Aug. 19--The Best Friend Express will likely cut Saturday service from its schedule to save money.

The announcement came Tuesday from Connie Shade, assistant executive director for the Lower Savannah Council of Governments (LSCOG), which manages the system in conjunction with the Aiken Area Council on Aging.

Area residents have 30 days after the public meetings -- until Oct. 15 -- to share their opinions with LSCOG.

After that time, the office will make its decision.

It is estimated that doing away with Saturday bus runs will save nearly $26,500 a year, money the LSCOG badly needs following reductions in funds from Aiken County.

In June, County Council approved a final budget that included a 20 percent cut in funds (or $50,000) allocated to the LSCOG.

That, combined with dwindling funds from the state, has left staff scrambling to figure out what is necessary to keep the transportation service running.

Shade invited representatives from Area Churches Together Serving (ACTS), the Department of Social Services and other local organizations to meet and discuss available options.

"We know there is a need out there," Shade said. "It is going to be very difficult to go in and decide which routes we can't afford anymore because every route is so active. But we're probably going to have to do away with Saturdays."

Best Friend Express has five buses that run three routes Monday through Friday -- the Aiken Express/Whiskey Road route, the Aiken Metro route and the North Augusta route.

Each route except the Aiken Express/Whiskey Road route runs Saturdays. Statistics provided by the LSCOG show that only 119 people a month ride the Best Friend Express on Saturdays.

Another option calls for changes to the para transit service, otherwise known as Dial-A-Ride.

The proposed changes involve initiating a deviated fixed route system effective Oct. 15.

It means a customer would be picked up by a Best Friend Express bus at a time consistent with regular routes instead of a vehicle coming to a person's location at a specifically requested time.

Riders would pay a reduced fare of 75 cents each way. Shade said there is no easy solution; the chances are that some people will be inconvenienced no matter what avenue the LSCOG chooses to take.

Juriah Lewis, a member of the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission, said when the Augusta Public Transit system was faltering, he talked to area employers and employees who would be hurt by lack of transportation options and encouraged them to lobby their County Commissioners.

"A couple of them called and wrote letters," Lewis said. "We lobbied, I lobbied. The most effective tool is fear."

Lynda Basham with the LSCOG said cuts to the Best Friend Express are hard to take because the community loses so much more when people can't get to and lose their jobs or when people can't get to the doctor.

How to comment

Three public meetings have been scheduled for the purpose of presenting information and receiving comments on the proposed changes:

Sept. 15 -- 7 to 8 a.m. Aiken Area Council on Aging, 157 Morgan St.

Sept. 15 -- 2 to 3 p.m. Lower Savannah Council of Governments, 2748 Wagener Road

Sept. 15 -- 4 to 5 p.m. Aiken Area Council on Aging, 157 Morgan St.

Written comments should be mailed to the Lower Savannah Council of Governments, P.O. Box 850, Aiken, SC 29802, e-mailed to Connie Shade at cshade@lscog.org or hand-delivered between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to the Lower Savannah Council of Governments, 2748 Wagener Road.

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