If you need a rural ride, it may be hard to schedule, or it may not; states, localities work to find transportation solutions

A Cedar County Transit van makes its way down a Nebraska road.
(Photo by Forrest Czarnecki, Special to Harvest Public Media)

In rural areas, getting from here to there without a vehicle can be tough. "In rural areas, residents can be miles away from essentials like doctors and grocery stores instead of minutes. Absent transportation, people who don’t have a car or can’t drive often have to move closer to service," reports Elizabeth Rembert of Harvest Public Media. "More than a third of state rural-health offices reported lack of transit was the biggest barrier to elderly people staying in their homes, according to research by Carrie Henning-Smith, who studies rural health at the University of Minnesota. . . . Rural America tends to be sicker, poorer and older than its urban counterparts. Henning-Smith said the negative-but-true statistics make it even more important for rural residents to be able to access transit."

Rembert provides an example: "Joel Tyndall lives off a gravel road in northeast Nebraska, miles away from the nearest town. As a double amputee, some have suggested he could move closer to the biggest town, Norfolk, where he has three dialysis appointments a week to manage his diabetes. . . . But it hasn’t come to that — thanks in part to the Cedar County Transit — which works a little like a rural Uber; anyone can call to schedule a ride. Tyndall told Rembert he doesn't plan on leaving his home, "as long as this transit continues to run I'll be using it for just about everything. These guys help me out more than you would believe.”

Cedar Country Transit was designed to support rural citizens, "The northeast Nebraska county has had some level of public transportation since about 1980 . . . They now have 15 vans, 15 drivers and a full-time scheduler. The operation recently launched services into a bordering county and moved into its own building," Rembert writes. "Anyone living in Cedar County and parts of Knox County can schedule a ride, as long as it’s within 200 miles and on a weekday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. . . . The service runs on money from the state and federal government, grants and contracts and local community funding, as well as fare for rides."

Nebraska isn't alone in seeking rural transportation alternatives. "Providing public transit in rural areas is a difficult task, but a patchwork of services serves towns and counties throughout the Midwest and Great Plains," Rembert reports. "Kansas was tied in 2019 for the most rural transit agencies in the nation, and in Iowa 35 providers serve riders across the state’s 99 counties. In 2020, Oklahoma developed a transit plan to help it become a 'top 10 state in transit' by 2040. . . . Missouri’s 'Operating Above the Standard' Transit is the largest agency in the country and operates in 87 counties. But it doesn't reach every corner of the state."