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Merrill Transit Commission denies two out-of-area ride requests
Summary
The Merrill Transit Commission voted to deny a one-time November trip request from Saint Francis School and a separate petition from New Testament to expand the transit service area, citing funding and operational constraints tied to providing chartered trips outside city limits.
The Merrill Transit Commission voted at its June meeting to deny two requests for transportation outside the city service area: a one-time Saint Francis School trip to a Nov. 6 science fair at New Testament and a petition from New Testament to extend transit service outside Merrill’s city limits.
Commission members said taking passengers outside the designated service area for charter-style trips would be considered chartering under the transit system’s funding rules and could jeopardize public and federal funding. "With public funding that we receive, we cannot do a charter for a specific event," the Chair said during the discussion, warning that doing so could put the system’s budget at risk.
Carolyn Schneider, who identified herself during public comment, described New Testament’s regular community activities, saying the facility hosts a science expo, a spelling bee for grades K–6 and “a food pantry that serves over 1,200 individuals every month.” Schneider asked that parochial schools be able to participate in shared events; commissioners acknowledged the community need but said operational limits meant the commission could not make an exception.
Staff and commissioners raised operational constraints including an hourly turnaround schedule that limits how far buses can deviate from routes, and city boundaries and annexation issues affecting eligibility for regular service. Commissioners also noted there are portions of Merrill (for example, areas beyond the hospital and a small dead-end road near Lehi Drive) that are not currently served, and that extending service beyond city limits would create precedent issues.
For the Saint Francis request, the motion to deny the one-time Nov. 6 out-of-service-area trip was moved and seconded and carried by voice vote. For New Testament’s request to permanently extend the service area, commissioners again moved to deny the request because the proposed trips would be treated as chartering; that motion also carried.
The commission encouraged organizers to explore alternatives — school vans, rental vans or local taxi services — and noted that annexation into the city or a limited, scheduled request tied to a third bus or a reworked timetable might be options for future consideration. The commission did not approve any exception to its service-area rules at this meeting.
