Oswego to increase funding for Kendall Area Transit

The Kendall Area Transit will be able purchase new vehicles and make other improvements as a result of communities that use the service agreeing to increase funding to the agency.

At the Nov. 4 Oswego Village Board meeting, trustees unanimously approved increasing the village’s annual fee by $9,586 starting next year for each of the three years of the contract. The village’s current annual fee is $47,000. That would increase to $56,586 in 2025, $66,172 in 2026 and $75,758 in 2027.

The additional funds will be used for such things as replacing the aging fleet of vehicles and hiring more bus drivers along with expanding its hours to keep up with the increased demand. Kendall Area Transit currently has 23 vehicles.

Oswego is one of 13 communities served by Kendall Area Transit. Voluntary Action Center of Northern Illinois operates the transportation service along with TransVAC in DeKalb County.

The agency provides scheduled transportation services to any individual with a focus on seniors, individuals with disabilities and those otherwise unable to transport themselves. The service area includes all of Kendall County and designated locations outside the county, including, but not limited to, Aurora, Joliet, Plainfield and Sandwich.

One leg of the trip must begin or end in Kendall County and the door-to-door service runs between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

The Yorkville City Council recently approved increasing its annual funding to Kendall Area Transit from $23,000 to $31,000 in 2025, $40,000 in 2026 and $48,000 in 2027. The agency is also funded through state and federal dollars.

As Kendall Area Transit Chief Executive Officer Nate Kloster told Oswego village trustees at the Aug. 5 Committee of the Whole meeting, ridership has grown from the start of the service in March 2011. The first year of the service, Kendall Area Transit gave 1,096 rides.

“In our Kendall program, we did over 32,000 rides this past fiscal year,” Kloster said.

The number of rides this past year involving Oswego were 15,505.

“Our demand is going to increase,” he said in talking about the need for additional funding. “And we want to be prepared for it.”