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City Administrator James Bialecki brought the concept to the city for consideration earlier this month. On Aug. 18, an informational meeting between Mayor Ed Thompson and Richard Running of Running Inc. Shared Ride Transit Services was held to gather information regarding the transit system.
Bialecki said that the Shared Ride service is publicly funded, with up to 65 percent of the funding in state and federal funds. The remaining funds come from fares and small city subsidies.
“Presently, people are already paying the state and federal taxes for this,” Bialecki said. “I look at it this way: We are bringing a good community service to Tomah, and bringing back some of those tax dollars.”
Running Inc. can be made available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The plan would include as many as six hybrid minivans stationed in Tomah. Bialecki said he hopes the service will be extended to cover Fort McCoy and Volk Field.
“It will serve everyone out there,” Bialecki said of the service. “We are hoping to network with Volk Field and Fort McCoy. There are a lot of civilians employed at the fort.”
The vans will be wheelchair accessible and include an estimated fare of $3.60. Bialecki said that his intent is to have a meeting for the public and the City Council to review the program. Running Inc. is not guaranteed to be the service.
“Running explained the program well,” Bialecki said. “But it is not a done deal for him. We have to go out and take bids.”
Bialecki, who served two terms as Mayor of Onalaska before not seeking re-election in April and becoming Tomah’s city administrator in July, has seen Shared Ride Transit Services in action. Shared Ride services have worked in several towns in Western Wisconsin, including West Salem, Holmen, Onalaska, Westby, Viroqua and Portage.
Bialecki said that the program includes several benefits for the public, and should the council approve the plan, the city will apply to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for a grant in the amount of $400,000 under the supplemental transportation Rural Assistance Program for the Shared Ride Taxi Service.
“Another beauty of this type of service is that they will bring you right to your door instead of designed routes and stops,” Bialecki said. “Fees can’t be increased without state and local approval. People can just call for the service, and they will pick them up. I think this will be a good deal for the community.”
