Metro Ride

Metro Ride
ParentCity of Wausau
Headquarters420 Plumer Street[1]
LocaleWausau, Wisconsin
Service typeBus service, Paratransit
Routes
  • 7 regular routes
  • 10 express routes
StationsMetro Ride Transit Center
555 Jefferson Street
Fleet22 Gillig transit coaches
Annual ridership337,884 (2022)
Website[1]

Metro Ride provides public bus transportation for the Wausau, Wisconsin area.

Metro Ride operates 7 routes in the City of Wausau which run at 30-minute intervals. The service also provides several express routes to supplement the main routes when school is in session.

Hours of operation are 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Buses do not operate on Saturdays or Sundays. The main transfer facility is located in the downtown area, one block from the Marathon County Courthouse. The Wausau Transit Center at 555 Jefferson Street was upgraded and expanded in 2005.[2] This location also serves intercity buses.

  • Metro Ride was formerly known as "Wausau Area Transit System (WATS)" The name now exists in the tagline "Provided by Wausau Area Transit System"

Route list

Service to Rothschild, Schofield and Weston ended in 2015, along with weekend service. At the same time, fares were raised.[3]

Fares

In 2022, fares are $1.75 for adults, $1.50 for students, $0.85 for seniors, and free for children. Adult fares have been increased from $1.25 in 2015. Additional fare increases had taken place in 2008 and 2012.

Wausau Transit Center

The Wausau Transit Center is located at 555 Jefferson Street in downtown Wausau across from the Marathon County Courthouse. The facility replaced a 1976 transit center located on the adjacent lot to the west of the current center.[4] The new facility was built in 2005 and has space for about 10 buses. All routes operate from the transit center, where intercity buses from Milwaukee, Janesville and Minneapolis also stop.[5][6]

Ridership

Fixed Route Ridership Paratransit Ridership Total Ridership Change over previous year
1999[7] 849,843 21,657 871,500 n/a
2000[7] 827,930 23,982 851,912 Decrease2.25%
2001[7] 805,668 21,539 827,207 Decrease2.9%
2002[7] 758,583 20,876 779,459 Decrease5.77%
2003[7] 725,188 18,076 743,264 Decrease4.64%
2004[7] 746,239 11,822 758,061 Increase2.9%
2010[8] 773,991 8,064 782,055 Increase3.72%
2011[8] 778,748 8,697 787,445 Increase0.61%
2012[8] 631,360 3,370 634,730 Decrease19.39%
2013[8] 672,224 3,388 675,612 Increase6.47%
2014[8] 654,078 3,303 657,381 Decrease2.7%
2015[8] 577,044 2,504 579,548 Decrease11.84%
2016[8] 529,831 3,021 532,852 Decrease8.06%
2017[9] 498,902 4,152 503,054 Decrease5.59%
2018[10] 503,359 3,841 507,200 Increase0.89%
2019[11] 468,555 4,120 472,675 Decrease6.81%
2020[12] 252,812 1,683 254,495 Decrease46.16%
2021[13] 284,378 3,050 287,428 Increase12.94%
2022[14] 337,884 3,273 341,157 Increase18.69%
2023[15] 359,363 2,937 362,300 Increase6.2%
Service Hours Service Miles
1996 38,541 553,916
1997 37,562 557,047
1998 37,920 558,796
1999 38,827 564,311
2000 38,327 556,607
2001 37,961 556,023
2002 37,929 557,007
2003 37,946 556,501
2004 38,315 555,801
2005 37,596 535,183
2006 41,100 588,475
2007 40,776 578,288
2008 40,925 569,706
2009 38,738 540,514
2010 37,621 542,404
2011 38,740 543,846
2012 26,729 375,988
2013 29,372 411,843
2014 29,854 404,710
2015 27,028 375,626
2016 26,722 376,478
2017 27,324 377,052
2018 26,502 376,034
2019 26,407 376,816
2020 23,621 343,693
2021 27,017 381,209
2022 27,150 375,959

1996-2016 data from 2018 Wausau Transit Development Plan.[3] 2017-2020 data from National Transit database.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ City of Wausau Transit System
  2. ^ "Metro Ride Transit Development Plan May 2012" (PDF).
  3. ^ a b "Wausau Metro Area Transit Development Program May 2018" (PDF).
  4. ^ "38 years ago: Wausau bus service 'needs friends'".
  5. ^ "Metro Ride Transit Development Plan May 2012" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Wausau Area Transit System Transit Development Plan May 2006" (PDF).
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Wausau TDP 2006" (PDF).
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "Wausau TDP 2018" (PDF).
  9. ^ "2017 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  10. ^ "2018 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  11. ^ "2019 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  12. ^ "2020 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  13. ^ "2021 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  14. ^ "2022 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  15. ^ "2023 Annual Agency Profile" (PDF).
  16. ^ "City of Wausau, Wisconsin | FTA".