     Nebraska Public Transit Week continues today with Chadron City Transit marking Driver Appreciation Day and encouraging everyone taking the bus to dress up in keeping with this year’s theme – 1970s Hippy Week.
     Transit Director Julie Lawrence marked her first anniversary on April 1st, a year that has seen major changes including a new name for the buses.
Lawrence is using Transit Week to announce a new special program – periodic day-trips to the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s Prairie Wind Casino for $20 per rider..
The first trip will be Tuesday May 2nd with a reservation deadline of April 26. The bus has seating for 12 plus 2 wheelchairs
Chadron City Transit normally operates Monday-Friday, but Lawrence says there will be a few special Saturday runs – including during Fur Trade Days.
Lawrence earlier this year announced regular trips to Rapid City, but scaled back the program to an on-demand system and recently had her first rider. She says the program is aimed primarily at those with doctor’s appointments and procedures
As for the rest of Transit Week, all rides are free tomorrow, with rides on Thursday free with a canned goods donation for a local food pantry.
The week concludes Friday with an Open House at the Chadron Transit Offices in The Marketplace on West 2nd Street and a free hamburger lunch from 11-1:00.
Chadron City Transit is an on-demand system with residents calling or going online to order a pick-up. Rides are $1 for each segment. There are also passes offering 22 rides for $20 but with a ride being the roundtrip from the pickup location to one or more destinations and back to the starting point.