Governor Walker approves nearly $1.7 million for rural transit projects

January 4, 2013

Governor Scott Walker approved five grants today totaling $1,698,369 for projects to help non-urbanized areas develop or expand public transportation. The funds are administered by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) through the Federal Transit Administration’s Supplemental Transportation Rural Assistance Program (STRAP).

"These grants provide incentives to local governments and tribal governments to continue, expand or begin new rural public transit systems," said Governor Walker. "Public transit in our rural areas is critical to meet basic transportation needs for many Wisconsin residents."

2013 Project Awards and Details

• Lac du Flambeau Tribe: $165,444
  Start-up of a transit service that will provide demand-response and deviated fixed-route service on the Lac du Flambeau Reservation in Vilas County. The project will also provide service from the reservation to the population centers of Minocqua and Woodruff. These services are projected to begin in April 2013. No current public transit service exists in this part of the state. This project is the result of a federal planning grant that resulted in the Lac du Flambeau Tribe’s Transit Development Plan.
• Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin: $790,562
  Funding of new services Menominee Regional Transit added in 2011 and 2012, including the expansion of public transit services into new areas of Langlade, Menominee and Shawano counties – as well as late-night and weekend service.
• Janesville-Milton-Whitewater Commuter Bus: $243,525
  This service began in April 2012. Funding will include additional service on weekdays and Sunday – connecting the cities of Janesville and Milton to work and university centers in the city of Whitewater. It is partially the product of an earlier STRAP planning grant on commuter bus service between Janesville and Whitewater.
• Southwest Wisconsin Commuter Bus: $307,326
  Continued funding of commuter bus service that began in early December 2012, serving the cities of Prairie du Chien, Viroqua, Westby and La Crosse – as well as smaller communities in Crawford and Vernon counties. This service is also the result of a previous transit plan for the area.
• Neillsville/Clark County Taxi: $191,312
  Funding for both segments of the shared-ride taxi service in the city of Neillsville and Clark County. The Clark County taxi began in 2011 and is being expanding to include more regular service to the city of Stanley.

These projects are expected to have up to 80 percent of the operating deficit provided by the Federal Transit Administration under 49 USC § 5314 (CFDA 20.509).

For more information about the Supplemental Transportation Rural Assistance Program (STRAP), visit the WisDOT website.

For more information, contact:
Jake Miller, WisDOT Transit Section
(608) 264-7336, jacob.miller@dot.wi.gov