City and county tackle shared-ride program

WAUPACA – With a recent decision by the Waupaca City Council to not continue to the contract for the shared-ride taxi program, which is now set to end at the close of the year, the the city has teamed up with the county to find a solution for the upcoming transportation void.
At the July 15 city council meeting, Stephanie Reif, Waupaca’s finance director, told the council that the shared-ride taxi program exceeded their $10,000 levied budget, costing upwards of $116,000 in 2024 and is estimated to cost around $135,000 for 2025.
Along with ending the contract with Brown Cab for the shared-ride service, the city also made the decision to reduce the hours in order to mitigate the 2025 budget deficit.
It was revealed at a September meeting that the city will be teaming up with the county to come up with a plan for transportation that can be implemented prior to the end of the year when the contract runs out in order to not leave a gap in transportation needs.
Ryan Brown, Waupaca planning and zoning director, said he hopes to have the program up and running by the end of November.

Brown said they are looking to extend the service county-wide, starting first with rides between Waupaca and New London, with stopovers in Weyauwega, then eventually heading to Clintonville with stopovers in Manawa.
Brown said the current shared-ride system is geared more towards workforce needs, getting people to and from work; however, the new system is going to be a more public system that will provide more flexibility.
Funding to keep the system up and running is also a factor.
Part of the cost of the program will be covered through ride fares, currently the shared-ride program is providing rides for $3. A fee has not been set for the new transportation system but Brown said the goal is to keep it cost effective.
With the shared-ride aspect, being able to give multiple people rides will help to keep the program solvent, Brown said.
One part of the funding is through a 5311 grant through the Department of Transportation. This grant funding is given to rural communities to help fund transportation systems and is given to only one provider per county or region.
The 5311 grant funding covers a portion of the cost of the program, but not the entire cost.
The city had been taking advantage of this funding and now the county will be taking it over moving forward.
Along with the grant funding, Brown said, he hopes to find donors that will help keep the program afloat, including local industry whose employees use the shared-ride program to get to and from work.
Brown said there is a subcommittee that will be meeting quarterly that is comprised of officials from cities around the county.
This committee was put together to ensure that the program is working effectively, to watch for any potential issues that could arise, and make sure the program is running as efficiently as it can.