The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly is looking for ways to improve its door-to-door bus service for disabled riders.
The service known as Van Tran subsidizes door-to-door rides for eligible disabled riders. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports it also runs at a cost that's far higher than similar services offered by comparable municipalities.
Adam Barth is the manager of the Metropolitan Area Commuter System. He says the borough will try to schedule vehicles to pick up multiple riders and let drivers go home early if there are no more riders for the day.
The assembly recently defeated a proposal to hire a ticket agent to free up the dispatcher to pack the schedule and eliminate the 1,240 hours that drivers sit idle each year.