WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) -- Tuesday’s referendum in Weston is likely going to mean the end of Metro Ride’s bus route “K” as voters decided not to accept the extra taxation to pay their $60,000 dollar share of the route.
Metro Ride Director Greg Seubert says the decision to keep or end Route K is not his to make, as different government units have to decide what to do. “You know, we can’t really presuppose what ultimately will be decided by the trustees. It’s my understanding that they’ll make a final decision in the coming weeks, but the referendum seems to be clear, and we’ll have to react accordingly.”
Seubert had prepared three possible bus scenarios for the new year, including what they might do if the Village of Weston chose to discontinue service. “We wanted to be prepared, given the late date of the referendum, so one of those scenarios included a fare increase to generate additional revenue to make up for the loss of participation of the other municipalities.” One of those scenarios includes increasing Wausau bus fares to balance the budget.
Seubert says the referendum must first be dealt with by the Weston Village Board, and then the Transit Commission before a final determination is made. “The third Thursday of the month is when they generally meet, and I think the Weston (Village) Board will have met by then, so the Transit Commission will have to make some decisions so we can move forward.”
Some may ask if Route K bus service could continue in Rothschild and Schofield if Weston backs out. Seubert says probably not. “Well, that’s something that was discussed previously by the Transit Commission, given their budget limits, you know, their span of service would be so short, it would make the remaining route really not viable. They would have so little remaining service for the money they have to offer that it doesn’t really make sense to provide service at all.”
Metro Ride bus service was discontinued in the south metro areas of Schofield, Rothschild, and Weston in January of 2012, but was reinstated after a referendum passed, requiring the village to reinstate it.