County commissioners voted on Tuesday to discontinue its transit program, effective immediately.
The vote was 3-2 and broke down along party and racial lines. Emily Davis and Kendrick Butts, the two Democrats and the two African-Americans on the board, comprised the two no votes.
The transit service, consisting of four busses, brought in $7,500 in revenue during the first six months of the year, which breaks down to $1,250 per month. The cost to run the program, meanwhile, adds up to roughly $37,000 per month.
In other words, the transit program lost more than $200,000 during the first half of 2026.
In past years, 50 percent of of the county’s transit program was funded by a federal grant. However, that federal grant money expired last month, which was based on a technicality. In order to receive the federal transit grant, county governments must submit a copy of their 2025 audit in the grant application. Baldwin County’s audit still has not been completed, which means there was no audit to submit.
The lack of a 2025 audit is not the county government’s fault, however. The accounting firm that the county contracted to perform the audit still hasn’t finished, and the county government currently is considering suing the accounting firm. No audit for 2025 also means the county government recently was rejected by the Georgia Department of Transportation, resulting in a loss of $850,000 in road construction money for 2027.
Craig Pearson, a longtime driver for Baldwin Transit, previously told commissioners that “dialysis (centers), cancer centers, and the hospital” were the three main places where he drops off riders.
“These people don’t have any other way to get where they’re going. If they did, they wouldn’t be taking transit,” Pearson said. “Baldwin Transit is very vital to Baldwin County.”
Butts initially made a motion to increase the ride cost from $3 to $8. Ultimately, however, Commissioner Scott Little made a motion to discontinue the program. When it came time to vote, Little and Commissioner Andrew Stickland voted yes. Commissioner Sammy Hall wavered for a few seconds before voting yes.