FONDA — About 85 people are making use of the new Montgomery Area Express bus system that provides public transportation from St. Johnsville to Amsterdam.

The $240,000 pilot project combines funding from the federal and state levels and just over $82,400 in county funding to pay for two buses traveling eight routes Monday through Friday.

Brown Transportation is operating the system, dubbed “The MAX,” with buses traversing state routes 5 and 5S.

Stops include the Kinney Drug store in St. Johnsville, the Montgomery County Office Building in Fonda, St. Mary’s Hospital and the Riverfront Center, both in Amsterdam.

Montgomery County Senior Planner Douglas M. Greene said he is continually evaluating ridership to ensure routes are meeting the needs of those taking advantage of it.

Several changes have been made to the schedule since buses started running in mid-February, including the elimination of a run dedicated to the Amish community and time changes to help county employees take advantage of the system, Greene said.

The Friday bus route running east on state Route 5S initially took a turnoff onto Argersinger Road in the town of Glen and looped around back onto 5S to accommodate the Amish who said they could use a ride into town for shopping.

The diversion was eliminated because the Amish aren’t making much use of the bus, Greene said.

Greene said he got the impression from speaking with some Amish residents that they shop for a month at a time and wind up carrying a lot of items.

“It’s difficult for them to make it back on the bus with what they get,” Greene said.

An Amish route could be reinstated depending on any future input or discussions, he said.

“As time permits, we’ll try to get back out. … I think there’s some situations where riding the bus could work [for the Amish],” Greene said.

Getting word out to the community and getting interested businesses involved in promoting the alternate transportation remain challenges, Greene said.

The program doesn’t have money for advertising and officials are in the early stages of exploring ways to improve awareness about the benefits of public transportation, Greene said.

Gasoline was at about $3 per gallon when the county took initial steps to create the MAX transportation system. Now, it’s headed for $4 per gallon, so likely there are more people out there who could take advantage of the service, Greene said.

“With the price of gas, people are really looking seriously at other types of transportation,” Greene said.

He said he hopes to find more specific spots to leave brochures for potential riders and seek businesses interested in sponsoring some small advertisements.

The schedule, which currently lists 10 runs from 5 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., undergoes some changes as new input from riders is taken into account, so the most up-to-date information on the routes is listed on the Montgomery County Web site at www.co.montgomery.ny.us.