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County-led RFP advances plan for on-demand shared-ride transit; council briefed
Summary
Waupaca County is leading an RFP to contract an on-demand, app-enabled shared-ride transit service for the region; county staff briefed the Waupaca Common Council on Sept. 16 on the plan, funding options and a targeted November contracting timeline.
Waupaca County is leading a request-for-proposals process to contract an on-demand shared-ride transit service for the region, and county staff briefed the Waupaca Common Council at the Sept. 16 meeting.
Ryan Brown, Waupaca County planning and zoning director, said the county's workforce-transportation grant helped design a shared-ride pilot and that the county is pursuing federal 5311 funding to underwrite rural public transit. Brown said the county intends the system to be a coordinated, app-enabled shared-ride service with a design goal of grouping trips to reduce empty "deadhead" miles; the RFP requires bidders to demonstrate technology capacity and plans to cover the portion of costs not met by the 5311 program. County staff and councilors discussed service connections between Waupaca, New London and (in a second phase) Clintonville, with stop-offs in outlying communities.
Staff said the county's earlier Workforce Innovation grant had supported planning but grant activity slowed broadly; the county now aims to contract for operations and expects to be under contract in November. Brown said the county would require bidders to show marketing plans and partnerships with local employers and health providers; staff said the county's RFP work intends to avoid a service gap (the current Brown Cab contract continues through the end of the year). Councilors generally voiced cautious support and asked about funding levels, expected local levy contributions and the potential to pursue other state innovation grants.
Why it matters: consolidating transit under a county-led, technology-enabled model could expand service coverage across municipalities and create a shared procurement structure; it also requires a sustainable local funding match beyond available grant dollars.
The county will continue the RFP process and staff will work with municipalities to define service levels and funding contributions; no final council action was required at the Sept. 16 meeting.
