Seward County Commissioners and Public Transit Director Brandy Hafer are considering cutting public transit services to three days per week to deal with recent state and federal funding cuts and will soon schedule a public hearing about the service change.
Hafer and the commissioners revisited their Jan. 15 budget discussion at the board’s Jan. 27 meeting, narrowing their choices down to limiting rides to Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays beginning in March.
But following the meeting, Hafer said such a change requires a public hearing, and she planned to return to the commissioner’s Feb. 3 meeting to schedule that.
Hafer said she has been able to trim some costs already because one of her driver’s was on leave at the end of 2025 and one of their buses has been sidelined needing repairs, so they have juggled to meet as many of their riders’ needs as possible.
But ongoing cuts will be needed.
A Monday, Wednesday and Friday schedule will allow the transit agency’s regular service for riders who go into Lincoln for dialysis on those days, Hafer said in a later interview. Some riders also have regular schedules for cancer treatments.
Overall, she estimated the proportion of rides offered for medical appointments and those for other reasons are split about 50-50, or maybe 60-40.
Some riders use the transit services for groceries in Seward, a stop at the library or one of the senior centers, hair or nail appointments and trips to the Seward Wellness Center, she said.
In addition to Lincoln and Omaha trips for medical appointments, they have had riders pay to get to the airport or specific stores or shops in those cities. They also have taken children to school in some instances.
“I know it’s going to be a struggle just doing three days a week,” she said.
She asked that riders contact the agency seven to 30 days prior to the day they need a ride to help them facilitate as many riders as possible.
In the past two years, Seward County Transit ridership has increased from 214 rides in 2023 to 617 rides in 2024 and 870 rides in 2025. Passengers utilizing roundtrip fares are counted as one ride.
In 2025, the agency provided 759 roundtrip rides to Lincoln, up 43 percent from 2024’s total of 529, and more than the total 617 trips to all destinations recorded in 2024.
Some of those trips are actually getting longer, too. Hafer said they are seeing more trips to the southeast quadrant of Lincoln for medical specialists.
Most of the agency’s funding comes from federal and state allocations, with about 10 percent funding from county funds. Hafer said she is reaching out to entities like the Legacy Fund of Seward County but it is difficult to replace operating funds.
AARP has a grant program, but funds only vehicles and facility upgrades for transit organizations, neither of which are needed for Seward County.
Hafer has started the county’s application to receive Medicaid reimbursements that are mileage based, which would result in higher payments for Medicaid riders getting to medical appointments than what the transit agency now charges.
Hafer said she hoped to hear by the end of January if the program is accepted.
Seward County has one bus that can accommodate two wheelchair riders and an additional 12 riders, a minivan that can accommodate one wheelchair passenger and three additional riders, and a transit van that accommodates one wheelchair rider and seven additional riders.
One additional bus needs significant repairs and the county has been working to replace it with another vehicle through a grant program. Hafer said she is unsure if the replacement will be completed.
Transit agencies in other counties, like Hafer, are trying a mix of service cuts and fewer hours, as well as evaluating the rates they charge riders.
Seward County has not looked at raising rates at this point, Hafer said.
It is a struggle to balance the agency’s mission to serve the community and take care of her staff so they can try to make it all work.
“When you actually put pen to paper it is really difficult to figure out a good happy medium that works for everyone,” she said.
Commissioner Raegan Hain noted that the changes may include some staff cuts or reductions in hours. She said there may be part-time work in other departments that could fill gaps for affected agency personnel.
“I hate that we are having to have this conversation,” she said.
But she also said it is unrealistic for the county to absorb what may be a more than $300,000 budget difference this year.
Commission Chair Misty Ahmic noted the increased ridership in recent years and told Hafer the funding cuts do not reflect the agency’s performance.
She noted that the potential federal shutdown the Senate was dealing with in late January included the U.S. Department of Transportation and the county will have to watch the outcomes from those possible actions.
