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Transit commission approves pilot shuttle to Northern Valley Industries, to be reviewed in December
Summary
The Wausau Transit Commission approved a trial shuttle service to Northern Valley Industries' workshop, scheduled for morning and afternoon runs; staff will track mileage, fuel and ridership and the commission will revisit the pilot at its December meeting.
The Wausau Transit Commission voted to begin a limited pilot shuttle to serve Northern Valley Industries' workshop, with two runs per day and a commitment to revisit the program in December. Commissioners debated duration and data collection before passing the motion unanimously.
Sherry Wade, a representative of Northern Valley Industries, told the commission that the organization historically used buses to bring employees to the workshop and that roughly 16 people per day used their transportation in summer, with six to 10 others who bike in. Wade said her group currently buys passes for riders and would coordinate bringing participants to the transit center rather than being the pickup point. She said Inclusa previously shared some of the cost for rides but had shifted to taxi service.
Ron, transit department staff, presented a low-cost plan to run the service using existing shift coverage and said the principal incremental expenses would be fuel and the additional miles put on buses. He said that in some shift windows (school-time and other shifts) drivers already receive minimum hours and could add the trip without extra labor; he offered to track miles and fuel to estimate the true incremental cost and to confirm whether overtime would be required.
A motion was made on the floor to "use this as a 5 month trial to offer bus to Northern Valley Workshop 2 times a day." The proposal described a morning pickup at 7:30 a.m. at the transit center and a return trip with a driver arriving at 2:30 p.m. to bring riders back to the transit center; the motion included no stops en route unless later agreed. The mover and seconder were not named in the transcript. Commissioners asked staff to collect specific data points — mileage, fuel cost and ridership counts — and to ensure the pilot did not interrupt routine service for other riders.
Commissioners discussed the pilot's length and agreed to reassess service at the commission's December meeting; one speaker suggested a longer trial to capture seasonal changes in ridership. The motion was seconded and "passes unanimously," according to the record. The commission did not attach a fixed end date in the motion; staff were directed to implement the runs and report back.
The commission recorded no estimated vote tallies in the meeting transcript; the motion was recorded as approved by unanimous voice vote.
