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Olivia Schrodetzki thinks a transit shuttle to Mount Airy would benefit everyone, including seniors.

At the Carroll Area Transit System Summit held in Westminster on Friday, transportation and county officials explored the nonprofit's plans to grow transportation while addressing budget cuts and increasing costs. Individual sessions addressed different ridership populations, including seniors, the work force, those with disabilities and students.

"I did let them know there are seniors here that would love a MTA [Maryland Transit Authority] shuttle to Eldersburg or Westminster," said Schrodetzki, who serves as center manager for the Mount Airy Senior and Community Center.

Schrodetzki attended the summit's presentation on seniors and people with disabilities, as well as the lunch with keynote speakers who spoke of expansion, but never mentioned Mount Airy by name. She said a common theme was new shuttles, but also of budget cuts.

She said the Mount Airy Senior Center serves seniors from five counties: Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery and even Baltimore. Many have expressed interest in a shuttle that could connect them with other areas in Carroll County from the base of the senior center. 

During a breakout session, Schrodetzki said her group discussed placing large posters in senior centers, clear black and white print on brochures and more obvious costs and time charts.

Doug Howard, executive director of the Carroll Area Transit System (which people often refer to as CATS), said that informal conversations such as those from the summit often help formulate the long-term plans for the transit system.

Steve Horn, Carroll County's planning director, said he thought new routes would be deferred because of the budget, but said he saw the value in increasing fixed routes. "We want to continue to explore this," he said. "We can see how it can expand ridership in a very efficient way."

There has been a $300,000 deficit for the group because of MTA cuts, he said.

"The current budget situation clearly there's a challenge here," he said. "But I really want to push this fixed route idea."

Louise Tinkler, chief of regional planning for the Maryland Transit Authority, lauded Carroll County for being progressive in its transportation needs. "You recognize it's a quality-of-life thing," she said.

Tinkler, a Pennsylvania resident who drives through Carroll County on her way to Baltimore for work every day, said residents will need to cooperate, communicate and coordinate to make the expansion a reality.

"It's important for you to know where his buses go now and where they can go in the future," she said.

Leonard Howard, the manager of the statewide planning division with the Maryland Transit Administration, said transit typically does have a strong, elderly and disabled client base, but provides transportation to everyone.

"Trying to project the notion that we're an open public service is a constant fight," he said.

He said there is no "one size fits all" answer to transportation, but fixed routes are typically the most cost-effective. He said that as population in an area grows, so does the viability of a fixed route being successful. He said in a five year forecast if funding became available they would consider expansion for all of the routes in the county.

Howard seemed positive for the future of new routes.

"CATS will continue to evolve for the foreseeable future," he said.

Horn said he was encouraged by the amount of people he saw attend the summit.

"I wanted to say CATS is back," he said.

Horn said that CATS ridership has increased by about 50 percent since 2000. He said although Carroll County hadn't seemed the biggest proponent of transit, it was changing. He pointed out that the organization would have five new buses by January, set to extend the life of the current fleet and reduce operating costs.

"Hopefully, it's clear that we want to be aggressive, we want to be offensive," Doug Howard said.