MOULTRIE — Public transportation isn’t rampant throughout Colquitt County, but there are independent companies that make traveling easier for those without their own set of wheels.
Amongst them is Mids Transportation Inc., a staple of transportation within the county since the Intermodal transportation facility was built in 2012.
The transportation service, originally known as Destiny Transit, makes an average of 250-275 trips a day throughout the county between its 10 buses. And they all see service each day, dispatcher Shannon Robinson said, some specifically with contracts.
One such contract is with the senior center, for whom the service carries every day.
“It gives the elderly a way of going when they can’t get around,” she said. “All of our buses are handicap capable, so they all have lifts.”
But Mids’ mission is more than about contracts; it’s about giving those without their own car and the disabled — those who can’t get around — the ability to travel more than a couple of steps a minute. This is the only way they can get around, Robinson said, at least during its operating hours.
They pretty much go anywhere, Robinson said. Mids won’t go outside of state lines but can transport people outside of the city and county limits.
Tickets are $3 for those under 65 years-old — $2 for those over 65 — going each way within 10 miles. It costs .50 cents per extra mile taken. However, if you’re looking for an out-of state-drive, Greyhound is your best bet.
Moultrie became a stop for the renowned bus service in September 2019. Five months later and the service is going strong.
“There are some days where I’ve seen six or seven [passengers], and that’s just during the times we’re actually open,” Robinson said referencing that Mids is open from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Greyhound usually arrives in Moultrie for pickups between 2:30 – 3 p.m. and again at 9:45 nearly every day.
“There’re not many days where we don’t see one to two people come and go through it,” Robinson said.
Both services must be reserved. Greyhound tickets can be purchased at its site, https://www.greyhound.com/en/, or at the Intermodal facility. Mids can be reserved by calling 229-985-1666.
Buses aren’t Moultrie’s only form of transportation. Some citizens find solace in a smaller vehicle oufit: the Moultrie Taxi and Courier Service. With its two cars, owner Larry Willey serves the local customers of his company’s namesake.
He said he takes people wherever they need to go seven days a week from 6 a.m. – 10 p.m., referencing a post on the company site: “We will drive you anywhere you wish to go. Or deliver anything we can fit into this car.”
“I’ve been to Atlanta and even Orlando,” Wiley said. “I transport a lot of people to bus stations [too] — Tifton, Tallahassee, Albany, etc.”
Citizens can take the taxi service at a rate of $2.50 per mile wherever they might need to go. It can be contacted at 229-891-5787.
Should you need non-emergency medical transit, Colquitt Regional Medical Center has the Colquitt area covered so long as a reservation is made three days prior —not including weekends.
The service takes Medicaid, not Medicare, and comes at no upfront cost to those users. Those without have the private pay option where the lowest a patient may pay is $25.
Cost is generated by the mileage and type of transport needed: (from lowest to highest) ambulatory, wheelchair and stretcher.
Amy Williams, director of CRMC EMS and non-emergency transport, said the service handles all variety of medical visits whether that be dental, orthopedic, pharmacy or regular doctor visits and checkups.
It’s serviced customers in Valdosta, Sylvester, Tifton and Thomasville, but Williams said they try to keep things as local as possible.
“We try to keep it within a 60-mile radius, but we can go further if needed and if we have the volume,” she said. “It’s good for patients who can’t drive and need to get to medical appointments.”
Between its eight drivers, the non-emergency transports make anywhere from 70-80 trips a day, 75 being the average, Williams said. And each patient gets two trips.
So, between these options for public transportation, is there a need for more within the community? That’s what a focus group containing Moultrie, Colquitt and Southwest Georgia Regional Commission officials joined together this week to find out.
The answer: Moultrie absolutely needs more transportation, each of the four attendees said. They also all agreed that Moultrie is in need of more bike lanes, pedestrian walkways and sidewalks too.
According to SWGRC official Beka Shiver, the SWGRC is surveying 14 counties to find out what groups are under-served and expects there to be something from the millennials and the seniors.
“I know millennials … because they’re new and starting out on life might not have the resources to buy a vehicle,” she said. “Of course, our senior citizens. We’re always concerned about them and they’re needs simply because might not [be able] to physically drive any longer.”
The focus group generally agreed, especially toward millennials needing more transportation, but MPD Officer Tonero Bender offered a different focus question: What about the staying power?
“I think that’s why no real transportation system has really worked,” he said. Bender referenced that not even a taxi service has been here for more than five years consecutively.
City Councilman Cole Posey gave an opinion, offering a scenario if employers were tied to the transportation system.
“Just about every employer has said if this was implemented — if our employees used it, we would allow them to be put on the clock as soon as they were on transportation because if you’re not driving, you could be working,” he said.
Posey said he hears from employers that they have people who want to work but cannot get them there. He’s working with the Archway Project to conduct a feasibility study for a public transportation system in Moultrie.
As the meeting was a survey to find community transportation needs, Shiver said don’t expect problems to be solved immediately. The SWGRC must finish its assessment of Colquitt County and 13 other counties before sending it in to the GDOT. The results will go into a Regional Transit Plan that will be revealed in July.
She asks those who can’t make it express their dilemmas to her through her email, [email protected], or call her at 522-3552. You can also take a survey on transportation at www.swgrcplanning.org.
