SCAT Van struggles to pay for gas

High gas prices have caused a local nonprofit transportation agency to ask patrons to help fill the tank.

The Senior Citizen's Aid to Transportation (SCAT) Van, a free countywide transportation provider for disabled and senior citizens, was forced to increase its recommended donation from $3 a day for an inner-city trip to $3 each way to cope with rising gas prices.

Kathy Shutter, executive director for Cayuga County's Transportation Project, which provides SCAT Vans in Auburn, Cato, Moravia, Weedsport and Union Springs, said the program received $21,900 in donations and spent $23,000 on fuel expenses in 2007, when gas was nearly 70 cents a gallon cheaper than it is now.