Dunn County Transit reports February ridership gains, will test revised campus route

Dunn County Transit staff reported higher overall ridership in February and said they will pilot a revised community route intended to get more riders to the university library and campus sooner, transit staff and a board member said at the March 12 meeting.

Austin, a transit staff member, told the board that cold, snowy weather had affected ridership patterns earlier in the year but that February showed gains: "We had about as cold and snowy as we've had in a while," Austin said, and daily ridership rose compared with January when service-day differences are accounted for. Austin reported a drop on one route from 567 rides in January to 549 in February (down 3%), while average daily ridership across service days improved. Community-route ridership rose from 1,394 riders in January to 2,097 in February; Austin said that reflected both returning service and nonstudent riders.

Austin said the system nearly reached its best February totals in recent history, noting that overall February ridership was close to 20,000 — a figure he compared to strong Februarys in prior years. He also told the board that some operating costs for 2025 are "front end loaded": maintenance contracts and liability insurance were largely paid early in the year, leaving the department roughly a percentage point under the expected two-month budget pace.

The board discussed and agreed to test a proposed change to the community route that would alter the loop through downtown to bring the bus to the university library and campus about half an hour earlier. Austin described the mock-up as a simplification of the current figure-eight loop that reduces left turns and saves several minutes at multiple stops. He said the change would not add or remove stops but would shift timing so some stops reach campus at the half hour rather than at the top of the hour. "This would take them all the way to campus at the half hour, not the end," Austin said when describing expected benefits for students.

An unnamed board member supported testing the change: "I think it's a great idea," the board member said, and another board member urged running the route with several drivers during off-hours and weekends to see how it operates in practice. Austin said the next step is testing the schedule and reporting back: "I'll test it out and give you some feedback next month," he said.

Staff reported other operational items tied to upcoming construction and marketing. Austin said bus shelters near Heritage Hall will be temporarily moved west during construction and that the final shelter placement will be slightly farther forward near a crosswalk on Tenth Street. He also described new interior bus posters with schedules, QR codes to track buses, and advertising options the department is making available to campus groups; he noted the lower cost of interior posters versus full exterior bus graphics.

Board business included a direction for staff to prepare a report next month on how Dunn County Transit can or cannot provide transportation for nonprofit events, including applicable state verbiage and any regulatory limits Austin said he has encountered. Will Powell, a board member who called the meeting to order, made a motion to approve the prior meeting minutes; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

The board adjourned with its next meeting scheduled for April 9 at the same time and place.

Votes at a glance - Motion: Approve minutes from the prior meeting (date not specified in the transcript). Mover: Will Powell. Second: not specified. Vote: approved by voice vote; counts not recorded in the transcript.