By Genine Hopkins
If you are someone who uses public transportation in Clare County, the “dial-a-ride” better known as the CCTC (Clare County Transit Corporation), you may have been frustrated recently by a phone system that doesn’t always put calls through or places you to voicemail (which has not been set up!). Given rides require calling a day in advance this can be very nerve racking. Canceling can be costly since you are charged for no shows, although CCTC is well aware of the current issue and is providing grace for cancellations that aren’t able to be called. You should be aware if the phone rings more than a couple of times and you don’t have the recording answer by that point, you probably should hang up and dial again. The recording should be picked up within several rings.
The problem stems from the “old” phone system – which was installed less than five years ago! – that would no longer receive support from the company it was purchased from. If you’ve ever had an item break down the day after the warranty ran out, this was how it went at the CCTC.
“It was nearly the day after they said they wouldn’t support the system anymore that it went out,” CCTC Director Katie MacInnes told the Review, “We live in a throw away society now where technology is almost obsolete immediately after you buy it.”
But fear not, the CCTC is working with getting a new system in place. These systems have to be custom built for what needs the CCTC has for its customers and employees. MacInnes – and I’m sure every dispatcher at the CCTC – can’t wait for everything to return to “normal.” Drivers and dispatchers alike have been working hard to help riders who depend on the transit system to reach employment and health appointments, to get to their destinations. Indeed usage on the transit is growing again, after the pandemic saw a dip in ridership. Roughly 54,000 people use the CCTC each year, the vast majority being non-disabled adults and children, including any contracts with programs in the area.
Residents who are on Medicaid should be aware that the CCTC can take patients from their home to their doctor’s appointment, even if it is out of county. It takes a bit longer to get approvals for this service but you can contact the CCTC – knowing you may need to call several times to reach the recording that will patch you through to a dispatcher – for more details.
