Chilton County Transit added new buses in order to enhance services.

The Chilton County Transportation System recently added new buses and is hoping to acquire another minivan in the near future in order to enhance their services.

Chilton County Transit offers transportation for all areas of Chilton County, with different rates for each city or town.

Manager Jessie Carter said the goal of the transit system is to make using public transportation as convenient as possible.

Work, doctor’s visits and shopping centers are a few common places people use the transit system to travel to, according to Carter.

“Our services are not just for the elderly or disabled, which many people believe,” Carter said. “We can help anyone who needs transportation.”

Anyone 10 and older may ride without a parent.

Currently, Chilton County Transit has eight 15-passenger buses and one minivan.

According to Carter, the addition of another minivan would help transport people who may need accommodations related to disabilities.

Carter said the minivan could possibly be acquired through a Section 5311 grant in the 2016 fiscal year.

The company operates under demand-response, which means passengers should call 24 hours in advance to be put on the next day’s schedule.

Open Monday-Friday, 5 a.m.-4 p.m., the system is designed to pick up passengers at home, take them to their destinations, and return to take them back home at a designated time.

However, one-way trips are also an option for in-county trips.

“We take reservations up to two weeks in advance,” Carter said. “We give those going to work or a doctor’s appointment first priority.”

Carter said the company makes roughly 100 trips per day.

In addition to purchasing more buses, Carter said the company is hoping to make the move, in the next year or two, from paper files to an integrated mobile data device for paperless and real-time automated vehicle location, enhanced driver and dispatcher communications and customer notification phone reminders for improved service.

“We try to make it as easy and convenient as possible,” Carter said. “It’s more affordable than maintaining your own transportation.”

For more information or to make an appointment, contact Chilton County Transit at (205) 755-5941.

The rates are as follows:

•Clanton City Limits, $1.50 one way

•Lomax, $2 one way

•Thorsby, $2.50 one way

•Jemison, $4 one way

•Calera/Montevallo, $15 round trip

•Maplesville, $8 one way

•Verbena/Coopers, $3 one way

•Birmingham, $30 round trip

•Montgomery, $25 round trip