WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) — There might be another bus route from Metro Ride heading south from Wausau someday. It’s early in the discussion, but Metro Ride Director Greg Seubert says both Rothschild and Schofield are interested in finding out what the costs would be. “It’s just an expression of interest at this point, and an inquiry about what’s possible. We haven’t put a pencil to paper in terms of cost yet. I think as the communities are working through their budgets, they’re just kind of curious about what’s possible.”
Seubert says the Wausau Transit Commission received the inquiry about possible future service several weeks ago, but they want to sit down at Thursday’s meeting with Schofield and Rothschild officials before going forward. “I think their concern is that we’ve had a kind of on-again, off-again, every year, every other year go around with surrounding communities and we want to know how serious they are in terms of a longer term before we make any costing effort, and so we’ve invited them and we’ll see what the discussion provides.”
This most recent inquiry about possible future bus service would not be the old K Route. Seubert says it would be much different and much shorter if it is developed. “The old K Route included the Village of Weston, and they’re not part of this inquiry. This pertains specifically to Schofield and Rothschild, with a possible bus route and paratransit service in those two communities.”
The economics of running a municipal bus service have changed for the worse in the past several years. Seubert says they no longer have access to the same federal funding levels that used to support operating costs and the purchase of new buses. He says if a new south metro route is established, it will cost money. “We’ve downsized. We have fewer employees, and we are struggling to find enough busses to provide current service, so adding an additional route means finding the resources in terms of employees and vehicles, and so this is going to have to be probably a three to five year commitment, or it may not occur.”
The Transit Commission meeting is Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at the Metro Ride offices on Plumer Street in Wausau. Seubert says he won’t know until after that meeting if an additional route will be pursued any further.
