The time for developing a plan is now if existing transportation services are to continue for many seniors, people with disabilities and low-income residents in Minot, according to the director of Souris Basin Transportation in Minot.

On July 1, Minot will transition from a rural program in the federal funding system to an urban program, which means the rural grant funding Souris Basin Transportation has relied on to provide door-to-door, demand-response service in Minot will no longer be available, said SBT Executive Director Darrell Francis.

Francis has prepared information on the cost of maintaining demand-response service after July 1 that he has presented to the city. If funding can’t be found for the service, rides would end for thousands of Minot residents and eliminate the jobs of 10 drivers, he said.

About 64,000 of the 88,000 demand-response rides that SBT provides each year are to residents of Minot and the immediate area, Francis said. SBT, which employs 32 drivers, provides demand-response rides in a seven-county area and offers a separate service that connects Minot with an interstate bus line depot in Bismarck.

“These rides are more than just numbers. They represent the lifeline that enables individuals to access healthcare, employment, education and other essential services,” SBT stated in information provided to the city. About 70% are older than 60, 14% are disabled and the remainder are workers, students and those without cars who can’t afford cabs. All would be at some low-income level, SBT stated.

Francis said he expects a small percentage of those 64,000 riders to become certified under the Americans with Disabilities Act to be able to use the ADA paratransit service that the city will be able to fund with its federal dollars. A recent report to the city council indicated 121 applications for ADA certification were being processed. Individuals not certified would need to use the regular city bus service unless the city funds a demand-response program to continue the existing service for those individuals, Francis said.

He said a program serving Minot would require about $530,000 for the six months from July-December, or about $1.2 million annually. Projecting offsets from $175,500 in fares, $150,000 from the existing Ward County senior citizens mill levy and $100,000 in state aid, that brings annual funding needed from the city to $787,500.

House Bill 1106, approved by the 2025 Legislature, potentially could cover some of that cost, Francis said. HB 1106 provides $2 million to be distributed among nonfixed route public transportation programs such as SBT for the biennium. The State Department of Transportation still is writing the guidelines for determining how grants will be distributed.

Also, SBT received a federal urban grant of $109,000 that will fund evening and weekend rides within Minot, but funding for weekday, daytime rides still would not be covered.

Francis said SBT has received $33,000 annually from the city in the past for its demand-response service in Minot. The city allocated $20,000 to SBT for the first six months of 2025. The city will need to determine what will happen next, once July 1 ends the rural grant funds that have supported the program and kept Minot’s costs low, Francis said.

“As Souris Basin Transportation navigates this transition, the focus remains on continuing to meet the transportation needs of the community, albeit through different funding mechanisms and service models,” SBT stated in its memo to the council. “The legacy of service and dedication to enhancing mobility for all will undoubtedly guide the organization through the changes ahead.”