Residents urge council not to cancel Loop bus route, raise reliability concerns about WinReady service

During public comment at the May 13 Winchester City Council meeting, several riders and residents urged the council and transit staff not to cancel the Loop fixed-route bus service and to address reliability issues with the WinReady demand-response system.

Elizabeth Mixer, who said she lives in Ward 2 at the Winchester House, told councilors the Loop bus has been a reliable, predictable service. “That bus service, from my own experience and discussion with many others, is the only reliable and dependable service. The WinReady is not,” Mixer said during the public-comment period. She and other speakers described long waits and app-based unreliability with WinReady, citing waits of an hour or more while grocery items thawed and a difficulty scheduling paratransit trips.

Several speakers proposed a compromise discussed at an April meeting: retain one Loop route and reduce frequency to hourly service rather than canceling the route entirely. Speakers said the Loop often functions as a predictable backup when WinReady is delayed and that many riders—especially older residents or those with mobility limitations—rely on the Loop’s fixed stops.

Transit staff and councilors scheduled a follow-up discussion and public meeting on May 29 at 2 p.m. (as noted by speakers), and several councilors indicated they would review the proposal and hear additional public input at the upcoming transit meeting.

Why it matters: decisions about fixed-route vs. demand-response transit affect mobility for elderly, low-income and disabled residents; councilors were asked to weigh reliability and equity in the planned service changes.

No formal action on transit scheduling was taken at the May 13 meeting; the council and staff signaled additional public discussion will occur before any final service changes.