The Scotts Bluff County Commissioners will hold a public hearing June 2nd on a proposed doubling of Handi bus rates. The county's Director of Operations Carol Prince says high gas prices are driving the proposal, explaining it is not economically feasible for the county to continue offering the service especially to out of town customers without a hike in the user fee. Under the proposal that would be implemented July 1st, the one way fees would increase to up to $4 for those in Lyman to $2 for service in Scottsbluff and Gering.

The Handi-Bus is the county's only current form of public transportation and serves to a large extent the elderly and disabled. Prince emphasized she "hesitated" to make the recommendation.

The Handi-Bus receives federal and state funding, but still is budgeted to require an estimated $24,000 in property taxes to operate in the current fiscal year. The last increase in rates, only a quarter three years ago, was heavily opposed by users.