Texas County Transportation to close at end of year

Photo by Shari Harris

The Director of Texas County Transportation, Cindy Wampner, has announced that their transportation services will be ending at the end of December.

The board of the Licking Bridge Builders arrived at the decision after operating the service for over 50 years. It all began in 1973, and for decades, people in the Licking area have relied on the service for transportation to healthcare appointments and many other destinations. The service has been funded by grants from the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

Driver Jerry Wampner is retiring at the end of the year, and efforts to find another driver have not resulted in good applicants, says Director Cindy Wampner. Furthermore, MoDOT wants the Licking Bridge Builders to hire an accountant instead of having a Treasurer, which will increase costs to the organization. These factors led to the difficult decision to end the program.