees were:

Why is Benton County considering replacing the highly valued Dial-A-Bus program with one that does not currently exist?

Why is Benton County not using existing funds to increase service provision when they have long known that demand for service is not being met?

The last time the County intervened with the Special Transportation program was with the VIA software system, which caused a 5 month service interruption so how will they ensure high efficiency and safety for riders?

Benton County chose not to answer questions at the meeting. Staff cited that they were writing down the questions and concerns and would respond at a later date. They did not specify when or how this would take place.

When public comment ended, the first action taken by the STIF committee was to pass a motion advising Benton County not to put any further resources toward the in-house proposal. To view the rest of that meeting and other agenda items discussed, you can visit this link to view their Zoom recording using the following passcode: 3e!&K^2b

MARCH 17-20

A group of community members made public comments directly to the Board of Commissioners at their meeting on the 17th. Like the STIF committee meeting on March 2nd, the comments were opposed to the County continuing to consider the possibility of building an in-house special transportation program. We still have many of the same questions that came up at the STIF meeting:

· Given that client satisfaction with Dial-A-Bus is extremely high, why is Public Works suggesting not renewing the special transportation contract?

· Projected staffing costs for an in-house program are $2.3 million. Dial-A-Bus is currently paid $984,000 for staffing. How is this responsible use of taxpayer dollars?

· Current service levels need to be expanded in order to meet client demand. Why would Public Works not use the increased funding to solve this problem?

Benton County has created the following webpage as a place where information about the Self-Perform Analysis and FAQs have been posted: https://pw.bentoncountyor.gov/benton-area-transit-service-delivery/ 

If you'd like to receive email updates from the County on this topic, you can sign up here: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/L1DD2dF 

The next Commissioners meeting is on April 7th. Several clients have already asked for rides to this meeting to keep this issue squarely in front of the Board. If you would like to attend, and need help with transportation, please call dispatch to make arrangements.

Despite all of the opposition, Benton County will continue work on this proposal. We strongly recommend continued letter writing, emails, and public comment at Board of Commissioner meetings. We will continue to get the word out when there are new opportunities for strong public showings. We will edit this article, update our News page, and post to our Facebook page to share this information as we receive it.

In the meantime, Dial-A-Bus will continue to provide the efficient, compassionate service our community has come to expect. Thank you all for your support.