While riders of the public transit system won’t notice the difference, the City of Dowagiac will be taking a less hands-on approach in regards to the management of the city’s Dial-a-Ride service.

City council approved a joint operation agreement between the city and the Cass County Transportation Authority on Monday that will shift much of the day to day transit operations away from the city’s shoulders. Under the new agreement, the city will subcontract management to the county, who will in turn contract with Transportation Management, a third party operator. The Transit Authority will also take over responsibility for maintenance of the service’s vehicles.

“We still are going to have the responsibility of owning of the equipment, the responsibility of the budgets and reports, and the responsibility of overall administration,” said City Manager Kevin Anderson.

The contract is the latest endeavor by city officials to reduce the operation costs of the transportation service. Last fall, a county-wide transit millage was defeated at the polls, despite support from a majority of Dowagiac voters, Anderson said.

“This allows both the county and the city to save some money on this,” he said. “What it doesn’t do is make us turn completely into the black. What it does is delay the time.”

The city manager said the agreement will give the city another six to eight years before they are unable to provide funding for the service. The administration should save around $15,000 due to the outsourcing, he added.

“I think it’s a good response, it’s prudent response, it’s an appropriate response, but it does not solve the issue ten years down the road,” Anderson said.

Despite the upheaval, riders should not notice any difference after the transition. Customers will still dial the same number for service, the same drivers and vehicles will remain onboard.

“We’ll gain some pretty good efficiencies out of this,” said Assistant City Manager Rozanne Scherr. “Less of my time will be spent working on dial-a-ride, on the day to day functioning of it, so I can focus my time on the administrative side of it.”