The Berrien County Board of Commissioners is seeking more information on its options for the creation of a regional transit authority to take over bus services as funding for the Twin Cities Area Transportation Authority is set to run out in October.
Speaking to commissioners Thursday, Community Development Director Dan Fette said municipal leaders from across the county are being engaged as the idea is explored. He gave those leaders a presentation last week explaining what will happen if TCATA’s Dial a Ride service ends and how that will affect communities, residents, and businesses.
“If nothing gets done between now and August, there’s a possibility that about 150,000 annual passenger rides will disappear overnight due to lack of funding,” Fette said.
Fette said 55,000 of those rides involve the elderly or disabled.
“We can’t afford to lose those 150,000 passenger trips. It’s going to have a very harmful impact on some of the people that are in most need of assistance.”
There are currently three mass transit services in Berrien County: Berrien Bus, Niles Dial a Ride Transportation, and TCATA. Fette said Berrien Bus and TCATA are both operating at increasing deficits, while the Niles service, often known as DART, has a slight surplus. What he’s proposing is an authority that would cover all three, potentially offering service to more of the county. Fette suggested a regional authority would make the most sense for the county.
“By the fiscal year 2027, TCATA will no longer be eligible to receive transit funds and won’t be able to provide direct transit services to St. Joe, Benton Harbor, the Lake Michigan Coast area. Berrien Bus is spending down its reserves at an unsustainable rate and it’s gonna cease operations in the rural area without intervention.”
Fette also noted that right now, there are massive coverage gaps for transit in the county.
“34,000 residents, approximately 47% of the urban area, have limited or no service at all. Key areas like Bridgman, St. Joe Township, Lincoln Township, and New Buffalo have no service and remain isolated.”
Fette said if a regional authority is created, it would have to work with the existing transit entities.
“The new authority — if you think about this — isn’t going to have buses, they’re not going to have drivers, they’re not going to have dispatchers. Not right away. There’s no way to do it by October 1. So that new authority would have to partner with the existing bus systems to buy essentially transportation services from TCATA, Berrien Bus, and Niles.
Fette said the new authority, at first, would essentially be the bank for those three, taking in the federal and state dollars and doling them out until it’s up and running on its own. He added a millage would not necessarily be needed for the new authority, but it would be the most efficient way to fund services.
Berrien County Board of Commissioners Chair Mac Elliott said leaders must be diligent about how they go about forming a new authority. Drawing on past experience, he said certain conditions have to be established.
“It should give us all pause when it comes to the county stepping in and assuming responsibility for something,” Elliott said. “Are the local units going to want to cede that authority through an authority to the county? Is the county going to have a majority of the votes? If not, then I would not be interested in doing it.”
Commissioners asked Fette to draw up a plan while local governments consider passing resolutions of support. That is likely to start happening in the coming weeks.
“If we get into this, we’ve got to do it right,” Elliott said.
Below is a copy of Fette’s presentation:
02-19-26-cow-transit-authority-presentation
