County transportation system grows, prompting new number

Henry County Public Transportation (HCPT) saw unprecedented growth over the past year, increasing ridership 285 percent.

The growth forced the service to adopt a new phone number, 854-RIDE (7433).

Formerly, calls were routed through Abilities Plus, operator of the system. Now, HCPT has its own dispatchers.

Riders can travel within the same city for $1 and between cities in Henry and Stark counties for $2 each way.

HCPT also offers services to areas outside Henry and Stark counties, such as the weekly trips to Moline/Rock Island on Tuesdays, Galesburg on Wednesdays, and Peoria on Thursdays, for $5 each way.

HCPT is a demand response system, which means the vans do not have scheduled routes or pickup points, and trips must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance.

For more information, go to www.abilitiesplus.org/vans_12.html.