At the Nebraska Association of Transportation Providers Manager’s Workshop and Annual Meeting held in Kearney mid-October, Open Plains Transit (OPT) was presented an Award of Excellence by the Federal Transportation Administration Region VII for their public transportation services in Sheridan County, NE.
This Award of Excellence was for the highest percentage increase in ridership of 164%, among rural Nebraska public transit systems for FY 2022. This was the first full year the Sheridan County public transportation services were operated under the umbrella of Senior Services, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Alliance, NE, of which OPT operates.
Jonnie Kusek, Director of Transportation for OPT, credits her Transit Team, the support of the Senior Services, Inc. Board of Directors, the Sheridan County Board of Commissioners, and the support of the Nebraska Department of Transportation. “It was not easy at the time, we were still in the throws of the Coronavirus Pandemic, had lost much of our Staff, late cancellations because someone was just diagnosed (with Covid) or doctors cancelled specialty procedures, but we never quit. We had passengers that still needed to make intercity bus connections, reach airports or we were their lifeline to dialysis, chemotherapy, radiation, or we just wanted to try to help by reducing the social isolation that so many experienced in our small rural and frontier communities. People needed us…and we needed them. We needed to feel, we needed that purpose, that responsibility to help those that we could, during a somewhat dark time. We hope that our services somehow improve the quality of lives. Towards the end, we began to see more of the light, it still shines very bright today. We couldn’t be where we are today without our local media everywhere supporting us in getting the word out to those that most need vital transportation services and to our passengers, that show the state and federal governments the need in our communities and to us their support, every time they board one of our vehicles. This award may have been presented to OPT, but it is for all of you, thank you.”
