ELYRIA, Ohio — The future of public transportation is unclear in Lorain County. This week, the county is hosting several public meetings to discuss popular rideshare program Via LC.
Watch video of the meeting below:
The white, blue and green vans have become a common sight in Lorain and Elyria.
“Whether it’s coming to school, so they’re not walking in the weather we’ll end up facing, whether it’s getting to and from work, we talked about doctor’s appointments, post-secondary school, college, anything along those lines,” said Evan Berrios, a career navigator at Lorain charter school Steel City High School.
Some riders say the public transportation option has become a lifeline.
“Without Via transit, there’s a lot of people here who are going to be out of work – me. I’m going to be out of work. I don’t get food stamps, I won’t be able to eat,” said Via LC rider Pamela McAfee.
Both Berrios and McAfee shared their thoughts and experiences during a public hearing at the Lorain County Transporation and Community Center on Tuesday.
The meeting was the first of several public discussions about the future of Via LC.
“We use this service and, of course, we don’t want it to go away,” an Ohio Means Jobs representatives said during the meeting.
Another rider asked, “If this program goes away, how can I get to my appointments? How can I get to my children’s schools? How can I get to my doctor’s appointments?”
The county has said its considering discontinuing the service if it can’t come up with the funding for the program. Leaders in Lorain and Elyria previously said they were surprised to hear the county wanted the cities to double their annual contributions.
RELATED: Lorain County weighs future of Via LC public transit service
“The county is short money, the cities are short money, everyone, the school’s are really short. Everybody does not have the money. So now what happens? Everybody’s going to start prioritizing what gets cut, what’s mandatory, what’s not mandatory?” said Lorain County Commissioner Dave Moore.
Federal funding and local matches help cover the costs of the two-year-old rideshare service. It was intended to provide an alternative to the county’s fixed-route system, which runs every two hours.
Many have hailed Via LC as a success, serving roughly 16,000 unique riders over more than 272,000 rides since its launch.
Via LC users can order rides by phone or through an app on weekdays from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
County leaders said the cost of a ride is around $20, but subsidies allow riders to pay around $1-2 per ride, which is comparable to a bus fare.
“The commissioners are 100% committed to Via as an option for transportation. However, it won’t exist without some support from the communities it serves,” said Lorain County Commissioner Jeff Riddell.
In March 2024, the county announced it would use more than $2 million from its transportation budget to pilot the on-demand service in Lorain and Elyria.
RELATED: Microtransit service launching in Lorain Co. this summer to address transportation challenges
News 5 covered Via LC’s launch in July of that year.
RELATED: ‘We see the need today:’ On-demand transit service ViaLC rolls out in Elyria, Lorain
In July 2025, the county extended the program for another year using money from grants, the transportation budget and contributions from Lorain and Elyria.
RELATED: 'Unique, successful program:' Lorain County extends Via LC rideshare service
For the past two years, Elyria and Lorain have each contributed $250,000 for a two-year agreement. More recently, they’ve been asked to double their local match to $500,000 for a two-year agreement.
Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley told News 5 his city plans to use grant funding to pilot five of its own dedicated bus routes starting in 2027. He did not anticipate the city would continue participating in Via LC when the routes are established.
Elyria Mayor Kevin Brubaker said he planned to meet with the county’s transportation director and Commissioner Moore this week to discuss options and find a way to continue Via LC in Elyria.
Attendees at Tuesday’s meeting offered other solutions.
“I understand that everyone has the passion to make this happen, to keep this, and I appreciate that,” said LCCC student services navigator Kionna McIntosh-Pharms.
Some ideas proposed at the meeting included private-public funding strategies, a transportation levy, increasing fares and reducing other Lorain County Transit services to reallocate money.
Moore said the county plans to continue offering Via LC through 2027 and will continually look for grants and other funding sources.
“We’re being proactive. We didn’t want to wait until the end of 2027 and say, ‘Oh by the way, in three weeks, this is gone,’” he said.
Another public meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at the Lorain County Transporation and Community Center located at 40 East Ave. in Elyria.
Catherine Ross is the Lorain County reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @CatherineRossTV, on Facebook CatherineRossTV or email her at Catherine.Ross@wews.com.
