New Dial-A-Bus run takes Warwick residents to Wallkill

Warwick - Warwick Dial-A-Bus has expanded yet again. Beginning a few weeks ago, Dial-A-Bus takes Warwick residents to the Town of Wallkill on Mondays and Tuesdays with stops at Crystal Run Health Care, the Galleria Mall, Orange Plaza and Dunning Road. This new route will help make up for the service that used to be provided by Operation Wheels, which was run through the Ecumenical Council here in Warwick but discontinued two years ago because of a lack of funding. “This is similar to the service provided by the Ecumenical Council’s Operation Wheels,” said Sweeton. “We started it in mid-October and, so far, we’ve had full buses.” Larger buses are on order, he added. Dial-A-Bus used to be just a local transportation service within towns. A few years ago, Warwick’s service expanded to include a fixed route service to Goshen, where passengers could transfer to other transportation resources. The Dial-A-Bus runs every day. In addition to the Wallkill stops on Monday and Tuesday, Friday you can catch the bus to the Monroe/Harriman area, including Woodbury Common Premium Outlet Center. On Saturday, the bus goes to Chester Cinemas. The bus also travels locally and still goes to Goshen. For a schedule or to arrange for transportation, call 986-2877, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fares are $1 each way, or 50 cents for seniors. Dial-A-Bus is funded by federal, state and county money. The service started in Warwick in 1985 and since then, ridership has increased more than 500 percent. In 2000, there were 13,959 requests for the service. The full schedule for this fixed route Dial-a-Bus service is available through the Town Hall on Kings Highway.