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Wind River Transportation Authority reports ridership gains, prepares to assume Riverton senior center service
Summary
Wind River Transportation Authority (WRTA) reported August ridership records for late-night weekend service, earned statewide operator awards and described plans to assume day-to-day operations for Riverton Senior Center transit service in October, including an asset transfer and temporary Medicaid-billing arrangements.
A WRTA staff member told the Fremont County Commission that the Wind River Transportation Authority posted record ridership for late-night weekend trips in August, reporting 333 trips for that service and noting year-to-date totals for fiscal 2025 that are “very promising.”
The speaker said a full month tally remains pending; WRTA is deploying new ridership software with a planned mid-September go-live that will provide more detailed reporting on peak times. The authority is currently studying fare economics — fixed-route fares of $2 remain in place — but the speaker said WRTA will defer any immediate fare changes pending analysis by the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA).
WRTA also highlighted performance at the statewide Y Trans conference, saying the agency won four of seven statewide awards, including first and third places in the bus-rodeo competition. The speaker identified Gerald Lee as the first-place operator who will represent the agency at the CTAA national bus rodeo in Omaha in 2026.
On service integration, WRTA outlined plans to transition day-to-day operation of Riverton Senior Center transportation to WRTA in October, at the start of the federal fiscal year. The speaker said Medicaid billing and some “whistle trips” will remain with Riverton Senior Center during at least the next 12 months while staff and operational details are worked out. WRTA intends to transfer vehicle assets later in the month and said a memorandum of understanding (MOU) will govern shared staffing during the administrative transition.
The presentation said Riverton Senior Center maintenance funds had been depleted; WRTA worked with Project Independence, described in the meeting as a CSPD-funded program in Fremont County, to cover immediate maintenance costs so vehicles could be preserved during the transfer. WRTA said transferring the vehicles into its fleet will allow the authority to use its maintenance facility and resources to meet transit asset management requirements.
The speaker said WRTA, Riverton Senior Center and Landers Senior Center will undergo a federal- and state-level triennial compliance review by FTA and YDOT the following week; WRTA's portion of the review was scheduled for the 9th and 10th. The speaker described multiple recent program reviews during the year.
Commissioners asked about capacity and rider counts. WRTA replied that ridership is tracked and that the new software will enable more granular reporting; the speaker said buses have reached capacity at peak times and that WRTA monitors those patterns to decide when to increase capacity.
The commission did not take a formal vote on these operational updates during the presentation.
