Info

ASC operates under the auspices of the Scioto County Commissioners and provides curb-to-curb Demand Response countywide transportation service to all of Scioto County and South Shore, KY. (612 sq. mi.), Monday through Friday from 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. The countywide service requires at least 24-hour advance reservation. ASC also offers a same day immediate Demand Response service called "Instant Access" for a limited area within Portsmouth, New Boston and Rosemount Monday through Friday from 7:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. and Saturday 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. The Instant Access service operates on a call per need and first come served basis. The mission of ASC is to provide safe, reliable, affordable and efficient public transportation throughout the Scioto County area regardless of age, race, income or disability. ASC is funded in part by grants from the Federal Transit Administration, the Ohio Department of Transportation's (ODOT) Office of Transit and the Scioto County Commissioners. Access Scioto County (ASC) grew out of a grass-roots effort in the early 1990's by concerned citizens and social service and government agencies that came together to work towards establishing a county-wide coordinated transportation system to improve transportation services for citizens of Scioto County of which transportation services were unavailable, insufficient or inappropriate. In September of 1993, the Scioto County Commissioners and this group, which was called the Scioto County Transportation Committee, applied for and received from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) a coordinated transportation grant. This grant provided funding for capital and technical assistance to facilitate the establishment of a coordinated transportation project in Scioto County and included funds for the hiring of a transportation consultant. In 1994 the Scioto County Commissioners appointed an advisory committee to work with ODOT officials and transportation consultants to continue to development the coordination project that had been renamed Access Scioto County and to recruit a Transportation Coordinator to manage the project. In 1995 the Scioto County Commissioners appointed Valerie Stamper as the first ASC Coordinator. As a coordination project ASC established partnerships with several local agencies, including Scioto County MRDD, United Scioto Senior Activities, Inc. and RSVP, and others that were already providing transportation to provided transportation services for elderly persons and persons with disabilities. The first passengers were transported by ASC as part of the coordination project in 1996. That year 6,139 passengers were transported by ASC. In 1998 ASC became one of Ohio's rural public transit systems under the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Rural Transit Program. Under this program, which is administered by ODOT's Office of Transit, ASC was eligible to receive not only capital and technical assistance, but also state and federal funds for operating expenses. Up to this point funds to operate ASC had been provided at the local level mainly from the Scioto County Commissioners. The most significant change in moving from a coordination project and becoming a public transit system was ASC transitioned from only providing transportation for the elderly and disabled to being open to the public and providing transportation services available to anyone in Scioto County. The ASC service area covers all of Scioto County and South Shore, Kentucky. Everyday hundreds of people from all over the area, of all ages use ASC to travel to work, school, shopping, medical appointments and other destinations throughout the Scioto County area. ASC has 15 vehicles 13 of which area operated on a daily basis. The rest are used as backup units and for special events.