Harbor Transit’s expansion gives ‘ready, easy access’ to Fillmore Campus
Getting to the heart of county governance and its many services will hopefully be made easier for many in the Tri-Cities community with the help of a pilot expansion of Harbor Transit’s services that began this summer.
On July 1, Harbor Transit launched a pilot program extending its transportation services to the Ottawa County Fillmore Campus in West Olive. For the remainder of the year until Dec. 31, rides to and from the Fillmore Campus are free. Beginning in 2027, rides will continue at Harbor Transit’s normal rate of $1.50 per ride through July 1, 2028.
Ottawa County has consolidated many of its services to the Fillmore Campus in recent years. The Family Division of the 20th Circuit Court was moved to to the Family Justice Center on the Fillmore Campus, located at 12240 Fillmore St. This move also included Juvenile Court Services, Friend of the Court, the Legal Self-Help Center, and Circuit Court Records, which were previously housed at the Grand Haven Courthouse.
Veterans Services also moved its office from Holland to the Fillmore Campus this summer.
Josh Brugger, chair of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners and commissioner for the Tri-Cities area, explained that having public transportation to and from these newly relocated offices, along with the existing Juvenile Detention Center, Jail, Sheriff’s Office, Clerk/Register of Deeds, Treasurer, and other services will benefit many in the community.
“Genuinely, I hope riders take advantage of it,” Brugger said. “I think it’s a opportunity for individuals who don’t have transportation means to be able to get out to the jail, to be able to get out to the courthouse (for) Family Court ... and then also the Register of Deeds is out there (and) the clerk is out there. There’s a lot of things that the Fillmore Street complex provides for the community, and to have ready, easy access for residents from the city of Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Ferryburg to be able to get out there is absolutely fabulous.”
Brugger recently utilized Harbor Transit’s pilot program to ride out to the Fillmore Campus, during which the Tribune rode along with him. He remarked that the ride, which took a straight shot from Grand Haven’s centertown neighborhood to the Fillmore Campus and back, was easy to schedule and track through the mobile app and was “a great experience” overall.
Harbor Transit driver Julie Fischer explained that her ride with Brugger was the second time she had gone out to the Fillmore Campus and felt the pilot expansion was a great way to help people in the Tri-Cities access the county offices in West Olive.
“I think it’s hugely important,” Fischer said. “To be able to go out there and see loved one that are or (access other services) ... that they didn’t have transportation to, and now they get out out there and go get those documents or make those meeting and all of that. I know it’s going to be important for people.”
While he hopes to see more riders utilize and “take advantage” of Harbor Transit’s expanded service to the Fillmore Campus during its two-year pilot run, Brugger also looks forward to hearing the stories of how riders can and have benefitted from the program making the county offices and services more accessible.
“There’s two things in play,” he said. “One is the total ridership, the number of individuals who participate; the other part is the depth of the stories that accompany those individuals that are coming out there. Especially if somebody’s going out to visit someone in the jail and they don’t have transportation otherwise, especially if somebody has a family court appointment ... and they can’t figure out a way to get there, I think if we can provide that service to those individuals for free or at a small charge, that’s a huge benefit to the residents of the Tri-Cities, Northwest Ottawa County, and to all of Ottawa County residents.”
Brugger said he hopes this pilot will help Ottawa County continue collaborating with public transportation partners like Harbor Transit to give more county residents another transportation option when traveling to the West Olive county offices.
“If we can be a little bit of a hub with the different spokes going out, whether it’s transportation or any other services that are out there, and be a conduit through which these organizations that already exist can work, enhance and improve their ability to deliver services, that’s what we want to do,” Brugger said. “We want to be a part of that because ... that’s being active and participating in the community, and leveraging the assets that the count has to make things better.”
Rides to the Fillmore Campus will be available during regular service hours: Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sundays, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Rides can be scheduled using the Lakeshore Go mobile or desktop app, or by calling Harbor Transit at 616-842-3200. All Harbor Transit vehicles are ADA accessible.
Rides are available to the Fillmore Campus only; Harbor Transit cannot provide trips to other locations in West Olive.
Contact Lauren at lformosa@grandhaventribune.com.
