While Island Transit clearly has much to do to rebuild the bus system — and the public trust — we are encouraged by interim IT Director Ken Graska’s grasp of the job ahead.

Beyond the financial mess that led to the departure of the previous executive director, we are learning there’s an aging fleet of buses.

Some of the vehicles are inoperable and unusable.

Those will need to be dealt with.

There’s also the issue of grant money that may have been used improperly to pay for gazebos at the new transit center. That’s funding that may need to be returned to the government, according to Graska.

Graska is right in saying that these and other fixes cannot happen overnight, but it appears he is clear on what needs to be done.

Since major cuts last summer, Island Transit has reinstated 70 percent of the axed bus services. Graska is also cleaning up shop, addressing items needed for surplus and figuring out how to recoup some costs.

Under the interim executive director and (mostly) new board of directors, Island Transit seems to be eliminating unnecessary weight, finding ways to bring in additional funding and bringing about some semblance of order and accountability.

Getting back to the basics is exactly what the transit agency must do, according to Graska, and we agree.

It took years for IT to get into its current condition. Fixing the myriad of problems won’t happen overnight.

The public needs to be open to changes to the transit system, including advertising on the buses and charging of fares.

Such major changes won’t happen without IT first holding public meetings, said Graska.

It’s refreshing to hear that, after years of little-to-no accountability or communication with the public, IT officials are now prepared to embrace the notion of public involvement.

IT is still on a bumpy road to recovery, but at least it’s finally headed in the right direction.