“Public meeting Island Transit will gather information from the public about bus schedules at a public meeting Monday, July 23, 3 p.m. in Room 137 at the Oak Harbor Library.South Whidbey residents can once again ride Island Transit all the way to Mount Vernon beginning July 30.We’ll be able to make six connections Monday through Friday, plus Saturday service, said Martha Rose, director of Island Transit. South Whidbey riders must transfer in Oak Harbor.A $268,941 Department of Transportation rural mobility grant will cover the service for two years, Rose said. By the time the grant money is depleted, June 30, 2003, Rose said she hopes other funding options will be in place for the routes to continue.We’re hoping … the state Legislature will once again support public transportation, Rose said.The Island-Skagit route originally began on June 7, 1999, after years of planning. The link was cut just six months later because funding was lost after voters approved I-695, the $30 license tab initiative. Voters later doubled the local Island Transit sales tax to make up most of the losses, but not the service to Skagit County.It certainly took some options away from people, Rose said, adding that she has heard from Island County residents who were forced to withdraw from classes at Skagit Valley College or who had lost their jobs because they could no longer get to work.The first trip of the day, Monday through Friday, is tentatively set to leave Oak Harbor at 6:15 a.m. and will go directly to Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon. The next four trips of each day, at 9:10 a.m., 11:10 a.m., 1:10 p.m. and 3:10 p.m., will go to Marches Point where a Skagit County transit connection can be made. The last trip of the day, at 4:35 p.m., will go to the college and back to Oak Harbor. On Saturdays, northbound buses will leave Oak Harbor at 9:10 a.m., 11:10 a.m., 1:10 p.m., 3:10 p.m., and 5:10 p.m.There is no fare charged for riding on Island County transit buses. The transit department is prepaid by a six-tenths of 1 percent sales tax. The grant is very specific. The money can only be used to provide service for deficient inter-city rural corridors in critical areas, Rose said.The new schedules won’t be final until after the public has a chance to comment next week. “