If the Macon-Bibb buses shut down, what happens to those who rely on it to stay alive?

Three days a week, a white Paratransit van pulls up to the curb outside of Donald Wade’s home to give him a ride to receive dialysis treatment. Wade, 44, has been on dialysis since 2012, and he relies on public transit to get him to and from treatment.

“That’s my only way of transportation here and home, ‘cause my wife works, and I’m partially blind,” he said.

Without Paratransit, Wade would have a difficult time getting to the dialysis center in downtown Macon to get the care he needs to keep his kidneys running.

“It’s important, ‘cause I really need treatment,” Wade said. “I got two bad kidneys. So, without my kidneys working, I die, right?”

Paratransit, a public transportation service for those unable to use the fixed route bus system due to health reasons, provides about 140 rides to Macon residents each day. About half of those trips are to and from dialysis clinics that provide life-saving treatment for chronically ill patients like Wade.

The service costs $2.50 per trip, and most riders can’t afford to pay more than that. Without Paratransit, they could be trapped in their homes. For Wade, the consequences of a Paratransit shutdown could be deadly.

On Thursday, the County Commission will vote once again on a new millage rate to fund the government. Last week, commissioners voted against a proposed 4.36-mill increase, forcing them to find a way to shave down funding to outside agencies. Now, the libraries, public transportation and community organizations such as Meals on Wheels could stand to lose thousands or even millions of dollars in county funding.

Several commissioners had said they would support a 3-mill increase, which would have restored some funding to outside agencies. But Commissioner Joe Allen, whose backing was likely to swing the vote, said during committee meetings Tuesday that he had decided not to vote for the proposed rate.

The Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority has been running on partial service since the commission failed to pass a fully funded budget at the end of June. But without county funding, the transportation system will shut down on Aug. 28, according to its President and CEO Craig Ross.

In fiscal year 2018, the agency received $2.3 million from the county. The other half of its $5.6 million budget comes from the Federal Transit Authority. But to get federal funding, the agency has to match the grant dollar for dollar. If the transit authority loses 20 percent of its local funding, it loses 20 percent of its federal funding, as well.

Ross said his biggest concern is Paratransit.

“The commission is now playing with the lives of people. And the blood’s going to be on their hands, and that’s no pun intended on that. This is dire, and I doubt that these commissioners do not know how to compromise. And I doubt very seriously, if we have to shut our system down, on the 28th, I doubt any of ‘em are going to take their cars and volunteer to go take our dialysis patients to the doctor.”

‘It would be catastrophic’

Paratransit driver Charlie Huff doesn’t know what will happen if the transit authority shuts down.

“Everything has happened so fast, and, at the same time, we’ve been trying to maintain a daily regimen and continue to do what we do every day, too,” he said. “I don’t think too many people have really entertained the thought of having to move forward without a job.”

Huff’s not sure how long he could wait without bringing home a paycheck before looking for a new job. But he said that he and the Paratransit drivers he works with love their jobs and don’t want to leave the transit authority.

“They enjoy working with people and doing the job that we do every day servicing the public,” Huff said.

For Huff, many of his regular riders feel like family. And he worries about how they would cope without Paratransit.

“It would be catastrophic in some cases, because many of these people depend on Paratransit, not just for dialysis, but also as means of independence,” he said. “Because so many don’t have family members that are accessible that can get them to their dialysis and as well as to doctors appointments, and you know, other things that they have to do to maintain a independent living status.”

Joseph Weaver, a legally blind and disabled Macon resident who depends on both the fixed route bus system and Paratransit to get around town, said some people don’t realize how important public transportation is to people like him.

“I think the bus system gets a bad rap sometimes, and I think most of it is by able-bodied people who drive,” he said. “And they don’t have – they don’t understand what it’s like to be without transportation.”

Weaver said it’s not just the sick and the blind who rely on the transit system.

“We have the employees that rely on it to support their families. Then we have the business people who ride it to work,” he said. “And then we have the elderly and disabled that, without a good transit system, it basically turns people like us into prisoners in our homes.”

Weaver said he would support a fare increase, or even a partial cut in county funding – anything to keep the agency afloat. But he said the transit authority needs help from the county government.

“Even if it’s not the amount we were getting in years before, at least put something into it and, you know, make an investment into the system,” Weaver said. “Because if we quit investing in the system, then the system’s not gonna get the help they need. The changes aren’t gonna take place, and the system’s gonna die.”

Samantha Max is a Report for America corps member and reports for The Telegraph with support from the News/CoLab at Arizona State University. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/samantha.max.9 and on Twitter @samanthaellimax. Learn more about Report for America at www.reportforamerica.org.

This story was originally published August 14, 2018 at 4:42 PM.