NORWICH – Chenango County officials are continuing negotiations with a Norwich transportation company that could ultimately cease operation of busing for county residents at the end of the month.

The county’s current contract with Transdev, a private mobility company stationed in Norwich, is set to expire July 31 with no certainty yet that the company wishes to renew. Transdev purchased the county’s premier busing company, First Transit, in 2023 and has since continued an existing year-to-year contract with Chenango County.

Under the carry-over agreement, buses are purchased by the county using a combination of state and federal funds: 80 percent federal, 10 percent state, and the remaining 10 percent picked up by the contracting company. The company also foots operational expenses.

Transdev is now asking the county to kick in more capital, which would create a severe burden for local taxpayers, according to County Board Clerk RC Woodford. The county’s treasury estimates the financial impact would be nearly $2 million per year just to keep buses running.

“It’s a little difficult to quantify what the cost to the taxpayer may be, but it looks like it could be a very significant increase to the tax levy,” Woodford said, citing a potential 8 percent levy increase next year. “It’s a budgetary issue, so certainly our financial offices are well aware. We’ve agreed conceptually that it doesn’t look doable in its current form.”