Public transit service will end June 30

by Marianne GasawayOne Vision has informed the City of Clear Lake that effective June 30 it will no longer provide transit services to the general public in Clear Lake.One Vision CEO Mark Dodd spoke with the City Council Monday, saying due to rising insurance costs and difficulty finding an insurance carrier and staffing, it has decided not to renew the contract to be a sub-contractor for NIACOG.The City of Clear Lake currently provides financial support for transit services through an agreement with the North Iowa Area Council of Governments (NIACOG).  One Vision has been a sub-contractor for the service.The CART was established in 1998 and replaced an earlier service known as the Silver Boot Taxi (later known as Clear Lake Taxi).  In 2001, NIACOG issued a request for proposals for transit services and received two responses.  The proposal from Opportunity Village was chosen and the entity has continued to serve since that time.“We had a similar discussion (about discontinuing the service) three years ago and over the last three years the challenges have gotten worse,” explained Dodd.  “Had we been able to find a carrier, the cost would be nearly $100,000 extra this year and likely more after that.