In accordance with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Emergency Order limiting indoor meeting sizes and legislation enacted by the State of Michigan legislature and signed by Governor Whitmer permitting virtual public meetings, the Barry County Local Rural Task Force will be holding a meeting via a Microsoft Teams on Monday, November 1, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.  The purpose of the meeting is to allow local officials and interested citizens to provide input into the allocation of state and federal funds for use on eligible rural routes and transit systems in Barry County for fiscal years 2022 – 2026.

Persons wishing to participate in the meeting may do so using the following link or dial-in phone information:

Click to Enter Meeting

Call in Number:  1 (947) 207-1273
Participation Code:  608 252 116#

Persons having difficulty connecting to the meeting may contact Fred Nagler:  fnagler@katsmpo.org

Questions regarding this meeting and rural federal aid projects can be directed to the appropriate agency or the Kalamazoo Area Transportation Study, Region 3 transportation administrators representing the Southcentral Michigan Planning Council, (269) 343-0766 or fnagler@katsmpo.org.

Meeting agenda and materials will be posted to the Southcentral Michigan Planning Council website’s Transportation page:  http://www.smpcregion3.org

Residents and visitors of Hastings and Middleville can enjoy free trolley rides on the Barry County Transit this summer!

“We have expanded the summer trolley season to 12 weeks” said Bill Voigt, Barry County Transit Director.

In Middleville, the trolley will make rounds between 6pm and 9pm every Wednesday evening. 11 stops are designated with special signs including a new location at Misty Ridge.

In Hastings, the trolley will run every Friday evening through August 22nd. There are 12 designated stops throughout Hastings and will run between 6pm and 9:30pm. For location maps, please visit our Trolley page.

I was talking with one of our senior Barry County residents the other day. She is a frequent rider and we had just stopped to drop her off at her residence. In her parking bay was a clean, well maintained car. I asked her, “Why don’t you drive?” She answered, “It cost too much and you take me everywhere I need to go.” In fact, she went on to tell me that she had actually sold the car. Simple math has always told me the Transit is a great deal. Depending upon one’s age and whether he/she has a qualifying disability, it only takes between $2.00 – $6.00 to get anywhere in Barry County and back again. Try doing that in a car with gas, insurance and maintenance!

But what really struck me wasn’t so much the financial advantage, but that this client trusted Barry County Transit enough to depend on us completely for her transportation needs.