Free Ride Home program was a success

Last week’s New Year’s Eve Free Ride Home program drew fewer passengers than it did one year earlier.
Despite the decrease from 35 a year ago to 26 this year, St. Joseph County Transportation Authority officials are calling the 2014-15 event a success. Marci Goodman, operations manager of the Three Rivers-based agency, said Free Ride Home would be a success even if one person took advantage of the program.
The CTA had two buses on the roads starting at 10 p.m. Wednesday and ending at 4 a.m. Thursday.
Goodman said Cowboy Up in Mendon Township was the source of the most pickups during the night.
The CTA, which operates the six-hour program on a $500 budget covered through donations and business sponsors, has staged Free Ride Home since 2008. Rides were provided from and to St. Joseph County locations only, and advance arrangements were not accepted.