FORT WALTON BEACH — For Jessica Miller, the day often begins and ends on Okaloosa County Transit.
“We usually get on the bus at 7:55 a.m.,” says Miller, who uses the bus to drop her 4-month-old son, Jeremiah, at his childcare center. “It’s my whole means of transportation.”
The 28-year-old is one of many local residents who depend on the public bus system to get to work, doctor’s appointments and shopping centers.
County Commissioners on Tuesday will hold a public hearing on the elimination of all fixed-route service.
The hearing, during which residents will get to make comments and ask questions, will be in Fort Walton Beach during the board’s regular 8:30 a.m. meeting.
For the past several years, the transit system has seen dwindling ridership and budget shortfalls. In 2013, commissioners said they want local cities to help fund the program.
But to date, no municipalities have agreed to share the costs. For the upcoming 2014-15 budget year, the transit deficit is $238,822.
Under the proposal, Okaloosa County Transit — the nonprofit that runs the bus system — would lose its five routes in Fort Walton Beach, including the route to Okaloosa Island, three routes in Destin and the express route from Crestview to Fort Walton Beach.
The county’s door-to-door paratransit service would not be eliminated. That service, which is funded by a grant from the Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged, aids people who cannot obtain their own transportation because of disability, age or income.
But the paratransit service easily could be overwhelmed with riders if the fixed routes are eliminated, said Bob Berkstresser, program manager at OCT.
“We’ll burn through that (grant) money fairly quickly,” he said, adding that many of the regular fixed-route users already qualify for paratransit. “At some point, we’ll have to prioritize ... the people we want to transport.”
For local residents like William Pirkle, who works at Four Points by Sheraton on Okaloosa Island, the bus system is vital to making a living.
“I use the bus every day to get to work,” he said. “I have been riding the buses since I don’t how long.”
Cassandra Perkins, a single mother who relies on multiple bus routes to get back and forth to work in Destin, said shutting down the system would leave many people unem-ployed.
“Not everyone can get rides with co-workers nor can they get jobs close to their home,” she said.
Miller agreed, adding that she finds the system reliable and safe and likes the bus drivers.
When she gets off work at the Arby’s on Beal Parkway, she takes the bus, sometimes transferring multiple times, to pick up Jeremiah and get home.
Without it, she’d have to walk, which worries her.
“It’s a shame,” she said. “It will cause a lot of difficulties for a lot of people if it goes away.”
WANT TO GO? The Okaloosa County Commission will hold a public hearing Tuesday on the elimination of local bus routes. The hearing will take place during the 8:30 a.m. board meeting at the County Water and Sewer Administration Building on Lewis Turner Boulevard.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari C. Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.