HONOR -- Wilma Kuerth didn't mince words when asked about Benzie Bus, Benzie County's increasingly popular transportation system.
Kuerth, 87, enjoyed a meal with friends one recent morning at The Gathering Place in Honor. Within minutes she'd board a Benzie Bus, and she couldn't say enough good things about the system.
"It's absolutely wonderful," said Kuerth, who lives near Honor. "It's the best thing that's ever happened in Benzie County."
Benzie Bus has experienced a surge in riders since it began operations in January 2007. It tallied nearly 70,000 one-way passenger rides in 2008, Executive Director Susan Miller said, up from about 40,000 in 2007.
The system took over five buses previously run by the county's council on aging, but Miller said the system is now drawing a growing number of non-elderly riders from the general population who use it to get to work and go about their daily business.
Miller hopes the strong growth will make Benzie Bus an attractive candidate for federal stimulus money.
The organization seeks a total of $2.1 million in stimulus money for a new headquarters and bus garage, items Miller said are sorely needed to improve operations.
All of the system's nearly 20 buses are now stored outside, and the organization is paying rent on their relatively small headquarters facility tucked out of view off U.S. 31 east of Honor.
Buses are maintained at another facility near the shopping plaza in Honor.
"Obviously, you're much more efficient if you're working out of one location ... and we'd have significant savings in maintenance if we could park our buses inside," Miller said.
Benzie Bus also is poised to receive a $190,000 federal earmark, which it would put toward the same goals, Miller said.
The organization has 25 full-time and 10 part-time employees, up from a handful when it began. Among them is driver Barry Rudd, who's been with Benzie Bus since the beginning.
"We've given new life to a lot of people who could not get out at all," he said. "They can go visit friends ... they're so mobile now."
Kuerth said she rides the bus two or three times a week.
"They are so attentive to us senior citizens, the drivers are so attentive to us," Kuerth said. "If you want to stop at the post office, they'll stop for you. If you want to do some shopping, they'll wait for you."
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