Service to start by end of month

By Wiley Wood

If you live in Norfolk and don’t drive, there’s good news coming this month from Town Hall. At a Board of Selectmen meeting on Sept. 3, First Selectman Matt Riiska announced that the town was preparing to buy a 12-passenger, lift-equipped bus for use by Norfolk residents, supplementing the service currently provided by the Northwestern Connecticut Transit District. The measure was approved by selectmen Sandy Evans and Paul Madore. Riiska said he expects the service to be operational by mid to late October.

“I didn’t think it would happen so fast,” said Riiska. The current Dial-A-Ride program operates only two days a week in Norfolk, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with priority given to riders with medical appointments. “This means that if you need the bus to do your grocery shopping, it can be challenging,” said Riiska, who has fielded many complaints over the past year from residents unable to arrange timely transportation. Coordinating a visit to a medical specialist has often proved impossible given the limited availability of the transit district bus.

Riiska first tried to get a Connecticut Department of Transportation grant for rural transit, but learned that the process, even if successful, would take at least two years. “I knew I had to find something else,” said Riiska. He began canvasing local foundations for funds that would allow the town to buy a bus, and was able to put together $25,000 from three different grants, offered by the AKC Fund, the Evan Hughes Charitable Trust and the William and Mary Greve Foundation.

But with a new passenger bus costing almost $70,000, and even secondhand buses well above his budget, Riiska started to look for buses coming off lease. When one became available from a dealer in Tolland, Riiska and Public Works Department mechanic Howard Crunden traveled to Tolland to inspect it. “It was in unbelievably good shape,” said Riiska. Because of the terms of the lease arrangement, the underside had been regularly cleaned.  The 2015 Ford E350 bus was being offered for $23,840.

Riiska expects to hire two part-time drivers, who will not need a Connecticut Commercial Driver License to operate the bus. “It’s not going to be a lot of hours,” said Riiska. The town budget provides for $20,000 in operating expenses for the current year.

The bus will be available to all Norfolk residents, and the Selectman’s Office will coordinate the service, at least initially. Taking non-drivers to medical appointments will be the bus’s primary use, said Riiska, with shopping trips mostly grouped on two days a week.

The bus will also be available to town groups that might want to organize outings. The Norfolk Library and the Isabella Eldridge Club have used the town bus in past years. “It can also be used to shuttle people around during WIN Weekend,” said Riiska. Groups might be expected to pay for the driver and gas.

While operating its own bus, the town will maintain its current arrangement with the Northwestern Connecticut Transit District, whose Dial-A-Ride and RITS programs will still be available. The RITS service provides transport for Norfolk residents to out-of-area medical appointments.