County of Marathon Wausau Area Transit System Urbitran

Transcription

Prepared for
County of Marathon
Wausau Area Transit System
Submitted by
Urbitran Associates, Inc.
InassocIatIon wIth
Abrams-Cherwony & Associates, Inc.
September 2006
Wausau Area Transit System – Transit Development Plan
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: SOCIOECONOMIC AND LAND USE CHARACTERISTICS .................. 1
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 1
Population.................................................................................................................................. 1
Income........................................................................................................................................ 5
Households below Poverty Level ............................................................................................. 6
Zero-Car Households................................................................................................................ 7
Senior Citizen Population......................................................................................................... 7
Youth Population ...................................................................................................................... 9
Employment............................................................................................................................. 11
Major Generators ................................................................................................................... 11
Journey to Work ..................................................................................................................... 21
CHAPTER 2: WATS SERVICE OVERVIEW .................................................................... 22
Introduction............................................................................................................................. 22
Organizational Structure ....................................................................................................... 22
Fixed Route Service Description............................................................................................ 23
WATS Fare Structure ............................................................................................................ 31
WATS+ Paratransit Service Description.............................................................................. 32
Financial Information............................................................................................................. 33
Capital Resources.................................................................................................................... 34
Historical Trend 1999 – 2004 ................................................................................................. 36
Service Changes Since the Previous TDP ............................................................................. 38
CHAPTER 3: PEER GROUP AND TREND ANALYSES ................................................. 39
Introduction............................................................................................................................. 39
Peer Group Analysis ............................................................................................................... 39
Financial Efficiency ............................................................................................................ 40
Service Effectiveness............................................................................................................ 41
Cost Effectiveness ................................................................................................................ 42
Service Provided per Capita................................................................................................. 43
Service Span Comparison.................................................................................................... 43
Conclusion............................................................................................................................ 44
Trend Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 45
Service Baseline ................................................................................................................... 45
Amount and Use of Service ................................................................................................. 47
Conclusion............................................................................................................................ 47
CHAPTER 4: PUBLIC OUTREACH ................................................................................... 49
Introduction............................................................................................................................. 49
Drop-In Sessions...................................................................................................................... 49
Service Area Expansion....................................................................................................... 49
Expanded Days..................................................................................................................... 50
Service Hour Expansion...................................................................................................... 50
Service Quality ..................................................................................................................... 50
i
Other Comments .................................................................................................................. 50
Summary............................................................................................................................... 51
Stakeholder Interviews........................................................................................................... 51
WATS Bus Service: General Perceptions ........................................................................... 53
Unmet Needs ........................................................................................................................ 54
Regional Cooperation .......................................................................................................... 54
Regional System Growth: Key Factors for Success............................................................ 55
Stakeholder Summary.......................................................................................................... 56
CHAPTER 5: OPINION SURVEYS ..................................................................................... 57
Rider Survey............................................................................................................................ 57
Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 57
Survey Description ............................................................................................................... 57
Survey Results ...................................................................................................................... 58
Summary............................................................................................................................... 72
Wausau West Industrial Park Survey .................................................................................. 73
CHAPTER 6: SERVICE EVALUATION, ISSUES, AND OPPORTUNITIES ................ 74
Introduction............................................................................................................................. 74
Performance Evaluation......................................................................................................... 74
Service Coverage .................................................................................................................. 74
Patron Convenience............................................................................................................. 78
Fiscal Condition................................................................................................................... 79
Passenger Comfort............................................................................................................... 80
Summary............................................................................................................................... 80
Route Diagnostics.................................................................................................................... 81
Route Ranking ..................................................................................................................... 87
Time of Day Analysis .............................................................................................................. 89
Route Issues and Opportunities............................................................................................. 90
Issues and Opportunities...................................................................................................... 139
CHAPTER 7: RECOMMENDED FIVE YEAR SERVICE PLAN.................................. 143
Service Plan ........................................................................................................................... 143
Service Plan: Year 2 (2007).................................................................................................. 148
Capital Requirements........................................................................................................... 170
Fare Structure ....................................................................................................................... 170
Marketing Efforts ................................................................................................................. 170
Implementation Schedule..................................................................................................... 172
Financial Plan........................................................................................................................ 173
ii
List of Figures
Figure 1-1: Total Population........................................................................................................... 2
Figure 1-2: Population Density....................................................................................................... 3
Figure 1-3: Median Household Income .......................................................................................... 5
Figure 1-4: Population Below Poverty Level ................................................................................. 6
Figure 1-5: Number of Zero-Car Households................................................................................. 7
Figure 1-6: Total Population Over Age 65 ..................................................................................... 8
Figure 1-7: Percent of Population Over Age 65 ............................................................................. 8
Figure 1-8: Total Population Under Age 18 ................................................................................... 9
Figure 1-9: Percent of Population Under Age 18 ......................................................................... 10
Figure 1-10: Major Traffic Generators ......................................................................................... 12
Figure 1-11: Location of Employers with Greater than 100 Employees ...................................... 20
Figure 2-1: WATS Organizational Chart...................................................................................... 22
Figure 2-2: WATS Regular Route Network ................................................................................. 25
Figure 2-3: WATS Express Route Network ................................................................................. 28
Figure 6-1: WATS Regular Route Network (1/4 Mile Buffer) .................................................... 76
Figure 6-2: Wausau Area Transit System (WATS) Weekday Ridership by Time of Day........... 89
Figure 6-3: Wausau Area Transit System (WATS) Saturday Ridership by Time of Day............ 90
Figure 6-4: Route A Weekday Ridership by Time of Day ........................................................... 92
Figure 6-5: Route A Saturday Ridership by Time of Day ............................................................ 92
Figure 6-6: Route A Weekday On/Off Activity ........................................................................... 94
Figure 6-7: Route A Saturday On/Off Activity ............................................................................ 95
Figure 6-8: Route B Weekday Ridership by Time of Day ........................................................... 97
Figure 6-9: Route B Saturday Ridership by Time of Day ............................................................ 97
Figure 6-10: Route B Weekday On/Off Activity.......................................................................... 99
Figure 6-11: Route B Saturday On/Off Activity......................................................................... 100
Figure 6-12: Route C Weekday Ridership by Time of Day ....................................................... 102
Figure 6-13: Route C Saturday Ridership by Time of Day ........................................................ 102
Figure 6-14: Route C Weekday On/Off Activity........................................................................ 104
Figure 6-15: Route C Saturday On/Off Activity......................................................................... 105
Figure 6-16: Route D Weekday Ridership by Time of Day ....................................................... 107
Figure 6-17: Route D Saturday Ridership by Time of Day ........................................................ 107
Figure 6-18: Route D Weekday On/Off Activity ....................................................................... 109
Figure 6-19: Route D Saturday On/Off Activity ........................................................................ 110
Figure 6-20: Route E Weekday Ridership by Time of Day........................................................ 112
Figure 6-21: Route E Saturday Ridership by Time of Day ........................................................ 112
Figure 6-22: Route E Weekday On/Off Activity........................................................................ 114
Figure 6-23: Route E Saturday On/Off Activity......................................................................... 115
Figure 6-24: Route G Weekday Ridership by Time of Day ....................................................... 117
Figure 6-25: Route G Saturday Ridership by Time of Day ........................................................ 117
Figure 6-26: Route G Weekday On/Off Activity ....................................................................... 119
Figure 6-27: Route G Saturday On/Off Activity ........................................................................ 120
Figure 6-28: Route H Weekday Ridership by Time of Day ....................................................... 122
Figure 6-29: Route H Saturday Ridership by Time of Day ........................................................ 122
Figure 6-30: Route H Weekday On/Off Activity ....................................................................... 124
iii
Figure 6-31: Route H Saturday On/Off Activity ........................................................................ 125
Figure 6-32: Route I Weekday Ridership by Time of Day......................................................... 127
Figure 6-33: Route I Saturday Ridership by Time of Day.......................................................... 127
Figure 6-34: Route I Weekday On/Off Activity ......................................................................... 129
Figure 6-35: Route I Saturday On/Off Activity.......................................................................... 130
Figure 6-36: Route J Weekday Ridership by Time of Day ........................................................ 132
Figure 6-37: Route J Saturday Ridership by Time of Day ......................................................... 132
Figure 6-38: Route J Weekday On/Off Activity......................................................................... 134
Figure 6-39: Route J Saturday On/Off Activity.......................................................................... 135
Figure 6-40: Route X4 Weekday Ridership by Time of Day ..................................................... 137
Figure 6-41: Route X4 Weekday On/Off Activity ..................................................................... 138
Figure 7-1: Year 1 – New Route K Weston................................................................................ 145
Figure 7-2: Year 1 – Revisions to Route G................................................................................. 146
Figure 7-3: Suggested Logo........................................................................................................ 147
Figure 7-4: Year 2 Weekday Route Network ............................................................................. 149
Figure 7-5: Year 2 – Revisions to Route D................................................................................. 150
Figure 7-6: Year 2 – Revisions to Route I .................................................................................. 151
Figure 7-7: Year 2 – New Hospital Shuttle ................................................................................ 153
Figure 7-8: Year 2 Saturday Route Network .............................................................................. 155
Figure 7-9: Saturday North Route............................................................................................... 156
Figure 7-10: Saturday South Route............................................................................................. 158
Figure 7-11: Saturday West Route.............................................................................................. 159
Figure 7-12: Saturday Southwest Route ..................................................................................... 160
Figure 7-13: Year 3 Weekday Route Network ........................................................................... 163
Figure 7-14: New Rib Mountain Route ...................................................................................... 165
Figure 7-15: Year 3 – Revisions to Route J................................................................................ 166
Figure 7-16: Year 3 – Route C Downtown Re-Alignment ......................................................... 167
iv
List of Tables
Table 1-1: Population Projections by Minor Civil Division (MCD) .............................................. 1
Table 1-2: Population Change by Minor Civil Division (MCD).................................................... 4
Table 1-3: Number of Jobs in Minor Civil Divisions within Wausau MPO Planning Area ........ 11
Table 1-4: Government Centers.................................................................................................... 13
Table 1-5: Hospitals...................................................................................................................... 14
Table 1-6: Recreation Generators ................................................................................................. 14
Table 1-7: Major Retailers ............................................................................................................ 15
Table 1-8: Social Services and Charitable Organizations............................................................. 16
Table 1-9: Schools ........................................................................................................................ 17
Table 1-10: Major Employers....................................................................................................... 18
Table 1-11: Origin Location for Wausau Employees ................................................................... 21
Table 1-12: Work Locations for Wausau Residents ..................................................................... 21
Table 2-1: WATS Employee Roster ............................................................................................. 23
Table 2-2: Frequency and Span of Service ................................................................................... 24
Table 2-3: Round Trip Route Mileage.......................................................................................... 30
Table 2-4: Average Daily Vehicle Hours and Mileage ................................................................ 31
Table 2-5: Fare Structure .............................................................................................................. 32
Table 2-6: Operating Statistics...................................................................................................... 33
Table 2-7: Operating Expense Summary (2005 Estimated) ......................................................... 33
Table 2-8: Revenue Summary (2005 Estimated).......................................................................... 34
Table 2-9: Shelter Locations......................................................................................................... 34
Table 2-10: Wausau Area Transit System Vehicle Roster ........................................................... 35
Table 2-11: Capital Program (2004 – 2009) ................................................................................. 35
Table 2-12: Ridership Trends ....................................................................................................... 37
Table 2-13: Service Trends........................................................................................................... 37
Table 2-14: Financial Trends ........................................................................................................ 37
Table 3-1: Wausau Area Transit Peer Systems............................................................................. 40
Table 3-2: Financial Efficiency .................................................................................................... 41
Table 3-3: Service Effectiveness .................................................................................................. 42
Table 3-4: Cost Effectiveness ....................................................................................................... 42
Table 3-5: Amount of Service Provided per Capita...................................................................... 43
Table 3-6: Service Span Comparison ........................................................................................... 43
Table 3-7: Trend Analysis ............................................................................................................ 45
Table 4-1: Participating Stakeholders........................................................................................... 52
Table 5-1: Weekday Survey Responses by Route ........................................................................ 59
Table 5-2: Saturday Survey Responses by Route ......................................................................... 59
Table 5-3: Mode of Accessing Bus............................................................................................... 60
Table 5-4: Weekday Transfers From Another WATS Bus .......................................................... 60
Table 5-5: Saturday Transfers From Another WATS Bus ........................................................... 61
Table 5-6: Mode to Complete Trip ............................................................................................... 61
Table 5-7: Weekday Transfers to Another WATS Bus ................................................................ 62
Table 5-8: Saturday Transfers to Another WATS Bus................................................................. 62
Table 5-9: Length of Time Riding WATS.................................................................................... 63
Table 5-10: Trip Purpose .............................................................................................................. 63
v
Table 5-11: Frequency of Use....................................................................................................... 64
Table 5-12: Riding Trend.............................................................................................................. 64
Table 5-13: Fare Payment Options ............................................................................................... 65
Table 5-14: Weekday Service Rating ........................................................................................... 65
Table 5-15: Saturday Service Rating ............................................................................................ 66
Table 5-16: Information Source.................................................................................................... 66
Table 5-17: Weekday Influencing Factors.................................................................................... 67
Table 5-18: Saturday Influencing Factors..................................................................................... 67
Table 5-19: Able to Make Trip without WATS Service............................................................... 68
Table 5-20: Drivers License.......................................................................................................... 68
Table 5-21: Car Available for Trip ............................................................................................... 69
Table 5-22: Vehicles Owned by Household ................................................................................. 69
Table 5-23: Age Group ................................................................................................................. 70
Table 5-24: Annual Family Income Range................................................................................... 71
Table 5-25: Location of Residence ............................................................................................... 71
Table 5-26: Most Important Improvement ................................................................................... 72
Table 6-1: Service Standards and WATS Result.......................................................................... 75
Table 6-2: Route Level Ridership, Operating Data, Cost, and Revenue ...................................... 82
Table 6-3: Passengers per Mile..................................................................................................... 83
Table 6-4: Passengers per Hour .................................................................................................... 84
Table 6-5: Cost per Mile ............................................................................................................... 85
Table 6-6: Cost per Passenger....................................................................................................... 86
Table 6-7: Farebox Recovery........................................................................................................ 87
Table 6-8: Weekday Route Ranking............................................................................................. 88
Table 6-9: Saturday Route Ranking.............................................................................................. 88
Table 6-10: Route A Indicators..................................................................................................... 91
Table 6-11: Route B Indicators..................................................................................................... 96
Table 6-12: Route C Indicators................................................................................................... 101
Table 6-13: Route D Indicators................................................................................................... 106
Table 6-14: Route E Indicators ................................................................................................... 111
Table 6-15: Route G Indicators................................................................................................... 116
Table 6-16: Route H Indicators................................................................................................... 121
Table 6-17: Route I Indicators .................................................................................................... 126
Table 6-18: Route J Indicators.................................................................................................... 131
Table 6-19: Route X4 Indicators................................................................................................. 136
Table 6-20: Route X9 Indicators................................................................................................. 139
Table 7-1: Five Year Service Plan Recommendations ............................................................... 144
Table 7-2: Five Year Financial Projection 2006-2010 ............................................................... 173
vi
CHAPTER 1:
SOCIOECONOMIC AND LAND USE CHARACTERISTICS
Introduction
The Wausau Metropolitan Area is located in Marathon County, which is located in central
Wisconsin. In terms of land area, Marathon County is the largest county in the state. Wausau is
located approximately 175 miles east of Minneapolis and 140 miles north of Madison. The
Wausau Metropolitan Area includes the urbanized areas of Marathon County. Wausau Area
Transit Service (WATS) service is provided in the City of Wausau, as well as he Village of
Rothschild and Schofield, all within the urbanized area. This chapter provides an overview of
socioeconomic and land-use characteristics, based upon data collected from the 2000 United
States Census, the State Demographic Center, and the County of Marathon.
Population
According to the 2000 census, a total of 125,834 people live in Marathon County, with 90,439 of
them living in the urbanized area. The largest municipality in the county is the City of Wausau,
which in 2000 had 38,426 people. Table 1-1 presents the population history and projections for
all the Minor Civil Divisions that make up the Wausau area.
Table 1-1: Population Projections by Minor Civil Division (MCD)
Municipality
Town of Bergen
Town of Berlin
Town of Guenther
Town of Knowlton
Town of Maine
Town of Marathon
Town of Mosinee
Town of Rib Mountain
Town of Stettin
Town of Texas
Town of Wausau
Town of Weston
Village of Brokaw
Village of Kronenwetter
Village of Rothschild
Village of Weston
City of Mosinee
City of Schofield
City of Wausau
MPO Communities
Marathon County
1980
478
820
297
1,153
2,163
1,114
1,464
5,344
4,436
1,634
2,215
11,342
298
5,012
3,338
0
3,015
2,226
32,426
78,775
111,270
1990
499
849
258
1,414
2,206
978
1,638
5,605
2,191
1,643
2,133
11,450
224
4,850
3,310
0
3,820
2,415
37,060
82,543
115,400
2000
615
887
302
1,688
2,407
1,085
2,146
7,556
2,191
1,703
2,214
514
107
5,369
4,970
12,079
4,063
2,117
38,426
90,439
125,834
2010
697
980
328
1,940
2,500
1,127
2,553
8,535
2,155
1,787
2,337
619
93
6,056
4,960
13,926
4,312
2,162
39,813
96,880
134,504
2020
778
1,073
355
2,191
2,635
1,171
2,958
9,515
2,147
1,874
2,512
702
79
6,743
4,962
15,786
4,566
2,210
41,154
130,411
143,308
Source: Demographic Service Center, Division of Intergovernmental Relations, Wisconsin Department of Administration, March 2004
Socioeconomic and Land Use Characteristics
1
The City of Wausau has always been and will continue to be the biggest municipality in the
region. It should be noted that the Village of Weston was incorporated from portions of the
Town of Weston between 1990 and 2000. Figure 1-1 provides a graphic representation of
population distribution throughout the area.
Figure 1-1: Total Population
2
The areas of Marathon County where the population density is highest typically are in the
incorporated urban area. Figure 1-2 presents the population density of Marathon County and of
the Wausau Urbanized Area, which shows that the highest population density is located within
the City of Wausau. Other dense population concentrations exist in the City of Mosinee, the
Town of Rib Mountain, the Village of Kronenwetter, the Town of Weston, the Village of
Weston, the City of Schofield, and the Village of Rothschild.
Figure 1-2: Population Density
From 1990 to 2000 Marathon County grew by about 9.0%, as shown in Table 1-2. This is faster
than the previous 10-year growth of the county between 1980 and 1990, which grew by 4,130
people, or 3.7% in that decade. In the ten year period between 1990 and 2000, the City of
Wausau grew by just under 4%, gaining 4,634 people. Two minor civil divisions saw a
significant loss in population between 1990 and 200 -- the Village of Brokaw lost 117 people or
52% of its population, and the City of Schofield lost 298 people or 12.3% of its population. The
population loss in the Village of Brokaw continues a trend of population loss from the previous
decade. The portion of Marathon County that the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
serves grew by almost 8,000 people between 1990 and 2000.
3
Table 1-2: Population Change by Minor Civil Division (MCD)
Municipality
Town of Bergen
Town of Berlin
Town of Guenther
Town of Knowlton
Town of Maine
Town of Marathon
Town of Mosinee
Town of Stettin
Town of Texas
Town of Wausau
Town of Weston
Village of Brokaw
Village of Weston
City of Mosinee
City of Schofield
City of Wausau
MPO Communities
Marathon County
1980 to 1990
4.4%
3.5%
-13.1%
22.6%
2.0%
-12.2%
11.9%
4.9%
-50.6%
0.6%
-3.7%
1.0%
-24.8%
-3.2%
-0.8%
0.0%
26.7%
8.5%
14.3%
4.8%
3.7%
1990 to 2000
23.2%
4.5%
17.1%
19.4%
9.1%
10.9%
31.0%
34.8%
0.0%
3.7%
3.8%
-95.5%
-52.2%
10.7%
50.2%
0.0%
6.4%
-12.3%
3.7%
9.6%
9.0%
2000 to 2010
13.3%
10.5%
8.6%
14.9%
3.9%
3.9%
19.0%
13.0%
-1.6%
4.9%
5.6%
20.4%
-13.1%
12.8%
-0.2%
15.3%
6.1%
2.1%
3.6%
7.1%
6.9%
2010 to 2020
11.6%
9.5%
8.2%
12.9%
5.4%
3.9%
15.9%
11.5%
-0.4%
4.9%
7.5%
13.4%
-15.1%
11.3%
0.0%
13.4%
5.9%
2.2%
3.4%
34.6%
6.5%
Source: Demographic Service Center, Division of Intergovernmental Relations, Wisconsin Department of Administration, March 2004
A major change that occurred between 1990 and 2000 was the incorporation of the Village of
Weston from portions of the Town of Weston. One result of the incorporation of the Village is
that Table 1 and 2 show that the Town of Weston has lost a large portion of its population while
the Village of Weston has grown from a population of 0 to over 10,000. Thus, when looking at
these two minor civil divisions together, the Town and Village of Weston has actually grown
from 11,450 people in 1990 to 12,593 people in 2000, a growth of almost 10%.
Marathon County as whole is not expected to grow as fast over the next two decades. Growth is
projected to be, 6.9% between 2000 and 2010, and 6.5% between 2010 and 2020. The MPO area
is expected to grow at a slightly faster rate, growing by 7.1% between 2000 and 2010, an
increase of 6,441 people. In the decade from 2000-2010, the City of Wausau is expected to grow
by 1,387 people or 3.6%. The minor civil division that is expected to have the highest growth
rate is the Town of Weston, which will grow by 20.4%. The minor civil division that will add the
most people will be the Village of Weston which will add 1,847 people. Two minor civil
divisions are expected to lose population, with the Village of Brokaw expected to continue losing
population, and the Town of Stettin losing 36 people.
From 2010 to 2020, the MPO area is expected to gain more people than Marathon County as a
whole. Details for that decade can be found in the table.
4
Income
The median household income in Marathon County is higher than the median household income
throughout Wisconsin and the rest of the United States1. For Marathon County, the median
household income in the year 2000 was $45,185, versus $43,791 throughout Wisconsin, and the
nationwide median of $42,151. In Marathon County, the areas with lower median household
incomes are located within the City of Wausau, and a few of the other incorporated cities in the
county. The block group with the lowest median household income is located adjacent to
Downtown Wausau. Higher median income areas are located in the towns and rural areas located
near Wausau. Figure 1-3 provides an overview of median household income in Marathon
County.
Figure 1-3: Median Household Income
1
Source: FOCUS 2003 to 2005 - LIFE in Marathon County Indicator 21
5
Households below Poverty Level
As of the 2000 Census, there were a total of 8,163 people living in poverty2. The areas that have
the highest number of people who are below the poverty level are areas located in the urban
areas. Wausau has a few census block groups that have over 250 people that are below the
poverty level. Other municipalities that have census block groups that have a high population of
persons below the poverty level include the Village of Weston and the City of Mosinee. Many of
the other municipalities and rural areas have less than 100 people per census block group below
the poverty level. This is shown on Figure 1-4.
Figure 1-4: Population Below Poverty Level
2
Source: FOCUS 2003 to 2005 - LIFE in Marathon County brochure
6
Zero-Car Households
There are very few zero-car households in Marathon County. Zero-car households are almost
completely dependant on the transit system to get around, making these households “captive’
riders. As shown on Figure 1-5, rural areas of Marathon County have very few zero-car
households, while areas within the City of Wausau have much higher numbers.
Figure 1-5: Number of Zero-Car Households
Senior Citizen Population
Senior citizens tend to locate in the more urban areas, where access to health and activities are
readily available. This trend is confirmed by Figure 1-6 which shows that there are larger
numbers of senior citizens located in Wausau and the urban areas versus the more rural areas.
Figure 1-7 shows the percent of the population in each census block group that is senior citizens.
This figure reinforces the notion that seniors are locating more in the urbanized areas of
Marathon County. There are a few rural areas that have a high number and proportion of senior
citizens.
7
Figure 1-6: Total Population Over Age 65
Figure 1-7: Percent of Population Over Age 65
8
Youth Population
Youth population is another market that is dependent on transit services. WATS does add service
for the youth population by providing weekday express tripper service. Figure 1-8 shows the
number of individuals under 18 for each census block group. This figure shows that there are a
very high number of youths located in the minor civil divisions surrounding the City of Wausau
in the vicinity of the Towns of Wausau, Rib Mountain and Weston. However, some of the block
groups within the City of Wausau have a high percentage of people under 18, some approaching
40%, as shown on Figure 1-9. Figures 1-8 and 1-9 show that the youth population is spread out
throughout Marathon County.
Figure 1-8: Total Population Under Age 18
9
Figure 1-9: Percent of Population Under Age 18
10
Employment
Almost 84% of Marathon County employment is located within the Wausau Metropolitan Area.
The single largest employment municipality in the county is the City of Wausau, which is the
home to over 47% of all jobs in the county (31,832 jobs). Information on number of jobs for each
minor civil division within the Wausau MPO Planning Area is presented in Table 1-3. This table
shows that most jobs are located in or round Wausau in the urban area.
Table 1-3: Number of Jobs in Minor Civil Divisions within Wausau MPO Planning Area
Minor Civil Division
City of Wausau
Village of Weston
City of Schofield
City of Mosinee
Town of Stettin
Town of Maine
Town of Kronenwetter
Town of Wausau
Village of Brokaw
Town of Mosinee
Town of Texas
Town of Marathon
Town of Knowlton
Town of Berlin
Town of Weston
Town of Bergen
Wausau Metropolitan Area Jobs
Total Marathon County Jobs
Number of Jobs
31,832
4,512
4,318
3,845
3,596
2,547
1,320
787
719
676
592
555
308
261
218
155
52
51
56,344
67,375
Percent of County Jobs
47.2%
6.7%
6.4%
5.7%
5.3%
3.8%
3.0%
1.2%
1.1%
1.0%
0.9%
0.8%
0.5%
0.4%
0.3%
0.2%
0.1%
0.1%
83.6
100.0%
Source: 2000 Census Journey to Work Data
Major Generators
Major generators are single point locations that produce a lot of traffic, and can also produce a
lot of transit riders. Such major generators include major employment locations and employers
(containing at least 100 employees in one location), business districts, commercial areas,
shopping centers, schools, hospitals, medical clinics, senior centers, government, and social
service agencies. Figure 10 presents the location of major generators in and around the City of
Wausau. This map shows that major generators are clustered in downtown Wausau, and the
along major corridors leading into and out of the city. There are six categories of major
generators described for the Wausau area, government centers, hospitals, major retailers, schools,
social services, and recreation generators which are all presented on Figure 1-10.
11
Figure 1-10: Major Traffic Generators
12
Government centers are the seats of government at a municipal, state, and federal level.
Government centers are located near the center of each of the minor civil division that they
serve. Federal and state governments have local outposts within Marathon County. Government
Centers are presented below on Table 1-4.
Table 1-4: Government Centers
Government Center
County of Marathon
US Postal Service – Wausau
City of Wausau Police Department
City of Mosinee
City of Wausau Department of Public Works/Engineering
Village of Weston
City of Wausau Fire Department
City of Wausau Administration
Marathon County Child Development
City of Wausau – Wausau Area Transit
City of Schofield
City-County Data Center Commission
City of Wausau Water Department
US Postal Service – Schofield
US Treasury Department – Internal Revenue Service
Village of Brokaw
City of Wausau – Wausau Community Development
City of Wausau – Wausau Sewer Department
Town of Knowlton
Wisconsin Supreme Court – Wausau
City of Wausau Parks Department
US Postal Service - Rothschild
Town of Stettin
City of Wausau City Attorney
Town of Maine
Township of Marathon
US Postal Service – Marathon
US Postal Service – Brokaw
US Department of Transportation – Federal Aviation Administration
City
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Mosinee
Wausau
Weston
Wausau
Wausau
Rothschild
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Schofield
Wausau
Wausau
Schofield
Rothschild
Brokaw
Wausau
Wausau
Mosinee
Wausau
Wausau
Rothschild
Marathon
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Marathon City
Brokaw
Mosinee
Employees
825
302
87
80
70
62
58
57
53
46
40
39
25
23
22
18
18
15
13
12
11
9
6
5
5
4
3
3
3
2
2
Source: Marathon County Planning Department
13
Health services are very important generators as they have a lot of employees, as well as
generate a lot of visitors. One major segment of the population that use hospitals a lot are the
elderly. In Wausau, there is a concentration of hospitals located in the western part of the city
near Highway 51 and Highway 29. Also, Saint Clare’s Hospital is set to open near Highway 29
in Weston in fall 2005. Table 1-5 presents the hospitals in the Wausau area and the number of
people they employ.
Table 1-5: Hospitals
Hospital
Aspirus Wausau Hospital, Inc.
North Central Health Care Facilities
Aspirus Clinics, Inc.
Wausau Medical Center SC
Radiology Associates of Wausau, Inc.
Aspirus Specialists, Inc
Saint Clare’s Hospital, Ministry Health Care
City
Madison
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Weston
Employees
2,149
859
512
500
170
26
Not Available
There is one major recreational generator in the Wausau area, the Granite Peak Ski area located
in Rib Mountain. This ski area provides jobs for 161 people and is a major traffic generator along
North Mountain Road in Rib Mountain. Table 1-6 provides information about this recreational
generator.
Table 1-6: Recreation Generators
Recreation Site
Granite Peak Ski Area
City
Rib Mountain
Employees
161
14
Major retailers are major traffic generators due both to the commerce that occurs and the number
of people that they employ. Many of the major retailers shown on Figure 1-10 and on Table 1-7
are located in newer strip developments outside of Wausau, along major highway corridors in
locations such as Rib Mountain, Schofield, and Weston. The address listed for many of the major
retailers is the corporate offices located outside of Marathon County.
Table 1-7: Major Retailers
Retailer
Wal Mart
JC Penney Company – Wausau
Cross Roads County Market
ShopKo Wausau
Pick-N-Save
Menard Inc.
Springs Window Fashions
ShopKo Rothschild
Target Stores
Pick-N-Save
Sam’s Club
JC Penney Company
Cedar Creek Foods LLP (Pick-N-Save)
Kohl’s Department Store
Best Buy
Sears Roebuck
Quality Foods
IGA – Rib Mountain
IGA – Schofield
K-Mart – Wausau
Big Lots Stores
Wal Green Comp.
Petco Supplies
Sears Roebuck
City
Rib Mountain
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Rothschild
Weston
Schofield
Rib Mountain
Wausau
Rothschild
Wausau
Rib Mountain
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Schofield
Wausau
Weston
Wausau
Rib Mountain
Wausau
Employees
270
181
177
157
154
146
145
145
140
140
133
131
121
121
116
112
108
102
101
66
27
26
25
11
15
Social service and charitable organizations are important members of the community that are
mainly utilized by lower income people in Marathon County. Most of the social service
organizations are located within the City of Wausau, some in downtown and others in the various
neighborhoods. Table 1-8 gives an overview of the social service and charitable organizations in
Marathon County.
Table 1-8: Social Services and Charitable Organizations
Social Service and Charitable Organizations
YMCA of Wausau
North Central Community Action
United Way of Marathon County
Volunteer Center of Marathon County
Special Olympics of Wisconsin, Inc.
Central Wisconsin Indian Centers, Inc.
March of Dimes Birth Defects
Wisconsin Lutheran Child and Family
Apirus YMCA
City
Wausau
Wisconsin Rapids
Wausau
Wausau
Madison
Wausau
White Plains
Milwaukee
Weston
Employees
170
38
12
4
3
3
3
2
Not Available
Schools in the Wausau area are located primarily in residential areas in order to serve the local
student population. In Marathon County there are a total of two urban school districts and seven
rural school districts. In the 2001-2002 school years total kindergarten through 12th grade
enrollment totaled 20,322 students3 Table 1-9 presents information on the number of employees
at area schools, ranging from elementary schools up to college level schools in Marathon
County.
3
Source: FOCUS 2003 to 2005 - LIFE in Marathon County School Indicators
16
Table 1-9: Schools
School
DC Everest Area School District
North Central Vocational Technical
Mosinee Public School
Wausau West High School
Wausau East High School
Horace Mann Middle School
John Muir Middle School
University of Wisconsin Colleges
Wausau School District Substitutes
Lincoln Elementary School
Thomas Jefferson Elementary School
Franklin Elementary School
Wausau School District
Riverview Elementary School
GD Jones Elementary School
John Marshall Elementary School
Hawthorn Hills Elementary School
Rib Mountain Elementary School
Grant Elementary School
Wausau School District Maintenance and Operations
Maine Elementary School
AC Kiefer Educational Center
Stettin Elementary School
Upper Iowa University
Hewitt Texas Elementary School
University of Wisconsin-Marathon County
Little Scholars Preschool
Montessori School of Wausau
Saint Michael’s School
Saint Anne’s School
Trinity School
Newman Middle School
Newman High School
City
Schofield
Wausau
Mosinee
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Employees
672
587
306
207
156
145
142
121
113
62
61
57
57
53
53
53
50
46
42
33
32
26
23
21
18
18
19
13
11
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available
Table 1-10 and Figure 1-11 present major employers in Marathon County (employers that
employ at least 100 people). As most of the major employers are located in the Wausau area, no
map of the county is provided. The larger employers are typically located in Downtown Wausau
or corridors leading into and out of town. In many instances, the major generators listed in the
previous section are also major employers in Wausau. Figure 1-11 does show all of the major
employers however Table 1-10 does not repeat information listed in Tables 1-4 through 1-9.
17
Table 1-10: Major Employers
Major Employer
Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Kolbe & Kolbe Millworks Company, Inc.
Greenheck Fan Corp.
Apogee Wausau Group, Inc.
SNE Enterprises, Inc.
Wausau Benefits, Inc.
Marathon Electric Manufacturing Corp.
Marathon Cheese Corp.
Wausau-Mosinee Paper Corp.
Weyerhauser Company
Mosinee Paper Corp – Pulp and Paper Division
Federal-Mogul Piston Rings, Inc.
Land O’Lakes, Inc.
Wausau Homes, Inc.
SNE Enterprises, Inc.
Graphic Packaging Corp.
Van Ert Electric Company, Inc.
Fulton Performance Products, Inc.
Gordon Aluminum Industries, Inc.
Kraft Foods North America, Inc.
Wausau Coated Products, Inc.
Wausau Tile, Inc.
W-H Transportation Company, Inc.
Oldcastle Glass, Inc.
Mesaba Aviation, Inc.
Green Bay Packaging, Inc.
Lemke Packaging, Inc.
Moduline Windows, Inc.
US Filter/Zimpro, Inc.
Gannett Satellite Information – Wausau Daily Herald
City
Wausau
Wausau
Schofield
Wausau
Mosinee
Wausau
Wausau
Marathon
Mosinee
Rothschild
Mosinee
Schofield
Wausau
Wausau
Mosinee
Wausau
Wausau
Mosinee
Schofield
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Schofield
Mosinee
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Rothschild
Wausau
Employees
1,451
1,442
1,245
1,009
973
967
808
768
710
516
483
435
406
372
334
308
300
273
272
261
252
241
232
212
208
201
194
189
189
182
18
Table 1-10: Major Employers (cont.)
Major Employer
3M Company
QTI Human Resources, Inc.
United Parcel Services, Inc.
Norlen, Inc.
Parisian, Inc.
Wausau Steel Corp.
Rivers Hotels Company, Inc. – Holiday Inn
Graebel Companies, Inc.
Hammer Blow, Inc.
Wire Maid Manufacturing Limited
Imperial Industries, Inc.
Crystal Finishing Systems, Inc.
Cedar Creek Foods LLP (Pick-N-Save)
17th Avenue Limited, Inc. – Ramada Inn
Indiger Limited – 2510 Restaurant
Merrill Iron & Steel, Inc.
The Agency, Inc.
Schofield Enterprises, Inc.
Jarp Industries, Inc.
Wausau Supply Company
PDM Bridge LLC – Steel Bridges
Krueger Wholesale Florists, Inc.
Marathon Communications Group, Inc.
Hereford & Hops of Wausau LLC
City
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Schofield
Wausau
Wausau
Rothschild
Wausau
Wausau
Schofield
Wausau
Schofield
Rothschild
Wausau
Wausau
Schofield
Wausau
Schofield
Wausau
Wausau
Wausau
Mosinee
Wausau
Wausau
Employees
173
170
155
152
149
143
141
133
131
127
125
123
121
120
118
116
111
110
107
107
105
104
103
102
19
Figure 1-11: Location of Employers with Greater than 100 Employees
20
Journey to Work
Journey to work information is displayed on Table 1-11 and 1-12 for the City of Wausau, which
is the largest minor civil division in Marathon County in terms of residents and number of jobs. .
Table 1-11 presents the number of people who commute to the City of Wausau for the 15 largest
origins. Table 1-12 presents the workplace destinations for Wausau residents. Both tables show
that 12,572 people live and work in Wausau, and this is the single largest commuter pattern in
the metro area.
Table 1-11: Origin Location for Wausau Employees
Home Minor Civil Division
City of Wausau
Village of Weston
Town of Maine
Town of Stettin
City of Merrill
Town of Wausau
Town of Texas
City of Mosinee
City of Schofield
Town of Mosinee
Village of Marathon City
Town of Ringle
Total
12,572
2,869
2,325
953
948
757
668
660
608
481
477
476
442
301
286
Transit Service
WATS – Multiple Routes
None
None
None
WATS Route C
None
None
None
None
None
None
WATS Route C
None
None
None
Table 1-12: Work Locations for Wausau Residents
Work Minor Civil Division
City of Wausau
City of Schofield
Village of Weston
Town of Stettin
City of Mosinee
City of Merrill
Town of Maine
Village of Brokaw
City of Stevens Point
Village of Marathon City
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Town of Wausau
Total
12,572
847
830
711
516
424
372
230
182
135
122
115
101
66
63
Transit Service
WATS – Multiple Routes
WATS Route C
None
None
WATS Route C
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
21
CHAPTER 2:
WATS SERVICE OVERVIEW
Introduction
Wausau Area Transit (WATS) operates bus and paratransit service in the Wausau Metropolitan
area, providing service throughout the City of Wausau, as well as to parts of the Village of
Rothschild and the Town of Schofield. WATS provides 18 fixed routes, including 9 regular
routes, and 9 express routes. WATS+ paratransit provides “curb to curb” service to ADA-eligible
passengers who are unable to use the fixed route bus system due to physical or mental
disabilities. The WATS+ paratransit service area includes all locations within ¾ of a mile of a
WATS fixed route. This memo provides an overview of the WATS Program.
Organizational Structure
WATS is a department of the City of Wausau. Figure 2-1 presents an organization chart for
WATS. It is governed by a 7 member transit commission, which includes five members from
Wausau, and one each from Rothschild, and Schofield. WATS is headed by a transit director,
and organized into 3 departments -- operations, paratransit, and maintenance -- each headed by
either a supervisor or coordinator. There is also an administrative specialist who reports directly
to the transit director. The operations manager is responsible for the fixed route bus operations,
the paratransit coordinator is responsible for the WATS+ paratransit service, and the
maintenance supervisor is responsible for maintenance of the buses.
Figure 2-1: WATS Organizational Chart
WATS Service Overview
22
Table 2-1 presents the number of employees by each organizational category.
Table 2-1: WATS Employee Roster
Labor Classification
Vehicle Operations
Vehicle Maintenance
Non-Vehicle Maintenance
General Administration
Total by Category
Total Employees
Full Time Employees
Part Time Employees
18
10
3
0
1
0
5
0
27
10
37 Employees
Source: WATS Organizational Chart
Fixed Route Service Description
Fixed route bus service is provided on 9 regular routes and 9 express routes throughout the City
of Wausau, as well as in the Village of Rothschild and Town of Schofield. Regular routes
provide service throughout the service day from 6:15 AM to 6:30 PM weekdays, and 8:45 AM to
5:30 PM Saturdays during the school year. WATS does not provide service on Sundays or during
evening and overnight periods. Express routes are open to the general public and are geared
towards providing supplemental services during peak school periods. For the most part, the
express routes operate only one or two trips in the morning, and afternoon to coincide with
school arrival and dismissal times. Two of the express routes provide more extensive service
hours. The first is route X4 which operates all day service every 30 minutes. The second is route
X9 which provides service every 30 minutes between 6:30 AM and 8:30 AM and 2:30 PM and
6:30 PM.
23
Table 2-2 provides an overview of frequency and span for all of the fixed routes.
Table 2-2: Frequency and Span of Service
Route
Frequency
A
B
C
D
E
G
H
I
J
30 Minutes
30 Minutes
60 Minutes
30 Minutes
30 Minutes
30 Minutes
30 Minutes
30 Minutes
30 Minutes
X1
X2
X3
X4
X5
X6
X7
X8
X9
2 Trips
2 Trips
2 Trips
30 Minutes
2 Trips
2 Trips
3 Trips
2 Trips
30 Minutes
Weekday
Saturday
Span
Frequency
Span
Regular Bus Service
6:15 AM to 6:30 PM
30 Minutes 8:45 AM to 5:30 PM
6:15 AM to 6:30 PM
6:00 AM to 6:30 PM
6:15 AM to 6:30 PM
6:15 AM to 6:30 PM
6:15 AM to 6:30 PM
6:15 AM to 6:30 PM
6:15 AM to 6:30 PM
6:15 AM to 6:30 PM
Express Service (operated only on school days)
7:00 AM to 7:30 AM, 2:55 PM to 3:30 PM
No Service
7:00 AM to 7:30 AM, 2:55 PM to 3:35 PM
No Service
7:05 AM to 7:25 AM, 3:05 PM to 3:28 PM
No Service
6:30 AM to 6:00 PM
No Service
6:50 AM to 7:28 AM, 3:00 PM to 3:38 PM
No Service
7:03 AM to 7:26 AM, 3:00 PM to 3:15 PM
No Service
7:00 AM to 7:25 AM, 2:55 PM to 3:16 PM
No Service
7:55 AM to 8:10 AM, 3:25 PM to 3:35 PM
No Service
6:30 AM to 8:30 AM, 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM
No Service
Source: Local and Express bus route guide and schedule
The 9 regular routes operate on a “pulse system,” with pulses occurring every 30 minutes in
Downtown Wausau at the Transit Center. Figure 2-2 presents the Wausau regular route network.
Eight of the nine regular routes operate on a 30 minute headway, meeting every pulse at the
Transit Center. The ninth route, Route C, operates on a 60 minute schedule and meets every
other pulse.
24
Figure 2-2: WATS Regular Route Network
Bus stop signs are located at every other block and at major traffic generators, and are the only
locations where buses stop.
25
Below is a description of each of the regular bus routes:
•
Route A – This route operates between the Downtown Wausau Transit Center and North
Central Health Care Facilities in southeast Wausau via South Grand Avenue. Generators
served by this route include North Central Health Care Facilities, Mount View Care
Center, Wausau Municipal Airport, John Marshall Elementary School, Sturgeon Bluff
Apartments, Riverview Towers East, and Downtown Wausau. Roundtrip travel time on
this route is 30 minutes, allowing one bus to operate on this route all day on weekdays
and Saturdays.
•
Route B – This route is operated between the Downtown Wausau Transit Center and
North Central Technical College in the northern part of the city, via 1st Avenue North and
3rd Avenue North. Generators include North Central Technical College, Thomas
Jefferson Elementary School, Grant Elementary, and Downtown Wausau. Roundtrip
travel time on this route is 30 minutes, allowing one bus to operate on this route all day
on weekdays and Saturdays.
•
Route C – This route operates between the Downtown Wausau Transit Center, and the
Town of Schofield and Village of Rothschild, operating along South Grand Avenue and
Business Highway 51. Generators served by this route include Rothschild Elementary
School, ShopKo, Schofield Elementary School, Sturgeon Bluff Apartments, the Social
Services Office in Wausau, Riverview Tower, and Downtown Wausau. Roundtrip travel
time on this route is 60 minutes, allowing one bus to operate this route all day on
weekdays and Saturdays.
•
Route D – This route operates between the Downtown Wausau Transit Center and
Kanneberg Plaza via 6th Avenue North and 10th Avenue North. Generators served by this
route include Kanneberg Plaza, Wausau West High School, Randolph Court Apartments,
Newman High School, Saint Anne School, and Downtown Wausau. Roundtrip travel
time on this route is 30 minutes allowing one bus to operate all day on weekdays. On
Saturdays this route is interlined with Route E, providing 60 minute service.
•
Route E – This route operates Downtown Wausau Transit Center and Marshfield Clinic
via West Bridge Street. Generators served by this route include Marshfield Clinic,
Wausau Insurance Companies, Aspirus-Wausau Hospital, Wausau Insurance Regional,
Newman High School, Saint Anne School, Grant Elementary School, and Downtown
Wausau. Roundtrip travel time on this route is 30 minutes allowing one bus to operate all
day on weekdays. On Saturdays this route is interlined with Route D, providing 60
minute service
•
Route G – This route operates between the Downtown Wausau Transit Center and
ShopKo in West Wausau via West Sherman Street. Generators served by this route
include ShopKo, John Muir Middle School, Trinity Elementary School, and Downtown
Wausau. Roundtrip travel time on this route is 30 minutes, allowing one bus to operate on
this route all day on weekdays and Saturdays.
26
•
Route H – This route operates between the Downtown Wausau Transit Center and North
Wausau via North 6th Street and Center Street. Generators served by this route include
Riverview Elementary School, Horace Mann Middle School, Franklin Elementary, Saint
Michael’s School, and Downtown Wausau. Roundtrip travel time on this route is 30
minutes, allowing one bus to operate on this route all day on weekdays and Saturdays.
•
Route I – This route operates between the Downtown Wausau Transit Center and CHC
Rehab Clinic via West Stewart Avenue. Generators served by this route include CHC
Rehab Clinic, CHC Hospice House, VNA, Wausau Manor, Westhill Professional Center,
Saint Mathew’s School, University of Wisconsin-Marathon Campus, Trinity School, and
Downtown Wausau. Roundtrip travel time on this route is 30 minutes, allowing one bus
to operate on this route all day on weekdays and Saturdays.
•
Route J – This route operates between the Downtown Wausau Transit Center and
southwest Wausau via East Thomas Street. Generators served by this route include G.D.
Jones Elementary School, Our Savior’s School, Wausau Social Services, Riverview
Tower East, and Downtown Wausau. Roundtrip travel time on this route is 30 minutes,
allowing one bus to operate on this route all day on weekdays and Saturdays.
The nine express routes enhance the regular route network by accommodating increased
passenger loads on school days. These routes only operate when school is in session. Most of
these routes do not serve the Wausau Transit Center, bypassing downtown Wausau to provide
direct service between neighborhoods around the community and Wausau schools. All but two of
these routes provide one or two trips timed to arrive at Wausau schools before the “opening bell”
and depart once schools let out. The exceptions, as noted earlier, are the X4, which provides all
day service, and the X9 which operates during peak periods.
Express bus stops are signed differently than regular routes. The express bus route network is
presented on Figure 2-3, with route descriptions provided below:
•
Route X1 – This route operates between Southeast Wausau and Wausau East High
School via Grand Avenue and North 7th Street. Schools served by this route include the
John Marshall School, Horace Mann Middle School, and Wausau East School. This route
provides additional capacity to routes A, C, and H as well as providing a direct
connection between the southeast and northeast areas of Wausau. The PM trip does serve
the Wausau Transit Center.
•
Route X2 – This route operates between Southeast Wausau and Wausau East High
School via North 10th Street. Schools served by this route include the John Marshall
School, Horace Mann Middle School, and Wausau East High School. This route provides
additional capacity to routes A, C, and H as well as providing a direct connection
between the southeast and northeast areas of Wausau. This route does not serve the
Wausau Transit Center.
•
Route X3 – This route operates between Northeast Wausau and Wausau East High
School. Schools served by this route include the Riverview School, Horace Mann Middle
27
School, and Wausau East High School. This route provides additional capacity to route H
and provides connections to areas of Wausau that are not served by route H. This route
does not serve the Wausau Transit Center.
Figure 2-3: WATS Express Route Network
28
•
Route X4 – This route operates between the Wausau Transit Center in Downtown
Wausau and East High School. This route provides 30 minute service all day, with
midday service paid for by the Board of Education. One bus is necessary to run this route
all day. This route meets every pulse at the Wausau Transit Center. While this route does
operate all day service, it does not operate on Saturdays and summer months. This route
provides service to the Franklin School, Saint Michael’s School, and Wausau East High
School.
•
Route X5 – This route operates between Southwest Wausau and John Muir Middle
School. This route provides service to G.D. Jones School, John Muir Middle School,
Newman Middle School, Newman High School, Wausau West High School, and Saint
Anne School. This very indirect route provides additional capacity to routes D, E, G, I,
and J and provides connections between the areas of Wausau that are west of the
Wisconsin River. This route does not serve the Wausau Transit Center.
•
Route X6 – This route operates between Northwest Wausau and John Muir Middle
School. This route provides service to Wausau West High School, Newman High School,
and John Muir Middle School. This route provides additional capacity to routes B and D
while providing a direct connection through Northwest Wausau. This route does not
serve the Wausau Transit Center.
•
Route X7 – This route operates between the Wausau Transit Center and Horace Mann
Middle School via North 6th Street. Schools served by this route include Saint Michael,
Franklin School, and Horace Mann Middle School. This route provides additional
capacity to route H, providing a more direct route to Horace Mann Middle School from
the Wausau Transit Center.
•
Route X8 – This route provides service between North 7th Street and Franklin Street and
Hawthorn Hills School via North 7th Street, Prospect Street, and North 10th Street. The
only school served by this route is Hawthorn Hills School. This route does not augment
any other route rather it provides service to a school that is not along any other WATS
route.
•
Route X9 – This route follows the routing of the former route F between the Wausau
Transit Center and Terrace Heights Apartments. Service is provided only during peak
periods when school is open. This route operates to the Wausau Transit Center, meeting
every peak period “pulse.” Generators served by this route include Terrace Heights
Apartments and Downtown Wausau. Service is provided using one bus.
The average roundtrip route length for WATS regular routes is approximately 8.2 miles. The
average route length is skewed, however, by route C which is a one-hour route and thus has the
longest roundtrip route length: 16.2 miles. The average route length for the eight 30 minute
routes considered is 7.2 miles long. The shortest route is route D with a roundtrip mileage of 6.3
miles. Route lengths are presented on Table 2-3, which also presents the average scheduled
speed for each route (e.g. route miles divided by scheduled running time). The average speed for
29
WATS regular routes is 14.6 miles per hour, ranging from 16.2 miles per hour for route C to 12.6
miles per hour for route D.
Table 2-3: Round Trip Route Mileage
Route
A
B
C
D
E
G
H
I
J
Average
Route Miles
6.50
7.70
16.20
6.30
7.30
6.60
8.10
7.80
7.30
8.20
Average Speed (MPH)
13.00
15.40
16.20
12.60
14.60
13.20
16.20
15.60
14.60
14.60
Source: WATS
On an average weekday, WATS regular route vehicles travel 1,650.6 miles over 112.19 hours.
On Saturdays, WATS regular route vehicles travel 1,060.2 miles over 71.36 hours. The average
number of revenue miles and hours are presented on Table 2-4. The longer routes operate more
revenue miles each day, while the shorter routes operate fewer miles. This is because all routes
have, for the most part, the same span of service and, with the exception of route C, the same
number of trips per day as well as the same number of revenue hours. Saturday shows a similar
pattern to the weekday pattern, with the exception being routes D and E, which are interlined.
These routes operate half the number of trips as the other routes on Saturdays, thus have half the
number of miles and hours as the other routes.
30
Table 2-4: Average Daily Vehicle Hours and Mileage
Route
A
B
C
D
E
G
H
I
J
Total
X1
X2
X3
X4
X5
X6
X7
X8
X9
Total
Grand Total
Weekday
Revenue Miles
Revenue
Hours
Regular Route
162.5
12.42
192.5
12.42
210.6
12.83
157.5
12.42
182.5
12.42
165.0
12.42
202.5
12.42
195.0
12.42
182.5
12.42
1,650.6
112.19
Express Route
41.6
5.33
17.3
2.17
39.9
3.50
130.6
11.50
30.1
2.08
48.2
3.50
19.8
2.25
11.2
1.33
80.4
6.00
419.0
39.84
2,069.6
152.03
Saturday (School Year)
Revenue Miles
Revenue
Hours
117.0
138.6
145.8
56.7
65.7
118.8
145.8
140.4
131.4
1,060.2
8.92
8.92
8.92
4.46
4.46
8.92
8.92
8.92
8.92
71.36
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
-1,060.2
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
-71.36
Source: WATS Operator schedules
WATS Fare Structure
WATS has a straightforward fare structure, as seen on Table 2-5. The base fare for fixed route
services is $1.00, with 10 tokens available for $6.00. A monthly bus pass is available for frequent
riders, costing $26.00 a month for adults. Half fare or a half-priced monthly pass is available to
senior citizens and disabled passengers. Students ride for $0.75, or pay $13.00 for a monthly
pass. Students also have the option of buying 10 tickets for $4.50. Passengers can transfer for
free between two routes, however transfers are only available at the downtown Transit Center or
at locations where multiple bus routes intersect. Transfers are valid only for the next trip on
leaving the Transit Center. The fare for WATS+ paratransit is $2.00 per trip. In recent years two
fare changes have raised the base fare from $0.85 to $1.00, with corresponding changes to other
fare categories. The fare increases occurred in 1990, when the base fare rose from $0.85 to
$0.90, and in 2001 when the fare went from $0.90 to $1.00.
31
Table 2-5: Fare Structure
Fare Category
Adults
Senior Citizen/Disabled
Student
WATS+ Paratransit
Cash
$1.00
$0.50
$0.75
$2.00
Tokens
10 for $6.00
NA
NA
NA
Tickets
NA
NA
10 for $4.50
NA
Monthly Pass
$26.00
$13.00
$13.00
NA
Source: WATS
WATS+ Paratransit Service Description
WATS+ paratransit is the ADA service provided by WATS. Service is available within ¾ of a
mile of any bus route, and operates only when regular bus routes are in operation. The service is
operated by Badger Care-A-Van under contract to WATS. It is a shared ride service, which
means the van may not necessarily take passengers non-stop to their destination, rather the
paratransit van may make other drop-offs and pick-ups along the way. The service is available
for patrons who because of mental or physical disabilities are not able to use regular WATS
buses, all of which are ADA accessible. The service is a curb-to-curb service, which means that
drivers can only assist passengers getting into and out of the paratransit vehicle; operators can
not assist patrons in getting to the vehicle.
Eligibility for paratransit service is determined by WATS. Passengers can be certified to use the
service for a maximum of two years, after which it is the passenger’s responsibility to apply for
re-certification. Passengers are notified 60 days prior to the expiration of certification.
“Conditional eligibility” may be granted to some riders where only ADA eligible trips may be
made on paratransit, with the fixed route bus service providing all other trips. To be certified to
use paratransit, passengers need to contact WATS and provide documentation of disability and
duration of the disability if it is a short term condition.
Certified riders are allowed to carry packages and bring guests on paratransit trips. Riders are
allowed a maximum of three packages of grocery bag size or similar. Personal car attendants
may ride for free when traveling with a certified passenger. One passenger may ride with a
certified passenger, but must pay full fare if an adult, or for free if the passenger is a child. ADA
eligible guests from out of town must contact WATS to obtain a 21-day WATS+ certification.
Service animals can ride for free, but the passenger needs to inform WATS before riding.
A no-show is recorded if the passenger who has scheduled a ride fails to ride. If a passenger
intends not to take the ride, he or she must contact WATS at least one hour before the scheduled
pick-up time. After 3 no-shows in a 60 day time period, a passenger will be suspended from
WATS+ paratransit for 30 days. A 60 day suspension will occur if a passenger accumulates an
additional 3 no-shows within a 12 month period after the previous suspension.
Table 2-6 presents the operating statistics for the paratransit service. In FY 2003 the service
carried a total of 18,061 passengers, averaging around 69 per weekday and 13 on Saturdays. A
total of six vehicles are dedicated to the service, with a total of one vehicle in operation on
Saturdays. On an average weekday, paratransit service operates 16 revenue hours and travels 255
32
miles. On Saturdays the one paratransit vehicle is in service for about 3 hours, traveling an
average of 47 miles. In FY 2003 paratransit operated over 4,064 hours, traveling 66,833 miles.
Table 2-6: Operating Statistics
Category
Ridership
Peak Vehicles
Revenue Hours
Revenue Miles
Average Weekday
69
6
16
255
Average Saturday
13
1
3
47
Annual Total
18,061
6
4,064
66,833
Source: 2003 National Transit Database Reporting
Financial Information
WATS finances are made up of its operating expenses and its revenue sources. The capital
program is presented in later in this chapter. Operating expenses include vehicle operations,
which represents the largest portion of operating expenses, costs paid for paratransit operation,
vehicle maintenance, non-vehicle maintenance, and general/administration costs. Table 2-7
provides an overview of the WATS 2005 estimated operating expenses.
Table 2-7: Operating Expense Summary (2005 Estimated)
Expense Object Class
Vehicle Operations
Paratransit
Vehicle Maintenance
Non-Vehicle Maintenance
General Administration
Total
Amount
$1,807,879.87
$616,910.90
$325,864.18
$108431.11
$510,271.35
$3,369,357.39
Percent of Budget
53.7%
18.3%
9.7%
3.2%
15.1%
100.0%
Source: 2005 WATS Operating Budget
33
Table 2-8 provides a summary of 2005 estimated revenue sources. Approximately 12.5% of
revenue is projected to come from the farebox, with another 60 percent from Federal and State
Operating Assistance. The remaining 28 percent comes from local sources including the
municipalities served by WATS, Marathon County, and the Wausau school district.
Table 2-8: Revenue Summary (2005 Estimated)
Revenue Source
Federal Operating Assistance
State Operating Assistance
Marathon County Surcharge
Marathon County Local Share
Net Local Share of Operating Expenses (municipal)
Operating Revenue/Farebox
Other Income
Total
Amount
$943,420.07
$1,096,458.99
$73,290.32
$101,473.78
$706,060.86
$422,117.37
$24,486.00
$2,050.00
$3,369,357.39
Percent of
Revenue
28.0%
32.5%
2.2%
3.0%
21.0%
12.5%
0.7%
0.1%
100.0%
Source: 2005 WATS Operating Budget
Capital Resources
WATS capital resources include its vehicle fleet, bus stop signs, administrative and maintenance
base, Transit Center, and shelters located throughout Wausau. The paratransit vehicle fleet is
owned by the contract operator. The WATS administration and maintenance facility is located at
420 Plumer Street in Wausau. The Transit Center, is located near the Wausau Center Mall and
several government buildings in Downtown Wausau, on city-owned land, and has space for
about 10 buses. Plans are underway to upgrade and expand this facility.
WATS also has installed nine bus shelters at the locations shown on Table 2-9.
Table 2-9: Shelter Locations
Shelter Location
North Central Health Care Center
Surgeon Bluff Apartments – Elderly Housing
Riverview Towers Apartment – Elderly Housing
North Central Technical College
Kannenberg Plaza – Elderly Housing
Aspirus Wausau Hospital
Marshfield Clinic
YMCA – Wausau
Horace Mann Middle School.
Routes Served
A
A
A
B
D
E
E
E
H
Source: WATS
34
Table 2-10: Wausau Area Transit System Vehicle Roster
Number in
Fleet
Year
2
12
2
6
4
1995
1995
1996
1998
1998
1
1
1
1
1
1990
1990
1999
1989
1998
Make
Model
Seats/Stands
Fixed Route Revenue Vehicles
Bluebird*
Q-Bus
Gillig
Phantom-35 Foot
Gillig
Phantom-35 foot
Gillig
Phantom-35 foot
Gillig
Phantom-40 foot
Non-Revenue Vehicles
Dodge
Ram 150
Dodge
Power Ram 350
Chevy
Venture
Ford
Aerostar
Chevrolet
Cheyenne 3500
*Leased from the City of Merrill
Projected
Replacement
23
37/21
37/21
37/21
45/38
NA
2007
2008
2010
2010
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
2006
NA
2005
NA
Source: WATS
The five year capital program is presented below in Table 2-11. This program provides for the
replacement of vehicles and other critical components used for the operation of WATS and
WATS+ paratransit service. The total cost of the capital program is almost $7.4 million dollars
over five years. Of that amount the federal share is approximately $5.9 million, with the local
share responsible for the rest. The year with the highest capital expenditure will be in 2008, when
vehicle replacements will begin with replacement of 10 fixed route buses and six paratransit
vehicles.
Table 2-11: Capital Program (2004 – 2009)
Project Description
Year
Purchase Supervisor Van
Snow Removal for Transit Center
Security System
Replace Bus Washer Brushes
Telephone System
Annual Total
Brake Lathe
Fleet Boss AVL System
Purchase Rebuilt Buses
Engine/Transmission Replacement (6 each)
Wheelchair Lift Replacement (6)
Bus Shelters
Seal Concrete Floor in WATS garage
Waste Oil Heater
Annual Total
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
Total Cost
$26,000
$23,000
$10,000
$10,000
$18,250
$87,250
$12,000
$38,900
$50,000
$132,000
$99,600
$40,000
$10,000
$5,000
$387,500
Federal
Share
$20,800
$18,400
$8,000
$8,000
$14,600
$69,800
$9,600
$31,120
$40,000
$105,600
$79,680
$32,000
$8,000
$4,000
$310,000
Local
Share
$5,200
$4,600
$2,000
$2,000
$3,650
$17,450
$2,400
$7,780
$10,000
$26,400
$19,920
$8,000
$2,000
$1,000
$77,500
35
Table 2-11: Capital Program (2004 – 2009) (continued)
Project Description
Year
Total Cost
Asphalt Paving – WATS Parking Lot
Engine/Transmission Replacement (6 each)
Purchase ¾ Ton Service Truck
Small Parts Storage Drawers
Annual Total
Radio System
Annual Total
Paratransit Vehicles (6)
Purchase Buses (10)
Annual Total
Purchase Buses (10)
Capital Plan Total
2006
2006
2006
2006
2006
$30,00
$99,000
$132,000
$33,500
$3,300
$298,400
$99,600
$70,000
$169,600
$440,000
$3,000,000
$3,440,000
$3,000,000
$7,382,750
2007
2007
2008
2008
2009
Federal
Local
Share
Share
$24,000
$6,000
$79,680
$19,920
$105,600
$26,400
$26,800
$6,700
$2,640
$660
$238,720
$59,680
$79,680
$19,920
$56,000
$14,000
$135,680
$33,920
$352,000
$88,000
$2,400,000
$600,000
$2,752,000
$688,000
$2,400,000
$688,000
$5,906,200 $1,476,550
Source: WATS Capital Improvement Plan 2004-2009
Historical Trend 1999 – 2004
The historical trend below is based on National Transit Database reports from 1999 to 2003, the
last year they were available, and WATS data for 2004. Total ridership declined 13 percent over
the period but rebounded in 2004 with an increase of 2 percent over 2003. Some of the decline is
clearly correlated with the implementation of two fare increases during the period as the fares
rose from a base of 85 cents to $ 1.00.
Paratransit ridership declined faster than fixed ridership, by 45.4% between 1999 and 2004,
largely due to operating and policy changes aimed at containing paratransit cost increases
without negatively affecting the travel needs of the ADA population. These changes were
implemented on the basis of the Marathon County Paratransit Study. Table 2-12 presents the
ridership trends between 1999 and 2004.
During the same period, there was a reduction of service for both fixed route services and
paratransit services, which may have also affected ridership. Fixed route services showed a
revenue hour reduction of service by about 1% in the six year period, mainly due to the
elimination of route F, which became an express tripper, while none of the expansion
recommendations of the 1999 plan were implemented. Paratransit saw a more dramatic revenue
hour decrease of almost 48%, again largely due to the implementation of operating and policy
changes to control costs. The largest decrease in paratransit hours occurred between 2003 and
2004. The number of peak paratransit vehicles in operation stayed the same, while there was an
elimination of one vehicle in the last five years for fixed route services. There was a slight net
loss of fixed route revenue miles, around 1.5%, in 6 years, while paratransit mileage was reduced
by over 47%. Most of the paratransit mileage decrease occurred between 2003 and 2004.
36
Table 2-12: Ridership Trends
Year
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Total Change
Annual Change
Base Fare
$0.85
$0.85
$0.90
$0.90
$1.00
$1.00
17.6%
2.9%
Fixed Route
849,843
827,930
805,668
758,583
725,188
746,239
-12.2%
-2.0%
Paratransit
21,657
23,982
21,539
20,876
18,076
11,822
-45.4%
-7.6%
Total
871,500
851,912
827,207
779,459
743,264
758,061
-13.0%
-2.2%
Source: NTD Reporting FY 1999 to 2003 and WATS 2004
Table 2-13 presents the service trends over the last 6 years.
Table 2-13: Service Trends
Year
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Total Change
Annual Change
Revenue Hours
Fixed Route Paratransit
38,827
5,350
38,327
5,758
37,961
4,738
37,887
4,781
38,072
4,064
38,386
2,712
-1.1%
-49.3%
-0.2%
-8.2%
Revenue Miles
564,311
80,811
556,607
87,538
556,023
77,700
557,006
77,450
559,926
66,833
555,801
42,354
-1.5%
-47.6%
-0.3%
7.9%
Peak Vehicles
21
6
21
7
21
6
21
6
20
6
20
6
-4.8%
0.0%
-1.0%
0.0%
The financial trends for the six year period between 1999 and 2004 are presented below in Table
2-14. The cost to operate the fixed route system grew by 27%, while fixed route revenue stayed
constant. Over the six year period paratransit costs grew until 2002, and then with the
implementation of the new policies dropped back to 1999 levels. Paratransit farebox revenue
declined due to the loss of ridership from service and policy changes.
Table 2-14: Financial Trends
Year
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Total Change
Annual Change
Modal Cost Modal Cost
$2,047,091
$228,620
$2,116,818
$250,499
$2,219,677
$257,203
$2,251,820
$304,576
$2,432,306
$290,345
$2,599,187
$228,950
27.0%
0.1%
4.5%
0.0%
Fixed Route
Paratransit
Farebox Revenue Farebox Revenue
$345,380
$36,666
$328,763
$29,768
$333,427
$38,617
$320,378
$37,580
$328,864
$36,122
$348,655
$23,644
0.9%
-35.5%
0.2%
-5.9%
37
Service Changes Since the Previous TDP
Since the previous TDP was completed in 1999, WATS has made a number of changes to the
bus network. The changes made addressed minor service pattern adjustments and selected
reductions as recommended in that study, but did not include any of the service expansion
recommendations due to a combination of funding constraints and inter-jurisdictional issues.
Regular service on Route F has been discontinued, replaced with tripper service that operates
during the peak periods when schools are in session, now called the X9. Since the new Wausau
East High School has opened, a new all day express route, the X4, was developed to serve this
school, with midday service funded by the Board of Education. Minor route changes to routed D,
E, and H have also been implemented in order to improve route productivity. On Saturdays,
routes D and E have been interlined to provide 60 minute service on each route, utilizing one
vehicle.
A major change to paratransit service has been the change from a door-to-door service to a curbto-curb service, where paratransit personnel assist passengers getting into and out of the vehicle,
not into and out of the destination.
The last major change since the previous TDP has been a change in the base fare from $0.85 to
$1.00, with corresponding changes to other fare categories. The fare increase occurred in two
increments, with the base fare going from $0.85 to $0.90 in 1990 and from $0.90 to $1.00 in
2001.
38
CHAPTER 3:
PEER GROUP AND TREND ANALYSES
Introduction
This chapter presents a peer and trend analysis, comparing Wausau Area Transit (WATS) to
similar systems. The two peer groups --- a nationwide peer analysis and a Wisconsin systems
peer group -- were developed originally for the 1999 TDP, and are used once again for this
analysis, to provide both continuity and an excellent trend analysis between the two studies.
Data for the peer analyses herein were taken from the 2003 National Transit Database (NTD)
summary reports, the last full year for which data on all the peer systems is available. The trend
analysis, to determine how the performance of WATS has changed over time versus the changes
in both the nationwide and Wisconsin peer groups, compares 2003 data with the data from the
1998 NTD reports as contained in the previous TDP.
Peer Group Analysis
The criteria used to select system peers use characteristics including service area population,
climate, the amount of vehicle miles and hours of service provided and number of peak vehicles.
Other criteria used to a lesser degree include annual ridership and operating cost.
The systems for the nationwide peer group selected in 1999 were all located in northern climates
and were a similar size as WATS. The seven systems that make up the nationwide peer group
include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Battle Creek, MI
Billings, MT
Bloomington, IN
Missoula, MT
Great Falls, MT
Rochester, MN
Sioux City, IA
The selected Wisconsin peers are all Wisconsin cities with less than 70,000 people. The one
Wisconsin peer that was dropped since the previous TDP is Waukesha, which is a fast growing
suburban area and is no longer under 70,000 in population. The five Wisconsin cities that are
peers to Wausau are:
•
•
•
•
•
Beloit
Eau Claire
Janesville
La Crosse
Oshkosh
Peer Group and Trend Analyses
39
Table 3-1 presents an overview of both the nationwide and Wisconsin peers. Data presented on
this table includes the service area population, operating statistics, and financial data.
Table 3-1: Wausau Area Transit Peer Systems
System
Service
Revenue Revenue
Peak
Unlinked Operating Farebox
Area
Miles
Hours Vehicles Passengers
Cost
Revenue
Population
Nationwide Peers
Battle Creek, MI
83,000 452,947
29,951
10
503,685 $2,242,305
$276,766
Billings, MT
89,847 628,365
38,728
20
650,567 $2,589,190
$184,197
Bloomington, IN
69,921 833,352
77,520
26
2,041,469 $3,538,159
$880,359
Missoula, MT
65,930 600,442
39,131
16
663,933 $2,059,034
$304,666
Great Falls, MT
64,387 420,369
33,179
14
496,980 $1,759,637
$156,761
Rochester, MN
104,230 798,332
51,328
27
1,231,920 $2,877,072 $1,245,996
Sioux City, IA
106,119 643,117
56,443
19
1,200,387 $2,727,231
$424,526
Average
83,258 625,275
46,611
19
969,849 $2,541,804
$496,182
Wisconsin Peers
Beloit
35,871 292,699
18,329
9
283,987 $1,349,559
$153,545
Eau Claire
69,300 802,957
53,847
16
1,129,386 $2,791,178
$471,698
Janesville
61,110 452,570
29,260
14
477,019 $2,004,337
$320,046
La Crosse
65,000 755,475
55,344
16
959,923 $3,211,142
$345,567
Oshkosh
64,327 575,478
38,599
13
893,098 $2,277,064
$257,946
Average
59,122 575,836
39,076
14
748,683 $2,326,656
$309,760
Wausau, WI
45,513 556,501
37,946
20
725,188 $2,432,306
$328,864
Financial Efficiency
Financial efficiency, or how well resources are used to put out service, is measured based on
three key indicators: cost per mile, cost per hour, and cost per peak vehicle. These indicators
present the total cost to provide the service divided by specific unit of service.
Generally speaking, WATS is in the mid-range for financial efficiency when expressed in terms
of cost per mile or cost per hour, for both groups. On a cost per mile basis, WATS service is
6.3% more expensive to provide than the nationwide peer group, however it is only 5.5% more
expensive than the Wisconsin peer group. This places WATS 6th of 8 for the national peers and
4th of 6 for the Wisconsin peers.
In terms of cost per hour, WATS is 12.9% more expensive to operate than the nationwide peers
but only 3.1 percent more expensive to operate than its Wisconsin peers. Again, WATS is among
the middle of both groups, 5th of 8 for the national peer group, and 3rd of 6 for the Wisconsin
group.
WATS does rank exceptionally well in terms of cost per peak vehicle, costing 14% less than the
nationwide peer average and almost 30% less than the Wisconsin peer average. WATS is second
best among its national peers in terms of cost per peak vehicle, while it has the lowest cost per
40
peak vehicle among the Wisconsin peers and therefore ranks number 1. WATS operates 20 peak
vehicles, including regular and express routes, which is the highest number of peak vehicles in
the Wisconsin peer group, though it ranks third among the national peers.
Overall, WATS costs are comparable its Wisconsin peer systems, although lagging on cost per
hour and cost per mile against the national peer group.
Financial efficiency indicators are presented on Table 3-2.
Table 3-2: Financial Efficiency
Statistic
Lowest
Highest
Average
WATS
Percent Difference
Rank*
Cost per Mile
Nationwide Wisconsin
$3.43
$3.48
$4.95
$4.61
$4.11
$4.14
$4.37
$4.37
6.3%
5.5%
6 of 8
4 of 6
Cost per Hour
$45.64
$51.84
$74.87
$73.63
$56.77
$62.20
$64.10
$64.10
12.9%
3.1%
5 of 8
3 of 6
Cost per Peak Vehicle
$106,558
$143,167
$224,231
$200,696
$142,035
$168,684
$121,615
$121,615
-14.4%
-27.9%
2 of 8
1 of 6
Note: Lower cost is better
Service Effectiveness
Service effectiveness measures the amount of service that is consumed per unit of service that is
provided. The service effectiveness measures, which include passengers per mile, passengers per
hour, and passengers per peak vehicle, are presented on Table 3-3.
WATS service effectiveness lags about 10 percent below the average for the nationwide peers,
but exceeds the average for its Wisconsin peers by about 3 percent for passengers per vehicle
mile or hour . When compared to either group on passengers per mile and passengers per hour,
WATS ranks in the middle, 4th of 8 on both measures for the national group and 3rd of 6 for the
Wisconsin group. WATS carried 1.3 passengers per mile in 2003 compared to 1.25 for its
Wisconsin peers but 1.47 for the national peers. WATS carried 19.11 passengers per hour
compared the national peer average of 21.27 but again exceeded the Wisconsin peer average of
18.65.
In terms of passengers per peak vehicle, WATS lags further behind both peer groups, carrying
about 27 percent fewer passengers per peak vehicle than the nationwide peers and almost 32%
fewer for the Wisconsin peers. This reflects the high number of peak vehicles in the system
needed to provide express services but average overall ridership level achieved by the system as
a whole. WATS ranked 5th of 6 for the Wisconsin peer group on this statistic, and 6th of 8 for the
national peer group.
41
Table 3-3: Service Effectiveness
Statistic
Passengers per Mile
Nationwide
1.04
2.45
1.47
1.30
-11.4%
4 of 8
Lowest
Highest
Average
WATS
Percent Difference
Rank*
Wisconsin
0.97
1.55
1.25
1.30
4.2%
3 of 6
Passengers per Hour
Nationwide
14.98
26.33
21.27
19.11
-10.1%
4 of 8
Wisconsin
15.49
23.14
18.65
19.11
2.5%
3 of 6
Passengers per Peak
Vehicle
32,528
31,554
78,518
70,587
49,602
52,982
36,259
36,259
-26.9%
-31.6%
6 of 8
5 of 6
Note: Higher is better
Cost Effectiveness
Cost effectiveness measures tie the two previous sets of measures together by looking at how
well resources are utilized to produce trips, and how much of the cost of those trips is being
covered by fare revenue. There are two key indictors for cost effectiveness -- cost per passenger
and farebox recovery.
Cost per passenger is the ratio of the total cost to provide WATS service and the number of
passengers carried. The cost effectiveness indicators are presented on Table 3-4. For cost per
passenger, WATS costs are almost 10% higher than the nationwide peers, and it ranks 6th out of
8 systems. WATS fares better against the Wisconsin peers; in this group its cost per passenger is
about 3% lower than the peer average and it ranks 3rd of 6 systems.
Table 3-4: Cost Effectiveness
Statistic
Lowest
Highest
Average
WATS
Percent Difference
Rank
Cost per Passenger
$1.73
$2.47
$4.45
$4.75
$3.06
$3.46
$3.35
$3.35
9.6%
-3.2%
6 of 8
3 of 6 (tie)
Farebox Recovery
7.1%
10.8%
43.3%
16.9%
18.1%
13.3%
13.5%
13.5%
-25.4%
1.9%
5 of 8
3 of 6
Note: Lower cost is better, higher farebox recovery is better
Farebox recovery measures the percent of the operating cost recovered by fares paid by
passengers. This ratio is guided not only by the number of passengers carried and operating costs
for the system, but by policy determinations made locally regarding fare policy – e.g., the base
fare level, the types and percent discounts given, etc.
WATS collects about 13.5% of its cost from passengers, which is about 25% lower than the
nationwide peer average; however it is 2% better than the Wisconsin peer average of 13.3
percent.
42
Once again, WATS performs as an average system in both groups, although its performance is
much closer to the average of the Wisconsin peer group than the national peer group.
Service Provided per Capita
WATS, with is combination of regular and express routes, exceeds both peer group averages on
the amount of service provided per capita. In fact WATS ranks number one on miles per capita
and peak vehicles per capita, and second in both groups on hours per capita. This performance is
excellent, particularly given that the WATS system performed strongly on passengers per hour
and mile of service provided against its Wisconsin peers which demonstrates that the service in
the aggregate is well-received and used by the community. Even while lagging by about 10
percent against the national peers, WATS ranked 4th of 8th on these same two service
effectiveness measures, an average performance.
Table 3-5: Amount of Service Provided per Capita
Statistic
Lowest
Highest
Average
WATS
Percent Difference
Rank
Miles per Capita
Nationwide
5.46
12.03
7.69
12.23
59.0%
1 of 8
Wisconsin
7.41
11.62
9.54
12.23
28.1%
1 of 6
Hours per Capita
Nationwide
0.36
1.12
0.58
0.83
44.3%
2 of 8
Wisconsin
0.48
0.85
0.64
0.83
29.5%
2 of 6
Peak Vehicles per 10,000
People
1.20
2.02
3.75
2.51
2.31
2.32
4.39
4.39
90.3%
89.6%
1 of 8
1 of 8
Note: More service is better
Service Span Comparison
Service span refers to the number of hours that revenue service operates. The peer service span is
presented on Table 3-6 for weekday, Saturday, and Sunday. The weekday and Saturday span
does not compare very well with the peers, as both the Wisconsin and nationwide peers provide a
wider span of service on both weekdays and Saturdays. A few of the peers do provide service on
Sunday, something WATS does not.
Table 3-6: Service Span Comparison
Statistic
Lowest
Highest
Average
WATS
Percent Difference
Rank
Weekday Span
12.00
11.50
18.50
17.47
14.05
14.69
12.50
12.50
-11.1%
-14.9%
6 of 8
4 of 6
Saturday Span
8.00
7.00
15.00
12.00
10.42
10.20
9.00
9.00
-13.6%
-11.8%
5 of 8
5 of 6
Sunday Span
0.00
0.00
0.00
11.00
0.00
11.00
0.00
0.00
0.0%
-100.0%
N/A
N/A
Note: Wider span is better
43
Furthermore, WATS does not provide Saturday service during the summer, further eroding the
system’s performance against its peers on the Saturday span measure.
Conclusion
WATS provides more service per capita than almost all of its peers in both groups, and the
service is generally effective, although more so against its Wisconsin peers than the national peer
group. On service effectiveness measures, WATS is average among its peers, with its 19.11
passengers carried per hour or 1.3 passengers carried per hour, and lags with respect to
passengers per peak vehicles.
The cost of operating service (financial efficiency) is roughly average based on vehicle hours and
miles of service provided, and exceptional on a peak vehicle basis due to the size of the peak
express bus network.
A significant concern is the span of service, which is lower than almost all of its peers both on
weekdays and Saturdays, with no summer Saturday service. Only one system from either peer
group operates Sunday service, so having no service on Sundays is not unusual among WATS
and its peers.
44
Trend Analysis
The trend analysis indicators are presented in Table 3-7. Five sets of data provide a comparison
of how WATS has performed over time compared to its peers. The data sets include the service
baseline, financial efficiency, service effectiveness, cost effectiveness, and amount and use of
service. Data in the trend analysis compares data from the 1998 and 2003 National Transit
Database reports.
Table 3-7: Trend Analysis
Statistic
Ridership
Farebox Revenue
Operating Expense
Revenue Hours
Revenue Miles
Peak Vehicles
Service Area Population
Cost per Revenue Mile
Cost per Revenue Hour
Cost per Peak Vehicle
Passengers per Revenue Mile
Passengers per Revenue Hour
Passengers per Peak Vehicle
Cost per Passenger Trip
Farebox Recovery
Revenue per Passenger Trip
Revenue Hours per Capita
Passengers per Capita
Percent Change (1998 to 2003)
WATS
Wisconsin Peers National Peers
Total
Annual Total Annual Total Annual
Service Baseline
-23.2%
-4.6%
7.0%
1.4% 26.3%
5.3%
4.9%
1.0%
2.4%
0.5% 19.4%
3.9%
30.6%
6.1% 34.8%
7.0% 47.5%
9.5%
0.1%
0.0% 11.4%
2.3% 15.5%
3.1%
-0.4%
-0.1% 17.1%
3.4% 13.1%
2.6%
-4.8%
-1.0%
3.0%
0.6%
5.6%
1.1%
2.3%
0.5%
9.2%
1.8% 12.5%
2.5%
31.2%
6.2% 14.1%
2.8% 30.7%
6.1%
30.6%
6.1% 22.1%
4.4% 30.1%
6.0%
37.2%
7.4% 26.1%
5.2% 45.7%
9.1%
-22.9%
-4.6% -9.5%
-1.9%
7.2%
1.4%
-23.3%
-4.7% -3.2%
-0.6%
4.3%
0.9%
-19.4%
-3.9% -23.9%
-4.8% -23.0%
-4.6%
Cost Effectiveness
70.1%
14.0% 21.5%
4.3% 27.0%
5.4%
-19.7%
-3.9% -23.9%
-4.8% -23.0%
-4.6%
36.6%
7.3% -4.1%
-0.8% -7.4%
-1.5%
Amount and Use of Service
-2.2%
-0.4% -0.5%
-0.1%
3.6%
0.7%
-25.0%
-5.0% -3.4%
-0.7% 15.1%
3.0%
Service Baseline
The service baseline includes the basic data upon which the groups were selected and measured,
using ratios derived from the information.. A number of trends are immediately evident in the
baseline data set:
•
WATS ridership dropped by 23.2 percent over the period, while ridership grew by 7
percent for the Wisconsin peer group and 26.3 percent for the national peers. Among the
factors affecting WATS are two fare increases during the period, constrained state and
45
•
•
•
•
federal funding, and an inability to implement service expansion recommendations as
outlined in the 1999 TDP.
Despite the ridership drop, farebox revenue increased by 4.9 percent, double that of the
Wisconsin peers but less than the 19.4 percent for the national peer group. Still, this
indicates that the fare increase implemented in the period, while resulting in lower
ridership, did meet the objective of increasing revenues.
WATS held the line on operating cost better than either of the two peer groups. While
demonstrating solid business practices as well as a reduction of selected loweffectiveness segments, this is also in part due to the inability of WATS to implement any
of the expansion projects called for in the TDP.
WATS did not expand between 1998 and 2003 and in fact shrunk slightly, while both
peer groups increased service.
Finally, the WATS service area population only grew by 2.3 percent in the period,
indicating little or no expansion, while the peer groups service ares grew by 9.2 percent
for the Wisconsin peers and 12.5 percent for the National peers.
Taken as a whole, it is clear that the last five years have been a difficult period for WATS in
comparison to its peers.
WATS unit costs rose faster than those of its Wisconsin peers, but slightly slower than those of
the National peer group. The cost per mile and cost per hour of service rose by about 30 percent,
almost identical to the national peer group, while in Wisconsin the average increase for the group
was held to 14.1 percent for the cost per mile and 22.1 percent for the cost per hour. Without
specific data on the actions of each system in both peer groups, it is hard to make definitive
conclusions on these trends, but from prior knowledge of WATS from the 1999 TDP and later
Management Performance Review (MPR), WATS had very little excess if any in its cost
structure and limited options for reducing operating costs.
The service effectiveness indicators refer to the amount of passengers per unit of service
provided. Due to fare increases, little change in the service area population, and no
implementation of the service expansion proposals contained in the 1999 TDP, WATS ridership
per unit of service ---vehicle mile, hour, and peak vehicle -- dropped by about the same amount
that ridership dropped (23.2 percent). The Wisconsin peer group also saw reductions in service
effectiveness, while the national peer group saw a modest increase of passengers per hour and
mile. All three groups had almost identical drops in passengers per peak vehicle.
Cost Effectiveness
WATS had a significant jump in its cost per trip, as costs rose by about 30 percent and ridership
dropped by about 20 percent during the period. Again, the cost increase was not out of line with
the increases seen by the national peer group and even the Wisconsin peer group had significant
cost increases. Rising fuel costs, wages, vehicle insurance rates, and general cost increase for
46
services and parts were just a few of the inflationary items that the entire transit industry
experienced during the period. Ridership losses can be attributed to the fare increase and lack of
expansion to new markets that were identified in the TDP.
The cost per passenger trip rose for the peer groups by 21.5 percent in Wisconsin and 27 percent
nationally.
The fare increase resulted in an increase of 4.9 percent in total fare revenues, but the increase of
30.6 percent in operating costs in the same period resulted in a drop in farebox recovery of 19.7
percent. In fact, this was better than the performance of the two peer groups --- Wisconsin peers
saw a drop of 23.4 percent and national peers saw a drop of 23 percent. Furthermore, WATS did
see a jump of 36.6 percent in the amount of revenue generated per passenger as the result of the
increases, versus drops of 4 and 7 percent respectively for the Wisconsin and National peer
groups.
Overall, WATS did a good job balancing rising costs and the need to generate additional farebox
revenues during the period, although with no new services to attract additional riders the fare
increase did contribute to a noticeable loss of passenger trips.
Amount and Use of Service
Two per capita numbers summarize quite simply the situation which WATS has faced in the past
five years. The number of revenue hours per capita droped by 2.2 percent during the period,
effectively indicating a system that made very few changes in its services, and clearly no
expansions. Tight budgets at all levels of government affected not only WATS but its Wisconsin
peers, which also remained stagnant, with a total change of less than 1 percent in the revenue
hours per capita. The national peer group had a modest increase in service over the period of 3.6
percent.
With not expansion of service, the number of passengers per capita was greatly influenced by the
two fare increases that WATS implemented, with passengers per capita dropping by 25 percent.
The Wisconsin peers saw a drop of 3.4 percent, but the national peers saw an increase of 15.1
percent.
Conclusion
The past five years have clearly been difficult ones for the transit industry in general and WATS
in particular. Limits on spending due to reduced government subsidies, two fare increases, and
no service expansions, particularly to several key commercial centers around the area all
contributed to the trends described above.
Preliminary 2004 data, not used in peer group comparisons indicate that the situation is
beginning to turn, with a modest increase in fixed route ridership and continued cost containment
of both the fixed route and WATS plus program. Going forward with this study, the data suggest
that WATS, like its peers, who expanded on average about 14 percent over the same 5 year
47
period, needs to look closely at its operations to identify changes in its regional travel market,
and needs to identify services which will serve these markets.
48
CHAPTER 4:
PUBLIC OUTREACH
Introduction
The Wausau Area Transit System Transit Development Plan includes an extensive community
participation program designed to elicit input from members of the general public, current users
of the system, community leaders, key policy decision makers and other transportation
stakeholders in Janesville.
This chapter reports on two aspects of the program, the stakeholder meetings held on April 2021, 2005 and two public drop-in sessions held April 20th at the downtown transit center and April
21st at the Wausau Mall.
Other efforts to be conducted and reported on in subsequent reports include discussions from the
steering committee for the project, information from employees including the driving staff, and
data from the on-board surveys distributed in May.
Drop-In Sessions
A “drop-in” session is a session where the public talks directly to the consultant team on a oneon-one basis and offers suggestions for improvements or comments on the system. As noted
above, the two drop-in sessions were held on April 20th and 21st at the downtown WATS transit
center and the Wausau Mall respectively. Together, the two sessions produced comments from
49 individuals.
Comments from the meetings are grouped into several categories for this summary, as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
Service Area Expansion
Extended Service Hours
Extended Days of Service
Quality of Service
Other Comments
Service Area Expansion
The expansion of WATS service into new markets was by far the biggest area of comment
among the 49 respondents. Three areas, or locations within those areas, were mentioned
repeatedly --- Weston, Cedar Creek, and Rib Mountain. Specifically,
•
•
•
22 of the 49 respondents (45 percent) mentioned either Rib Mountain in general or
Walmart specifically,
16 (33 percent) mentioned Cedar Creek, and
16 (33 percent) mentioned Weston in general, or Target, Goodwill, or the new hospital
specifically.
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The majority of the respondents mentioned all three when they talked about expanding the
system.
Expanded Days
Weekend services were of concern to many people, with 11 (22 percent) asking for Saturday
service to be extended into the summer, thus becoming a year round service. Only 5 people (10
percent) were interested in Sunday service, and of the five, 2 were fairly ambivalent about
requesting it.
Service Hour Expansion
Seven people (14 percent) wanted service hours to be extended into the evenings during the
week, and 4 others (8 percent) asked for extended hours on Saturdays. More of the respondents
were interested in the extended hours for work purposes than for recreational activities, and
several talked about opportunities to obtain jobs at Cedar Creek or in Rib Mountain.
Service Quality
Of the 12 who mentioned service quality all but one were happy with WATS (10 of 49, 22
percent), citing things like on-time performance, cleanliness of the buses, ability to get places,
and the drivers. One individual said the service costs too much, and one said the drivers were
rude, but these opinions were very much in the minority among those with whom we spoke.
Other Comments
There were a number of other comments as well pertaining to specific issues:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Three people said Route D should operate every half hour on Saturdays
One person suggested running the Stewart Avenue bus into K-Mart, unaware that K-Mart
was actually located outside the city boundaries and therefore could not be directly
served.
One person thought cars should not park on 10th Street as it made it hardfor the buses to
get through.
One person wanted a stop relocated on Route E on the west side of the bridge due to
safety concerns.
One person thought that the service should be provided by “super shuttles” like those
operating airport services.
One person though the X4 should be a regular all day service and not a school day
service, and that the X9 should run during the midday and not just on school days.
One person said that kids are disturbing the seniors at several stops, citing the K-Mart and
Walgreen Stops
One person wanted racks on the buses for bicycles.
One person thought that WATS had to pursue more funding.
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Summary
The comments received at the drop-ins for the most part were similar to those at the drop-ins
during the last study, particularly with regard to providing service to Weston, Cedar Creek, and
Rib Mountain; and all day on Saturdays. The single most common response was the need for
service to Rib Mountain, expressed by nearly half of those with whom we spoke.
The interest in evening service appears to be growing, with more job opportunities opening up at
night as the area’s retail and service economy expands.
Stakeholder Interviews
Extensive “one-on one” interviews (in some cases the consulting team met with multiple
individuals) were conducted with various community leaders, policy makers, and decision
makers throughout the Greater Wausau area who have a “stake” in both the future of the
community as well as in the mobility of Wausau area residents. The 33 individuals who were
interviewed over the two day period April 20-21 are listed in Table 4-1. The meetings lasted up
to one hour, during which the open discussion focused on such topics as the quality of and
services provided by the current WATS system, the transportation needs of the community
and/or the clientele/residents represented by the individual being interviewed, the perceived
future transportation needs of the community, and the reasons why the recommendations of the
1999 TDP were, for the most part, not implemented.
All of the interviews were conducted with the understanding that the comments by individuals
would be kept in confidence by the consulting team and only used to create a summary of
findings based on the inputs from all 33 participants.
The discussions were wide ranging and covered a great many topics related to the geographic,
jurisdictional, and historic context within which it is being conducted, and within which WATS
operates its service. As we discovered during the two days of interviews, these considerations,
coupled with the quantitative analyses of operations, finance, et al., will play a very significant
role in the development of a successful five year transit plan from this project.
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Table 4-1: Participating Stakeholders
April, 2005
Name
Position
Neil Marciniak
James Krause
Charles Altman III
Gary Wojciechowski
Jim Tipple
Joseph M. Pribanich
Dean Zulegar
Kristine Gilmore
Gary Barto
Joanne Kelly
Bill Creske
Pam Kopp
Vilas Machmueller
Wayde Kreager
John Otterbacher
Neal C. Torney
Gaylene S. Rhoden
Wade Rudolph
Kristen Fish
Brian Franks
Cherna A. Gorder
Amy Altenburgh
Tammy Stezenski
Rick LaFrombois
Carolyn Michalski
Bonnie Bissonette
Linda Schlitz
Jim Kaetterhenry,
Karen Lorge,
Joshua Swatosh,
Mary Lontkowski,
Michelle McCarthy,
Mary Krueger
Economic Development Director
Mayor
Manager, Environmental Services
Director – Facilities and Projects
Mayor
City Planner
Administrator
Administrator
Facility Manager
Executive Director
Developer
Manager
President
Vice Chairman
Board Member/Walmart Store Mgr.
President
Administrator
Director, Environmental Services
Business Development Director
Owner
Ass’t Superintendent for Business
Director
Publisher
Reporter
Director of Student Services
Director of International Education
Director
Case Manager
Senior Aide
Co-Founder
Director,
Transportation Coordinator,
President/CEO
Affiliation
The Chamber, Wausau Region
City of Schofield
Marshfield Clinic
Aspirus Wausau Hospital
City of Wausau
City of Wausau
Village of Weston
DC Everest Schools
Liberty Mutual Group
United Way of Marathon Co.
Wausau Tile/Cedar Creek
Cedar Creek
Village of Weston
Rib Mtn. Business Association
Rib Mtn. Business Association
NCHC- Marathon County
City of Wausau
Badger Care-a-Vans
Wausau Area Events
City Pages
Wausau Daily Herald
Job Center
Midstate Indep. Living Center
Job Center
Blind Outreach Center
Co. Employment. and Training
Co. Employment and Training
St. Claire’s Hospital
One topic generally dominated the discussions, and was voiced by the majority of those with
whom we spoke:
WATS should be a regional system, serving the most densely populated parts of the
region as it is today and will be over the next five years – Wausau, Weston, Schofield,
Rothschild, and Rib Mountain – with the potential to expand to Stettin, Kronenwetter,
and Moisenee when and if those locations reach appropriate densities for service.
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Interestingly, most of the same people recognize that this was reflected as an objective of the
1999 TDP as well, and that recommendations were made to expand serve to Weston and Rib
Mountain, and to expand service in Rothschild to Cedar Creek. Thus, the discussions were not so
much aimed at identifying the area’s needs, which were generally clear to most with whom we
spoke, but rather identifying why WATS service has not expanded its service area and how it can
do so as an outcome of this plan.
WATS Bus Service: General Perceptions
The majority of the stakeholders had positive feelings concerning the services that WATS
currently provides, the professionalism with which the services are delivered, and the need to
maintain a bus system as a part of the urban infrastructure.
At the same time, few identified WATS bus service as a pivotal element in business relocation
decisions, economic development planning, or even in residential location choices among
residents. Rather, most see WATS as a service for students and the transportation dependents in
the community.
To become the kind of resource that most envision bus service should be for the Wausau
Urbanized Area, WATS needs to do several things according to most with whom we talked:
•
•
•
•
It needs to provide service to “all the places that it should” which implies expansion into
communities which currently do not have bus service;
It needs to provide later service during the week and service on every Saturday during the
year;
It needs to broaden its image to be the region’s bus service and not the City of Wausau’s
bus service.
Finally, WATS has to be more flexible in its approach to developing new services, which
to those with whom we spoke meant considering the use of smaller buses in some
communities, tailoring schedules and levels of service to community needs and financial
constraints, and considering low-density non-fixed route solutions where they may be
applicable.
In summary, there were no negative remarks about the system and its current operations, other
than a couple of comments regarding ridership levels and “empty buses” (which we hear
frequently in all communities), only positive comments about what WATS is doing today and a
desire to expand its services to meet the needs of the entire community. As noted above, this is
very much in keeping with the five year program which came out of the 1999 TDP, so the real
key for this project is identifying those impediments which prevented that plan from being
implemented, and developing a plan for overcoming them as the outcome of this study.
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Unmet Needs
The stakeholder discussions also identified a series of unmet needs related to individual
population groups and/or specific programmatic needs among those with whom we spoke. That
is, in addition to the general consensus that the greatest unmet needs were service to Weston,
Cedar Creek, and Rib Mountain; and extended weekday hours and year-round Saturday service,
the following needs were noted:
•
•
•
•
•
•
A number of those with whom we spoke feel that there is a need for more bus service for
entry level workers in the service industry, retail, and also to obtain jobs in the West
Wausau Industrial Park.
With regard to the West Wausau Industrial Park, as a result of these discussions, the
consulting team, in cooperation with the City of Wausau Business Development office, is
conducting a survey of all West Wausau Industrial Park employers to better understand
this potential market.
Several individuals mentioned a need for service for new refugees to the area, specifically
among the Hmong and a growing Hispanic population.
After-school work programs and alternative high school programs were also mentioned,
as were later hours for those attending NTC late afternoon and evening classes.
Service industry and retail jobs at Cedar Creek and along Rib Mountain Drive were
identified by a number of individuals.
Finally, those working with clients among the developmentally disabled, in the W2
program, on food stamps or other forms of assistance, said the majority of the people they
see rely exclusively on the bus, and that more extensive bus service would be valuable in
placing many of these people in jobs.
Regional Cooperation
Given that the needs of the community for expanded bus service are generally recognized by
those with whom the consulting team spoke, the rest of the comments focus on two things – what
are the barriers that have prevented growth?, and what changes, other than those noted above
would be critical in achieving change?
The issue most frequently cited as the impediment to change was the inability to get all of the
communities in the Wausau Urbanized Area to work together to implement the 1999 plan
recommendations, followed by the tightening of funding for transit at the Federal and State
levels. The perceptions regarding why these impediments were so difficult to overcome varied,
but a number of issues seemed to dominate the discussion:
There is a lot of competition among the communities in the Wausau area for development, some
historic rivalries, and some long held perceptions that can get in the way of substantive
discussions. Old notions were mentioned -- Wausau wants to dominate the region and dictate
things, the southern communities, as they grow and mature, don’t want to work with Wausau –
but almost everyone with whom the consulting team spoke said that these issues were more
historical than real, and that they are becoming rapidly out of date as the communities begin to
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54
communicate better, cooperate on ventures involving the fire department, water and sewers, and
education.
The community leaders now clearly recognize that the success of the Wausau Urbanized area
depends upon the success of all of its communities, and while some competition is inevitable,
there must be more cooperation. In citing this, many talked about the need for the entire
community to access the new St. Claire’s Hospital in Weston (and in fact the entire medical
complex including Aspirus and Marshfield Clinics), and, on the retail side, to access Walmart
and other stores, both for jobs as well as shopping, along Rib Mountain Drive.
People are increasingly talking about the Wausau trade area and how to keep it growing, and of
the trade-offs implied in working together rather than as competitors for every new development,
every new tax dollar, etc.
Finally, and specifically in regard to WATS bus service, the consensus is that the discussions
regarding expansion into new communities has to be done at the highest level among the chief
elected officials and town/city managers, as the decisions that will be made will be governed as
much, if not more so, by policy decisions rather than technical service issues. Mayor Tipple of
Wausau was mentioned specifically as the individual who should guide these discussions,
working closely with the WATS administrator on technical matters as the discussions take place
and service plans are being developed.
Regional System Growth: Key Factors for Success
Assuming that regional discussions are and will take place regarding bus service and its role in
each community within the Urbanized Area, those with whom we spoke had some specific items
that need to be a part of those discussions.
Image - First, a number of individuals from both the public and private sectors, including
individuals representing the interests of the City of Wausau, feel that a key to success will be to
change the bus system’s image, with several individuals suggesting that the system be renamed
to emphasize its regional nature. Transit needs to be more visible in the community, with an
emphasis on what it can do for the choice rider, like the individuals we spoke with at the drop-ins
who use the bus to get to their jobs at the Mall rather than driving, despite having a car readily
available. A new image, new marketing, and new services to Weston, Cedar Creek, and Rib
Mountain --- this is a vision shared by many with whom we spoke.
Another way to improve the system’s image is to bring new ideas and services to the community,
and bike on bus racks were specifically mentioned as something relatively low cost that could
enhance the system’s image and increase its use by discretionary riders. Another idea was to
have local sponsors in the business community to sponsor free midday services, or a ride home
for patrons of their establishments.
Public/Private Partnering - Second, the consensus is that the regionalization of the system has
three key players --- Wausau, Weston, and Rib Mountain – and that, while service to Weston is
likely to happen soon given the opening of St. Claire’s and interest expressed by Goodwill and
Public Outreach
55
others, service to Rib Mountain Drive will require a great deal of discussion as it for the most
part will be beginning from ground zero. The Rib Mountain Business Association was identified
by many as a key group with regard to discussions with the Town; businesses and agencies
working with employment issues and the transit dependent population were identified in general
around the community as key players in discussions about new services, longer hours, Saturday
service in the summer, etc. It was felt that these are the people who represent the end users, who
can speak best to the public needs, and who conceivably could provide some of the local
financial support needed to expand bus service.
Stakeholder Summary
WATS is recognized by the stakeholders as an important service in the community which needs
to be expanded into a truly regional program, which needs to upgrade and broaden its image as a
service for everyone and not just the transit dependents, and which needs to flexibly address the
individual challenges posed by different community needs and environments.
Since these same statements applied to the 1999 plan and its recommendations, the key to
success for this project rests very clearly on the region’s policy makers, spearheaded by the
Mayor of Wausau. These individuals should participate fully in the development of the operating
and financial plan which will emerge from this study to ensure that their individual community’s
interests are met even as a regional system is created, and must direct the develop of the
agreements which will translate these recommendations into reality during the next five years.
Public Outreach
56
CHAPTER 5:
OPINION SURVEYS
This chapter presents the results of two opinion surveys: the onboard passenger survey and a
survey of employers at the Wausau West Industrial Park. The onboard passenger opinion survey
is a tool used to allow bus passengers the opportunity to provide input to this Transit
Development Plan (TDP) and communicate their needs as riders. The Wausau West Industrial
Park survey was a special survey designed to allow businesses in this industrial park to provide
input on their transit service needs, and was conducted in association with the City of Wausau
Economic Development Department.
Rider Survey
Introduction
The study to determine the most effective ways to improve WATS transportation services in the
City of Wausau includes an extensive community participation program designed to elicit input
from current and potential passengers, the general public as well as community leaders and key
policy decision makers. The community participation program includes three separate
components, including an opinion survey of current WATS riders, interviews with community
leaders and stakeholders as well as public drop-in sessions at the Wausau Center Mall and the
downtown bus transfer facility. This interim report presents the findings from the opinion survey
of current WATS riders.
Survey Description
A survey of WATS fixed route riders was undertaken over a four day period: Thursday May 12th,
Friday May 13th, Saturday May 14th, and Monday May 16th. The survey was conducted on
WATS nine regular routes as well as on one WATS express service route (X4 middays only).
This express service route was surveyed because it provides more extensive service than the
other express routes, which operate only one or two trips in the morning and afternoon to
coincide with school arrival and dismissal trips. The X4 route operates all day service every 30
minutes. Nearly 100 percent of all WATS regular route weekday and Saturday trips were
surveyed, as well as nearly 100 percent of the X4 weekday express trips.
A key dimension of the survey was the use of survey workers to issue and collect survey cards
from patrons. Survey workers were instructed to issue a survey card to all boarding passengers.
The survey effort was intended to serve two purposes. First, while survey workers were aboard
WATS buses distributing survey cards, they recorded passenger boarding and alighting activity
by stop location. This information has been processed in terms of boarding and alighting activity
by bus route and by bus stop for both inbound and outbound directions. Tables and graphic
displays of this information will be used in developing service improvement recommendations
and will also be submitted to WATS for their continuing use.
Opinion Surveys
57
The second component of this effort was the survey questionnaire that gave riders an opportunity
to provide input on WATS services and ideas for service change proposals. This section
describes the conduct and content of the survey.
Survey Method - Due to the participation of the survey workers, a major effort was undertaken
before the survey to assure a complete understanding of the survey procedures. Survey workers
were required to attend a training session at which the survey procedures were explained in
detail. On each day of the survey, survey workers were issued a survey kit that included a supply
of survey cards and pencils. The survey materials were placed in an envelope that also contained
survey instructions.
Survey cards were issued to riders on both the inbound and the outbound direction. Riders were
provided the option to complete the survey card while on the bus or to take the card with them to
complete it later. If the rider did not complete the survey while on the trip they were issued the
card, they could return it to any other survey worker or a bus driver on a subsequent trip.
Completing the survey while on the bus was facilitated by providing pencils to riders and
printing the survey forms on hard card stock paper. Riders were also instructed to complete only
one survey throughout the survey period.
Survey Questions - The survey card, which is presented in Figure 1, consisted of 20 questions.
With the exception of two open-ended questions, riders were only required to check off a box to
answer most questions. The first group of questions concerned the riders’ riding habits. This
included questions related to what bus route they were on when they received the survey, how
bus stops were accessed, length of time riding, trip purpose, frequency of riding, and payment
method. The next group of questions requested attitudinal information regarding their view of the
existing bus service and potential improvements. The final group of questions focused on
socioeconomic characteristics of the respondent. These questions asked for information
pertaining to key factors influencing travel habits including age, automobile ownership,
automobile availability and family income.
Survey Response - During the survey period, about 1,000 forms were issued and 375 weekday
and 118 Saturday or a total of 493 valid surveys were returned. This is a response rate of about
50 percent that is extremely high for this type of survey. Typically, response rates between 20
and 25 percent are attained.
Survey Results
After the completion of the survey, responses from the 493 completed surveys were tabulated.
Responses for the weekday and Saturday were evaluated separately. Results from each of the
survey questions are presented in this section of the report. The key findings for each question
are identified and discussed.
Bus Route and Survey Response - Riders were asked to identify the route that they received the
survey on. As seen in the chart below, the survey responses were fairly evenly distributed
between the weekday routes, with Route A providing the largest percentage of survey responses
(16.0%). For the weekday routes, the portion of each routes daily ridership to the total daily
Opinion Surveys
58
ridership of the weekday routes, were reviewed. The total daily ridership includes all nine of the
regular routes as well as express route X4. As seen in the chart below, the percent of total
ridership on the weekday routes is similar to the proportion of the percent of riders that
completed the survey forms. Thus, it can be concluded that the survey results are representative
of WATS entire weekday ridership.
Table 5-1: Weekday Survey Responses by Route
Routes
A
D
G
H
C
B
J
I
E
X4
Percent of Daily Systemwide Ridership
11.7%
10.1%
13.0%
10.9%
8.6%
12.4%
9.3%
7.6%
8.0%
8.3%
Percent of Total Survey Responses
16.0%
14.2%
13.1%
12.0%
11.5%
10.5%
9.1%
5.6%
5.1%
2.9%
For the Saturday service, as seen in the chart below, Route E provided the highest percentage of
survey responses (17.8%), while also having the lowest percentage of total ridership. Further,
Route G carried the highest percentage of ridership compared to the Saturday routes, but
provided the third lowest percentage of survey respondents. The remaining Saturday routes are
fairly consistent in terms of their share of total ridership and survey responses.
Table 5-2: Saturday Survey Responses by Route
Routes
E
C
I
J
A
G
B
H
D
Percent of Daily Systemwide Ridership
3.2%
9.8%
7.8%
15.5%
11.5%
23.9%
10.5%
12.5%
5.7%
Percent of Total Survey Responses
17.8%
16.1%
16.1%
11.9%
10.1%
9.3%
6.8%
6.8%
5.1%
Mode of Accessing Bus - Riders were asked to identify how they got to the bus they were riding.
They were given several choices from which to select their response. One possible response was
“walked”, which if selected, the rider was asked to list number of blocks they had to walk.
Responses are presented in the chart below for both weekday and Saturdays. The chart breaks
down the group of riders who walk to the bus by the length of their walk and provides the
percentage for the subgroup.
Opinion Surveys
59
As the chart below shows, about 71 percent on weekdays and nearly 70 percent on Saturday of
WATS riders walk to the bus stop to access their bus. Of this group, 84.3 percent of weekday
riders and 66.7 percent of Saturday riders who walk to the bus, walked only two blocks or less to
access WATS service. This represents a relatively short walking distance for this group of
WATS riders. It also indicates that residents have to walk further on Saturday to access the bus.
From the weekday survey, only 8.3 percent of the riders who walked to the bus they were on had
to walk four blocks or more. This is a relatively small percent of the users and indicates
extensive coverage of bus routes throughout the City. On Saturday, nearly 22.2 percent of the
users of bus service that walk to the bus stop must walk four blocks or more.
Table 5-3: Mode of Accessing Bus
Mode to Access Bus
Another Bus
Walked
Walked less than 1 block
Walked 1 block
Walked 2 blocks
Walked 3 blocks
Walked 4 or more blocks
Subtotal
Automobile
Other
Total
Weekday Percent
22.8%
70.5%
Subgroup
9.2%
53.9%
21.2%
7.4%
8.3%
100.0%
1.6%
5.1%
100.0%
Saturday Percent
21.4%
69.2%
Subgroup
5.6%
37.0%
24.1%
11.1%
22.2%
100.0%
1.7%
7.7%
100.0%
A total of 22.8 percent of weekday and 21.4 percent of the Saturday riders indicated that they
accessed the bus they were on by transferring from another WATS bus. Those riders who
transferred from another WATS bus were asked to identify the route from which they
transferred. The charts on the following page provide the results for the weekday and Saturday
routes and indicate the number of people and the percent of total transfers.
Table 5-4: Weekday Transfers From Another WATS Bus
Route Transferred From
A
D
X4
J
B
G
C
E
I
X9
H
Opinion Surveys
Number of People
9
8
6
6
5
5
4
3
3
3
2
Percent of Total Transfers
16.7%
14.6%
11.1%
11.1%
9.3%
9.3%
7.4%
5.6%
5.6%
5.6%
3.7%
60
Table 5-5: Saturday Transfers From Another WATS Bus
Route Transferred From
J
A
H
I
G
B
D
Number of People
4
3
3
3
2
1
1
23.6%
17.6%
17.6%
17.6%
11.8%
5.9%
5.9%
Mode to Complete Trip - Riders were asked to identify how they would complete their trip after
leaving the bus. They were given several choices from which to select their response. As in the
above question, one possible response was “walk”, which if selected, the rider was asked to list
number of blocks. Responses are presented in the chart below for both weekday and Saturday.
Table 5-6: Mode to Complete Trip
Mode to Access Bus
Another Bus
Walked
Walked less than 1 block
Walked 1 block
Walked 2 blocks
Walked 3 blocks
Walked 4 or more blocks
Subtotal
Automobile
Other
Total
Weekday Percent
60.6%
33.0%
Subgroup
7.5%
41.9%
18.3%
14.0%
18.3%
100.0%
1.4%
5.0%
100.0%
Saturday Percent
47.0%
46.2%
Subgroup
4.5%
29.6%
20.5%
20.5%
24.9%
100.0%
1.7%
5.1%
100.0%
As the chart shows, 33 percent of weekday and 46.2 percent of Saturday WATS riders walk to
their final destination after they leave the WATS bus. This is less than the 70.5 percent of
weekday riders and 69.2 percent of Saturday riders who walk to access the bus. The distances
that WATS riders walk to complete their trip is longer than the distances walked to access the
bus. Approximately 68 percent of weekday riders and 55 percent of Saturday riders walk two
blocks or less to complete their trip. This is lower than the 84.3 percent of weekday riders and
66.7 percent of Saturday riders who walk less than two blocks to access the bus. Further, 18.3
percent of weekday riders and 24.9 percent of Saturday riders walk four or more blocks to
complete their trip, which are higher compared to the percentage of weekday and Saturday riders
who had to walk four or more blocks to access the bus.
On weekdays, the number of people that used another bus to complete their trip is nearly 61.0
percent compared to 22.8 percent that used a bus to get to the bus that they received a survey
card on. This result indicates that the WATS weekday system has an overall transfer rate of
approximately 42 percent that is a normal rate for a bus system that operates a “pulse system” in
Opinion Surveys
61
which all the routes arrive and depart from the downtown transit facility. On Saturday, 47.0
percent of the riders used another WATS bus to complete their trip compared to 21.4 percent that
used a bus to get to the bus that they received a survey card on. This result indicates that WATS
Saturday routes have an overall transfer rate of 34.2 percent.
Those riders who transferred to another WATS bus were asked to identify the route that they
transferred to. The accompanying charts provide the results for the weekday and Saturday routes
and indicate the number of people and the percent of total transfers.
Table 5-7: Weekday Transfers to Another WATS Bus
Route Transferred To
G
X4
A
D
H
E
B
I
C
J
X9
Number of People
24
19
18
18
15
14
12
11
9
6
4
16.1%
12.8%
12.1%
12.1%
10.1%
9.0%
8.1%
7.0%
6.0%
4.0%
2.7%
Table 5-8: Saturday Transfers to Another WATS Bus
Route Transferred To
A
H
J
I
C
G
E
D
Number of People
12
6
5
4
3
3
2
1
33.3%
16.7%
13.9%
11.1%
8.3%
8.3%
5.5%
2.9%
Length of Time Riding WATS - The next question asked how long the passenger has been riding
WATS buses. The accompanying chart shows that about 42 percent of weekday riders and about
49 percent of the Saturday users have been riding for five years or more. This is a large number
of long-term riders. Surveys performed by the consultant at other systems generally indicated
that less than one third of the riders had been riding for that extended length of time. However,
even with the large number of long time users, there is a significant number of riders (19.6%
weekday and 20.5% Saturday) that have been riding for less than a year. This indicates that
transit ridership in the City of Wausau is not stable and experiences significant turnover, that is,
each year some people stop riding while others become new riders. This emphasizes the need to
Opinion Surveys
62
continually provide public information on transit services and perform marketing activities to
attract new riders.
Table 5-9: Length of Time Riding WATS
Length of Time Riding
Less than a year
1-2 years
3 to 4 years
5 years of more
Total
Weekday Percent
19.6%
19.6%
19.0%
41.8%
100.0%
Saturday Percent
20.5%
12.0%
18.8%
48.7%
100.0%
Trip Purpose - Riders were asked to identify the purpose of the trip they were making that day.
The chart on the following page shows that school is the most common trip purpose on weekdays
on the WATS system and comprises about 31 percent of the weekday riders. Work is the second
most common weekday trip purpose among WATS riders representing 27.8 percent of the trips.
Personal Business (13.4%) and Shopping (10.2%) are the third and fourth most common
weekday trip purposes. The remaining weekday trip purposes are relatively minor with none
exceeding nine percent. In fact, all other trip purposes account for about 18 percent of the total
weekday trips.
The trip purposes on Saturday are different. Shopping is the dominant trip purpose with 28.8
percent of the total trips. Trips for work purposes represent 16.1 percent of the total Saturday
trips on the WATS system. On Saturday, Medical/Dental and Other are both important trip
purposes.
Table 5-10: Trip Purpose
Trip Purpose
Work
School
Personal Business
Shopping
Medical/Dental
Social/Recreation
Other
Total
Weekday Percent
27.8%
30.7%
13.4%
10.2%
6.1%
3.5%
8.3%
100.0%
Saturday Percent
16.1%
13.5%
8.5%
28.8%
14.4%
5.1%
13.6%
100.0%
Frequency of Use - The next question asked how many trips the passenger makes on WATS
services in a week. The chart below shows that on weekdays 28.4 percent ride WATS buses 10
or more times per week. An additional 24.3 percent ride six to nine times a week for a total of
52.7 percent of riders who could be considered frequent riders. This is consistent with the fact
that about 59 percent of riders indicated in the previous question that their trip is work or school.
Those traveling to and from work or school tend to make two one-way trips on several days
throughout the week. Only 14.1 percent are infrequent riders, or those who make one trip or less
per week. The remaining 33.2 percent are occasional riders who ride WATS service two to five
Opinion Surveys
63
times per week. Again, these findings are consistent with the number of riders indicating trip
purposes other than work or school. Riders traveling for purposes other than school or work tend
to travel on fewer days throughout the week.
As seen below, on Saturday frequent use of the bus service is much less with the dominant
ridership group using the service five times or less per week (56.4 %).
Table 5-11: Frequency of Use
Frequency of Use
1 or Less
2 to 5 Times
6 to 9 Times
10 or More
Total
Weekday Percent
14.1%
33.2%
24.3%
28.4%
100.0%
Saturday Percent
13.7%
42.7%
20.5%
23.1%
100.0%
Riding Trend - Riders were asked how the frequency at which they are currently riding WATS
compares with the previous year. The chart below shows that 51.4 percent of weekday and 51.8
percent of Saturday users are riding more now than last year, while only 11.9 percent weekday
and 11.4 percent Saturday said less. The remainder, 36.7 percent weekday and 36.8 percent
Saturday indicated that they are riding about the same.
Table 5-12: Riding Trend
Riding Habit Compared to Last Year
More
Less
About the Same
Total
Weekday Percent
51.4%
11.9%
36.7%
100.0%
Saturday Percent
51.8%
11.4%
36.8%
100.0%
Fare Payment Options - The next question on the survey asked the riders how they paid for the
bus trip they were currently making. As seen in the chart below, the most frequently cited fare
payment method for weekday riders was the Adult Monthly Pass (21.6%), which was followed
by Adult Cash (16.8%) and Student Ticket (14.9%). On Saturdays, Adult Cash (23.7%) and
Adult Monthly Pass (17.5%) were the most frequently cited fare payment methods.
Opinion Surveys
64
Table 5-13: Fare Payment Options
Fare
Adult Cash
Adult Token
Adult Monthly Pass
Transfer
Student Cash
Student Ticket
Student Monthly Pass
Elderly & Disabled Cash
Elderly & Disabled Monthly Pass
Total
Weekday Percent
16.8%
8.0%
21.6%
3.5%
4.5%
14.9%
10.9%
5.3%
14.5%
100.0%
Saturday Percent
23.7%
8.8%
17.5%
2.6%
11.4%
12.3%
5.3%
4.4%
14.0%
100.0%
Service Evaluation - The next question asked riders to rate the performance of WATS in seven
different categories. The chart below provides a breakdown of the responses for weekday
services. The chart shows that differences occur between the specific responses in the various
categories. For example, “interior cleanliness” receives the smallest percentage of excellent
responses (30.9%) with “driver courtesy” receiving the largest percentage of excellent responses
(44.6%).
For this type of survey, a response is considered favorable if the combined total of responses in
the excellent, very good or good categories is greater than or equal to 90 percent of all responses.
The accompanying chart also provides the total for these three ratings for each of the nine
categories. The chart shows that five of the seven categories attain this threshold for a favorable
rating. “Places served” receives the lowest total score in the excellent, very good and good
categories of 83.2 percent. This rating implies the need for bus service to places like Wal-Mart,
Weston, and Cedar Creek. The next lowest score for these three ratings was “interior cleanliness”
with a rating of 88.4 percent. The best score was 96.1 percent for “service in general” followed
by “service frequency” (93.8%).
Table 5-14: Weekday Service Rating
Category
Interior cleanliness
Driver courtesy
Service information
Buses are on-time
Service frequency
Places served
Service in general
Weekday Rating – All Figures in Percent (%)
Excellent Very Good Good Total Favorable
Fair
30.9%
30.4%
27.1%
9.4%
88.4%
44.6%
32.8%
15.2%
6.0%
92.6%
45.3%
29.7%
18.4%
5.5%
93.4%
40.7%
31.8%
19.3%
7.1%
91.8%
37.0%
30.9%
25.9%
5.1%
93.8%
36.4%
26.1%
20.7%
12.3%
83.2%
39.4%
34.8%
21.9%
3.9%
96.1%
Poor
2.2%
1.4%
1.1%
1.1%
1.1%
4.5%
0.0%
A similar evaluation was developed for Saturday service with the results listed on the following
page.
Opinion Surveys
65
Table 5-15: Saturday Service Rating
Category
Interior cleanliness
Driver courtesy
Service information
Buses are on-time
Service frequency
Places served
Service in general
Saturday Rating – All Figures in Percent (%)
Excellent Very Good Good Total Favorable
Fair
33.6%
29.3%
25.9%
6.0%
88.8%
43.6%
18.8%
26.5%
8.5%
88.9%
49.5%
20.5%
24.8%
2.6%
94.8%
46.6%
27.1%
19.5%
5.1%
93.2%
43.8%
28.1%
18.4%
7.9%
90.3%
33.7%
26.3%
24.6%
5.1%
84.6%
41.5%
26.3%
24.6%
5.1%
92.4%
Poor
5.2%
2.6%
2.6%
1.7%
1.8%
2.5%
2.5%
The riders using Saturday services were more critical of the bus services, although most rating
were still very favorable. Again, places served received the lowest number of the excellent, very
good and good ratings. Interior cleanliness and driver courtesy also had total rating below the 90
percent threshold
Best Place for WATS Information - To assist WATS in their efforts to market new or existing
services, the survey asked riders to indicate the best way for WATS to reach them with
information. The riders were given several options to choose from and were asked to identify
only one source. The accompanying chart provides the results.
Table 5-16: Information Source
Information Source
Newspapers
Radio
Television
Drivers
Telephone
Website
Schedules/Brochures
Friends/Relatives
Total
Percent Weekday Responding
13.6%
14.8%
20.2%
17.5%
3.3%
8.3%
12.2%
10.1%
100.0%
Percent Saturday Responding
12.8%
20.2%
26.6%
14.7%
5.5%
1.8%
11.0%
7.4%
100.0%
The chart shows TV as the best source for both weekday and Saturday riders. On weekdays, five
other sources had very similar responses that ranged from 17.5 percent to 10.1 percent and
included Newspapers, Radio, Drivers, Schedules/Brochures and Friends/Relatives. On Saturday,
Radio was the second choice followed by Drivers and Newspapers.
Influencing Factors - Riders were then asked to provide their judgment on whether or not they
agreed that certain service improvements would influence more people to use WATS service.
Riders were presented with seven improvement categories and were asked if they were very
important, important or not important in influencing more people to use WATS. The results
provide a useful gauge in determining the areas in which service improvement proposals should
focus. The chart below provides the results for weekday service.
Opinion Surveys
66
Table 5-17: Weekday Influencing Factors
Influencing Factors
More frequent service
More information
Better connections
More weekend service
More evening service
Service to more places
Lower fares
Very Important
52.6%
38.8%
44.1%
72.5%
71.3%
73.0%
42.4%
Important
41.1%
50.6%
48.6%
22.9%
23.9%
23.0%
37.2%
Total Important
93.7%
89.4%
92.7%
95.4%
95.2%
96.0%
79.6%
Not Important
6.3%
10.6%
7.3%
4.6%
4.8%
4.0%
20.4%
The influencing factor that draws the most agreement from weekday riders is “service to more
places”. Again, this implies the need for bus service to Wal-Mart, Weston, and Cedar Creek. A
total of 96.0 percent of the riders state that this service improvement is either very important or
important. “Lower fares” is listed as the least important influencing factor.
Riders were also given the opportunity to specify any other service improvements that would
increase WATS ridership. A total of seven weekday riders offered additional improvement
suggestions. The only improvement suggestion mentioned by more than one rider was to
improve driver courtesy. Other improvement suggestions included night service, cleaner buses,
serve more places, and service to Wal-Mart. One rider commented that the high price of gas may
help increase WATS ridership.
The chart below provides the results for Saturday service.
Table 5-18: Saturday Influencing Factors
Influencing Factors
More frequent service
More information
Better connections
More evening service
Service to more places
Lower fares
Very Important
49.1%
39.6%
49.6%
70.5%
66.3%
74.1%
34.3%
Important
44.3%
49.1%
44.0%
23.2%
27.3%
23.2%
42.2%
Total Important
93.4%
88.7%
93.6%
93.7%
93.6%
97.3%
76.5%
Not Important
6.6%
11.3%
6.4%
6.3%
6.4%
2.7%
23.5%
The Saturday riders also indicated that “service to more places” was the most important factor to
influence more usage of bus service. In fact, 74.1 percent indicated that “service to more places”
was very important. Similar to the weekday results, “lower fares” is listed as the least important
influencing factor.
Only three riders on Saturday provided additional service improvement suggestions. The
suggestions included improving driver courtesy, cleaner buses and weekend service during the
summer.
Extent of Transit Dependency - The next series of questions related to the dependency of
WATS riders on transit service. This series of questions helps to determine the level at which
Opinion Surveys
67
WATS ridership base is made up of discretionary (i.e., choice riders) or non-discretionary (i.e.,
captive) riders. A ridership base that is heavily transit dependent indicates that only certain
population groups are using the service rather than a cross-section of the population in the
service area.
The first of these questions asked riders to indicate whether or not they could have made their
trip if transit services were not available. The chart on the following page shows that only 16.4
percent of the weekday riders and 21.4 percent of the Saturday riders indicated that they could
have made the trip without WATS. A total of 50.3 percent of the weekday riders and 48.7
percent of the Saturday riders stated that they could not have made the trip without WATS. The
remaining 33.3 percent weekday and 29.9 percent Saturday said that they could have made the
trip without WATS service, but it would be inconvenient.
The last group and part of the middle group can be considered dependent or “captive” users. The
results indicate that a high percentage of riders using WATS are “captive” riders.
Table 5-19: Able to Make Trip without WATS Service
Able to Make Trip without
WATS service
Yes
No
Yes, but with inconvenience
Total
Percent Weekday
Responding
16.4%
50.3%
33.3%
100.0%
Percent Saturday
Responding
21.4%
48.7%
29.9%
100.0%
The next question designed to further gauge the level of transit dependency among WATS riders
asked whether or not the rider has a valid driver’s license. The chart below shows that 66.7
percent weekday and 79.5 percent Saturday riders of WATS riders do not have a valid driver’s
license. This is consistent with the high percentage of “captive” riders noted in the above
question.
Table 5-20: Drivers License
Driver License
Yes
No
Total
23.0%
66.7%
100.0%
20.5%
79.5%
100.0%
Riders were then asked if a car was available to them to make their trip. The following chart
shows that approximately 81.3 percent of weekday users and 77.6 percent of Saturday WATS
users did not have a car available to them to make their current trip. This confirms the response
to the question which asked the riders if they could have made their trip without WATS service
to which 50.3 percent of weekday riders and 48.7 percent of Saturday riders stated that they
could not have made the current trip at all.
Opinion Surveys
68
Table 5-21: Car Available for Trip
Car Available for Trip
Yes
No
Total
18.7%
81.3%
100.0%
22.4%
77.6%
100.0%
The final question in the transit dependency area requested information regarding the number of
automobiles owned by the rider’s household. As seen in the accompanying chart, 65.9 percent of
the weekday user’s households and 64.1 percent of the Saturday user’s households have no more
than one car. This is another indicator of the high level of transit dependency of both the
weekday and Saturday WATS riders.
Table 5-22: Vehicles Owned by Household
Vehicles Owned by
Household
None
One
Two
Three or More
Total
Percent Weekday
Responding
40.1%
25.8%
21.7%
12.4%
100.0%
Percent Saturday
Responding
48.7%
15.4%
22.2%
13.7%
100.0%
This series of questions consistently demonstrated that about 80 percent of the weekday riders
and Saturday riders could be considered transit dependent in the traditional sense. The level of
transit dependent ridership on weekdays and on Saturday is comparable with the levels of transit
dependency found at other similar size transit systems for their entire service (i.e., weekday and
weekend).
Socioeconomic/Demographic Measures - The final series of questions concerned the
socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the rider. This information allows for
comparisons with the WATS ridership base to the population of City of Wausau as a whole.
The first of these questions asked the rider to identify their sex. According to the survey results,
65.7 percent of weekday and 56.5 percent of Saturday WATS users are female and 34.3 percent
weekday and 43.5 percent Saturday are male. A decisive female majority is typical of the make
up of the ridership base at transit systems.
The next question asked the rider to identify the age group in which they belong. The chart
provides the breakdown of WATS weekday and Saturday riders compared to the results from the
2000 U.S. Census for Wausau residents. Weekday and Saturday ridership age group are similar
with both reflecting relatively low over 65 ridership groups. The highest single weekday age
group among WATS riders is the population under 18 years of age with 30.8 percent of the
weekday riders. This is higher than the rate of that age group in the City overall where the
population under 18 years of age comprises 25.0 percent of the population. The percentage of 30
to 44 year olds among WATS weekday riders is similar to the percentage of the overall City
population made up by this group.
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69
It is surprising that the senior citizen population segment (65 years old and above) accounts for
only 10.0 percent of the weekday riders. This group generally comprises a much larger segment
of the typical transit ridership. In fact, the percentage of WATS riders in this age group is lower
than the rate of the overall City population that senior citizens comprise. These results indicate
that, on average, WATS ridership base is younger than the population of the City as a whole –
47.3 percent of the weekday riders are under 30 years old while 40.9 percent of the total
population is in this age group.
Table 5-23: Age Group
Age Group
Under 18
18 to 29
30 to 44
45 to 64
65 and Over
Total
Weekday Percent
30.8%
16.5%
20.5%
22.2%
10.0%
100.0%
Saturday Percent
29.1%
17.1%
13.6%
27.4%
12.8%
100.0%
City of Wausau Overall
25.0%
15.9%
20.9%
20.9%
17.3%
100.0%
The high percentage of younger riders on the WATS system can be attributed to the fact that
many students in the City of Wausau use WATS as their means of transportation to and from
school.
Riders were then asked to note their total family income. The survey provided a series of income
ranges and riders were asked to mark the appropriate box. Approximately 21 percent of the
weekday survey respondents did not answer this question. For those that did respond, the chart
below summarizes the results. The major finding was that 35.8 percent of the respondents have
total annual family incomes of less than $10,000. This is over four times as high as the eight
percent of the City of Wausau population overall which is comprised of households with similar
annual family incomes. Further, the rider survey indicated that 11.0 percent of the riders have
annual family incomes of $45,000 or more. This is approximately one-fourth the percentage of
households with such incomes in the City overall. The only income range among riders which is
similar to that in the City overall is the $20,000 to $29,999 range. These findings indicate that
lower-income households make up a disproportionately larger percentage of the WATS ridership
base than of the City population as a whole. This further demonstrates the strong transit
dependency of WATS riders.
As shown in the chart below, the income levels for the Saturday survey are very similar to the
weekday income levels.
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70
Table 5-24: Annual Family Income Range
Annual Family
Income Range
Under $10,000
$10,000 to $19,999
$20,000 to $29,999
$30,000 to $44,999
More than $45,000
Total
Weekday Percent
Saturday Percent
35.8%
26.1%
16.4%
10.7%
11.0%
100.0%
37.4%
22.2%
15.2%
13.1%
12.1%
100.0%
City of Wausau
Overall
8.0%
14.9%
16.5%
20.8%
39.8%
100.0%
Where Do Riders Live – This question asked riders to indicate where they live. Not surprising,
almost 95 percent of weekday riders and almost 86 percent of Saturday riders live within the City
of Wausau, which is the primary service area for the WATS system. This response rate is
consistent with the fact that a significant number of riders walk less than two blocks to access the
WATS system.
Table 5-25: Location of Residence
Location of Residence
Wausau
Schofield
Rothschild
Weston
Stettin
Other
Total
Weekday Percent
94.6%
1.4%
1.6%
1.1%
0.3%
1.0%
100.0%
Saturday Percent
85.5%
3.4%
6.8%
3.4%
0.9%
0.0%
100.0%
WATS Improvements - The final question was an open-ended question that asked the rider to
identify the single most important improvement that they would like to see WATS accomplish.
A total of 294 comments were received representing approximately 59.6 percent of the 493
respondents. This is a significant high rate of response given the open-ended nature of the
question and clearly indicates the areas of concern among riders. The chart below lists
improvements that were identified by 10 or more people.
As the chart shows, evening service is listed most frequently (73 responses) as the most
important improvement among riders. The next highest response related to more weekend service
(70 responses). In addition, service to Cedar Creek (23 responses) and service to the Rib
Mountain area (14 responses) were also cited by many riders as being important.
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71
Table 5-26: Most Important Improvement
Most Important Improvement
Evening service
Service to Cedar Creek
Service to Rib Mountain area
Cleaner buses
Service to Wal-Mart
Year around weekend service
Total
Number
73
70
23
14
13
10
10
294
There are a few other points worth mentioning from these results. First, with the exception of the
need for cleaner buses (13 responses), few riders complained about WATS services. On-time
performance (five responses), service frequency (two responses), driver behavior (four
responses), public information (three responses) and the transit center (one response) received
few complaints or suggestions for improvement. In addition, the need for Sunday service (six
responses) did not seem to be a major issue of concern for the riders. The suggestions provided
by the riders are consistent with the service evaluation questions listed above. Based on those
questions, WATS received overall favorable ratings for both its weekday and Saturday services.
Summary
Key findings from the rider survey include the fact that WATS ridership base is
disproportionately female and is comprised of a significantly lower income level when compared
to the population of the City of Wausau overall. Most walk to get to their bus or to complete their
trip to their final destination. About 40 percent of WATS riders transfer from or to another bus to
complete their trip. Also, while school and work are the dominant trip purposes for weekdays,
WATS riders frequently use the system for many other trip purposes on Saturday. While many of
the riders have been using the bus service for five years or more, there is a large group of new
riders that have been riding for less than one year. The results of the survey also indicate an
overall level of favorable satisfaction among riders with various attributes of WATS. Two of the
seven service attribute categories rated by weekday riders attained a score below the threshold of
a favorable response which is a combined total of excellent, very good and good ratings equal to
or greater than 90 percent of all responses. The two categories were “interior cleanliness”
(88.4%) and “places served” (83.2%). In terms of Saturday riders, three of the seven service
attribute categories attained a score below the threshold of a favorable response. The three
categories included “interior cleanliness” (88.8%), “driver courtesy” (88.9%), and “places served
(83.6%). Ridership is made up by a large “captive” ridership group that comprise over threequarters of the weekday and Saturday riders. Results from the survey show that 81.3 percent of
the weekday riders and 77.6 percent of the Saturday riders did not have a car available to them
during the bus trip in which they completed a survey on. Further, 40.1 percent of weekday riders
and 48.7 percent of Saturday riders do not own an automobile. Riders also identified their
highest service improvement priorities as evening service and more weekend service.
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72
Wausau West Industrial Park Survey
The City of Wausau Economic Development Coordinator conducted an employer survey of
businesses in the Wausau West Industrial Park about their transit needs. The survey instrument
was a mail-back form prepared by the consulting team. The survey form is presented in Figure 2.
Only 18 of the 80 businesses in the park responded to the survey (22%), which shows a general
lack of interest in transit service. Of the businesses that responded to the survey, smaller
employers showed a lack of interest in bus service, while some of the larger employers -Eastbay, Major Industries, Northern Valley Industries, and Northern Valley West -- feel that bus
service to their facilities would be beneficial. Northern Valley Industries already contracts for
bus service with WATS. Northern Valley West and Major Industries also stated that they may be
willing to share some of the costs of providing WATS bus service.
Most of the companies who responded to the survey responded that transit service is not very
important to them. Only three employers of the 80 (3.7%) stated that transit service to their
location was either important or very important. The same three employers also stated that transit
service is either important or very important to their current employees. Four employers (5%)
stated that it is either likely or very likely that current employees would use transit service if
provided. The same four employers stated that transit service would likely or very likely improve
their ability to hire and retain workers. These four employers are the same employers that stated
that transit service to their facility would be beneficial.
Thirteen employers responded to the question asking if transit service were provided when
would it be needed. Of these thirteen companies, eight stated that service would only be needed
to match shift changes. An additional four companies stated that service would be needed during
shift changes with some additional midday trips provided. One company stated that service
should be provided every hour, although this company did not state that they had a need for
transit service. None of the companies stated that 30 minute service would be necessary. As
many of the companies, especially the ones that stated that transit service would be beneficial,
did provide shift start and end times, there is enough information to tailor service to those
employers.
Other important findings from the Wausau West Industrial Park questionnaire are provided
below:
•
•
•
•
•
Most employers provide free parking for all employees
Very few employers operate on Sundays
Only 3 employers stated that they would need service until midnight
Very few employers feel that a lack of transit service impacts their ability to hire and
retain employees
A small number of employers did state that they see no benefit of transit service to their
facility
Opinion Surveys
73
CHAPTER 6:
SERVICE EVALUATION, ISSUES, AND OPPORTUNITIES
Introduction
Previous technical memoranda provided an overview of the environment in which Wausau Area
Transit (WATS) operates, the service provided by WATS, and public outreach process. This
chapter presents an analysis and evaluation of the WATS fixed routes, identifying the issues and
strengths of each route. This chapter is divided into three parts -- performance evaluation, route
diagnostics, and issues and opportunities. Two of the express routes, the X4 and X9, have similar
operating characteristics to the regular routes and will be analyzed in this Tech Memo as regular
weekday routes.
Performance Evaluation
Evaluating the WATS system against a set of service standards or goals is the first step in the
evaluation process. The process allows one to deal with a variety of issues related to the quality
and quantity of bus service. This section presents proposed service standards and lists WATS
performance for each standard. This provides an initial guidance for the development of service
strategies. It should be noted that viewing any system with regard to a set of standards or goals
requires an understanding of local conditions as well as the trade-offs associated with providing
service. In the Wausau Urbanized area, for example, WATS cannot meet the coverage standards
because several key communities do not participate in the system, which by Wisconsin state law
prohibits WATS from providing services to those communities. As another example, in some
cases, it will be acceptable to be below the target; e.g., while it is desirable to provide 30 minute
peak service on all routes, doing so on routes in less productive areas might mean not meeting
the standards for fiscal condition. The analysis discusses these issues and the competing
requirements of providing extensive coverage and frequent service while meeting the need to
maintain cost effectiveness and stay within a limited budget. It will identify where standards
should be met and where standards should be used as goals for WATS to use in planning future
service changes.
Table 6-1 provides a summary of the standards/goals and the results for WATS, which are
discussed below.
Service Coverage
This broad category covers standards for availability, frequency, span, and directness.
Availability - One of the key decisions in providing transit is determining where service should
be provided and the spacing of bus routes. Figure 6-1 shows an overlay of the WATS fixed
routes on a map showing jurisdictional boundaries, population densities, and trip generators.
Service Evaluation, Issues, and Opportunities
74
Table 6-1: Service Standards and WATS Result
Category
Availability
•
•
•
Frequency
Directness
•
•
•
•
•
Speed
•
Loading
•
Bus Stop Spacing
•
Span
•
Dependability
•
•
Road Call Ratio
•
•
Fare Structure
Farebox Recovery
•
•
•
Productivity
(Pass./Hr.)
•
•
Waiting Shelters
Bus Stop Signs
Revenue Equipment
Public Information
•
•
•
•
Standard
WATS Result
Service Coverage
Residential areas
• Key residential areas served within Wausau
Major activity centers
• West Wausau Industrial Park not served
Public investment
• Rib Mountain not served
• Cedar Creek not served
• Weston not served
30 Minute peak
• Route C does not meet peak standard
60 Minute off-peak
• Route X9 does not meet off-peak standard
6 AM to 6 PM all routes
• Local routes start service at 6:15 AM
6 PM to 10 PM selected services
• No evening service
Maximum 30 percent of
• WATS appears to meet standard
passengers transfer
Patron Convenience
Average 15 MPH
• System average of 13.8 MPH
• Local routes average 14.7 MPH
25 percent standees for short
• Meets Standard
periods acceptable
5 to 7 blocks per mile in core
• Generally meets standard
(every other block)
Fringe 4 to 5 per mile, as needed
based on land uses
No missed trip
• No missed trips observed
95 percent on-time service (0 to 5 • All observed trips on-time
minutes late)
No trips leaving early
4,000 to 6,000 miles per road call • 26,500 miles exceeds standard
Fiscal Condition
Qualitative criteria
• Meets criteria
Significantly alter routes less than • Route I falls between 60 percent and 80
60 percent of average (14.4
percent of average on weekdays and
percent average)
Saturdays
Review and modify routes
• Route X9 falls between 60 percent and 80
between 60 percent and 80
percent of average on weekdays
percent of average
• Route E falls below 60 percent of average on
Saturdays
Significantly alter routes less than • Route I falls between 60 percent and 80
60 percent of average (20.8
percent of average on weekdays and
pass/hr average)
Saturdays
Review and modify routes
• Route X9 falls between 60 percent and 80
between 60 percent and 80
percent of average on weekdays
percent of average
• Route E falls below 60 percent of average on
Saturdays
Passenger Comfort
25 or more boardings
• Review Shopko stops on Routes C and G
Denote WATS and route
• Signs do not denote route
Clean and good condition
• Meets Standard
Timetable, maps, advertising
• Meets Standard
75
Figure 6-1: WATS Regular Route Network (1/4 Mile Buffer)
The standard for WATS regarding the coverage of residential areas has two dimensions. First,
WATS should provide service within 3/4 mile to all residents in at least 95 percent of the
populated area within the existing WATS service area, based on participation in the system.
Second, WATS should strive to incorporate other communities in the urbanized area, with a goal
of bringing 80 percent of the urbanized area population within ¾ of a mile of WATS service as
long as there are sufficient residential densities for providing fixed route service.
On this basis, WATS meets or exceeds the applicable route coverage standard for its current
service area in regard to the residential (production) trip end component, but falls short for the
urbanized area due to the non-participation of communities other than Wausau, Schofield, and
Rothschild.
Routes are spaced well, with most having well defined territories, although there is some overlap
and potential issues regarding the routes on the northwest side of Wausau (Route D, E, I, and G).
As the map shows, most of the City of Wausau is within ¼ mile of a bus route, which includes
many of the residential areas, important destinations, and major employers. Most of the areas
that are outside the coverage of the route network are located in the fringes of the city in areas
that are just out of reach of the current route network. The main area within the City of Wausau
that has no transit service is the Wausau West Industrial Park and its surrounding areas. It should
76
be noted, however, that Route X9 only operates during peak periods, leaving areas in the eastern
part of Wausau without coverage during middays.
Service is also provided into Rothschild and Schofield, both of which provide a local share of the
operating subsidy for service. The elected officials of these two communities meet and discuss
service needs and coverage for their communities with WATS and therefore, while there are
gaps in the overall coverage to these communities, these gaps are not perceived to be an issue for
either community, with the exception of service to Cedar Creek.
There are other non-participating communities, however, that have large employers and major
destinations that are not served by WATS buses, specifically Weston and Rib Mountain. Among
these destinations are some of the most attractive trip generators for transit (as seen in many
other communities), most notably Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and other big box stores on Rib
Mountain Drive, and Target and St. Claire’s Hospital in Weston
Finally, regarding public investment, to meet WisDOT requirements, the WATS service
standards should state that service outside of the city limits can be provided only when the
jurisdiction or institution(s) served provides the local share of the operating investment via a
written agreement.
Frequency - For a city of Wausau’s size, the proposed headway/frequency is 30 minutes during
peak periods, and 60 minutes during off-peak periods. Tripper services should be operated on an
“as needed” basis. All routes, except Route C, exceed this standard, operating 30 minutes all day.
Route C operates 60 minutes all day. The headways need to be examined in concert with the trip
generation and potential of each route to balance ridership and resource utilization to achieve
productivities and unit costs that are within acceptable bounds for the system. This means
looking at routes that exceed the off-peak 60 minute headway standard with 30 minute
frequencies in addition to reviewing peak frequencies.
Span - The duration of service needs to consider both need/demand and the availability of funds.
The standard for WATS for regular route service should be 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM (12 hours) on
weekdays, and 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturdays. Trippers once again should be provided as
needed.
During the weekdays, WATS meets the 12 hour span, although the first pulse is at 6:15 AM and
service runs to 6:30 PM rather than 6 AM to 6 PM. This does not appear to present a problem for
early morning work trips and may not require an adjustment. Saturday hours exceed the standard,
with the last pulse at 5:30 PM.
Mid-sized cities are increasingly looking to restore evening hours, especially in light of access to
work programs, and the growth of evening retail and service industry jobs. Thus, WATS should
have a standard of selected evening service to 10:00 PM, and should base the decision to provide
such service on transportation need, community support, and fiscal resources.
Directness - The identified standard for directness for this project is the percentage of transfers
being made by bus riders. For a pulse system with radial routes, transferring is usually high, and
77
a standard of 30 percent (transfer trips/revenue trips) is the maximum rate for transferring.
WATS appears to meet the standard.
The pulse system is designed to allow the maximum number of people the opportunity to easily
transfer between routes, and to allow a trip in the system to be made with not more than one
transfer. This allows WATS to provide a simple and more frequent service than might be
possible with a grid network, and makes efficient use of resources while providing excellent
coverage.
While a percentage transfer rate was not calculated as part of the analyses for this project, the
observed rate as well as the number of bus to bus transfers identified from the rider survey
indicates that WATS operates within the standard.
A second measure of directness evaluates the number of one-way loops and the directness of the
bus route in comparison to an auto trip. The more loops and jogs in a route, the less likely the
route provides a direct, timely trip to the transfer center. Loops are generally used to spread
service and increase coverage in areas where there are insufficient resources or demand potential
for additional services. WATS has a few looped sections within its route network which spread
coverage; the penalty paid by riders may be a short trip duration in one direction and a long trip
in the other. These sections need to be examined with regard to their ridership productivity on a
case by case basis, which is covered subsequently in this chapter, particularly for the loops on
Routes J, H, and D.
Patron Convenience
This section looks at WATS’ performance in areas related to patron convenience. It includes a
review of speed, loadings, bus stops, and service dependability including road call/breakdown
frequency.
Speed - Based on work in other small cities, the average system speed should not exceed 15
miles per hour. Since routes operate in a range of environments, this standard can be broken
down to set standards for routes operating in core areas, fringe areas, and between cities. The
standards by these types of areas are 8 to 12 miles per hour in the core, 10 -18 miles in the fringe
areas, and 20 -25 miles per hour for intercity services.
Based on NTD data, the average speed for all WATS routes is 13.8 mph, and 14.7 for the urban
routes (excludes Route C), which meets the system standard. Individual routs vary and will be
discussed below.
Loading - The service standard should be that every passenger gets a seat except for short
periods of time associated with peak load periods (typically the end of school), during which
time there should be no more than 25 percent standees for only a limited duration. Based on field
observations and the on/off count program this standard is being met.
At the same time, while there is no minimum load factor, e.g. loads should not fall below a given
number of riders, observations of the ridership by trip indicate that there are significant portions
78
of the day when peak loads rarely exceed 10 passengers on a given route, which may be an
indicator of an over-supply of service to these routes for selected time periods. Again, the route
by route studies will look at these conditions in detail to determine which routes, if any, may
require less service than is presently being provided.
Bus Stop Spacing - The spacing of stops should balance patron convenience and speed of
operation. The core standard calls for a stop every other block; in fringe areas, stops can be as far
apart as .2 to .25 miles (4 to 5 per mile), based on need. Field observations of all WATS routes
indicate that the stop placements in Wausau meet the standard.
Dependability - Riders require dependable service, defined as service that arrives on time and
gets them to their destination on time, particularly if they are going to work, to school, or to an
appointment. The standard should be two-fold: 100.0 percent of all trips should be operated (e.g.,
no missed trips), and 95.0 percent of the trips should run on-time (e.g., not more than 5 minutes
late). Finally, no trip should run ahead of schedule at any point along a route. During field
observations, WATS operated on-time with no missed trips
Fiscal Condition
These standards assess financial situation, the use of the WATS system, and the relationship of
service used to the amount of service provided. While there are any number of possible criteria
that van be used to define fiscal condition, many of which will be studied in detail in the route
diagnostics, for the purpose of defining general standards and overall condition, three were
selected: fare structure, farebox recovery, and productivity.
Fare Structure - The fare structure should meet qualitative considerations set by board policy. It
should be simple to understand, offer convenience to the user, and generate reasonable revenues
for the system.
With regard to equity issues, the fare policy offers a number of discounts based either upon age
or disability, or upon the use of a variety of media. Free transfers are provided so that those
needing to use two buses for a trip are not penalized. All routes are priced the same, using a $
1.00 base fare.
Farebox Recovery - In 2003 WATS performance was slightly lower than the national peer group
as reported in the peer group chapter, and slightly above the Wisconsin peer group average of
13.3 percent.
The standards for individual routes relate to the system average. Thus, for this plan routes
achieving less than 60 percent of the system average, or 8.6 percent, should be studied and
significantly altered; routes falling between 60 and 80 percent of the system average, or 8.6
percent and 11.5 percent, need to be carefully reviewed and possibly modified. On this basis,
Route E falls below 60 percent on Saturdays, and Route I and X9 fall in the 60-80 percent range
on weekdays.
Productivity - Similar to farebox recovery, this measure relates individual route performance to
the overall performance of the system. Overall, WATS carried 20.8 passengers per vehicle hour
79
during the survey period. In 2003 WATS performed well against its national peers, which
averaged 21.27 passengers per hour, and exceeded the Wisconsin peers, which averaged 18.65
passengers per vehicle hour. As above, further examination needs to focus on the three routes
that fall below the 80 percent threshold – Routes E, I, and X9, as well as for all routes in general.
Passenger Comfort
Passenger comfort standards pertain to the passenger environment that WATS provides. These
standards examine the placement and condition of shelters and bus stop signs, the comfort and
condition of the revenue equipment, and the quality of public information.
Waiting Shelters - The standard for waiting shelters for a system of this size is to place one at
any location having 25 or more daily boardings, generally spread throughout the day (e.g., not 25
boardings for a single load and no boardings for the remaining part of the day). Under this
standard, WATS has shelters in all appropriate locations except two --- at both the Shopko in
Wausau and Rothschild.
Bus Stop Signs - WATS signs identify the WATS system but not the individual route serving the
stop, which should be an element of the bus stop standard. The quality and condition of many of
the signs could be updated and used more aggressively to market the system.
Revenue Equipment - The buses are well-maintained and clean and comfortable. The public
image is very good, and we received no negative comments about the buses’ age or condition.
Public Information – The public “Bus Route Map & Schedule” is very easy to read and shows
the relevant information including phone numbers, fares, and route information. The one issue
with the route schedules is that having no intermediate time points along the route may make it
difficult for people to judge when the bus will stop at intermediate stops.
Some of the stakeholders felt that WATS needs to be more aggressive with regards to its public
outreach and marketing program, with more promotional materials or advertising. The existing
transfer center was seen as a negative from the point of view of public image, while its
replacement, now in the planning process, was seen as an opportunity to enhance the system
image.
The name WATS, which connotes ownership by the City of Wausau, was seen as a drawback to
the development of a truly regional system by some.
Summary
Overall, WATS meets most of the proposed standards as set in the opening of this section, and is
well-managed and well-received in the community. There are issues to be addressed concerning
coverage and participation in the system, and a few minor issues related to physical elements and
the overall marketing program and system identity.
80
Although the overall performance statistics are acceptable against the WATS peers, there is some
concern at the route level, specifically pertaining to individual ridership levels, load factors, and
productivity. These statistics are reviewed and analyzed in the next section on route diagnostics.
Route Diagnostics
Five important data factors were collected or calculated to create the database and calculations
for the route diagnostics: average daily ridership, daily revenue hours, daily revenue miles, daily
operating cost, and daily farebox revenue. Average daily ridership for regular routes was taken
directly from the ridership counts taken between May 12 and May 16, 2005 for both weekday
and Saturday. Revenue hour figures were taken from the scheduled driver hours sheets provided
at the beginning of the study. Revenue miles were provided by WATS staff for both local and
express routes. Daily operating cost was calculated by determining an average cost per hour
based on 2004 operating cost and revenue hours4. Daily farebox revenue was calculated based on
2004 total operating revenue and total passengers,5 multiplied by average daily ridership. Table
6-2 presents the five factors used for the route diagnostics.
The table shows that the express routes, while for the most part operating only a few trips a day,
represent a significant portion of the WATS operation. Express buses carry approximately 37 to
38 percent of weekday riders, while operating only about 25 percent of total revenue hours and
20 percent of revenue miles, and are thus responsible for about 22 percent of operating cost and
almost 38 percent of farebox revenue.
The express bus network in not under review in this study, with the exception of the X4 and X9
services, which provide more service than the other seven routes are more closely linked to the
local bus network. However, based solely on the numbers presented, it is clear that the express
bus network is highly cost-effective and productive, and highly beneficial to the overall
statistical profile of the WATS program.
By the same token, this means that the regular routes, benefiting as a whole statistically from the
impact of the express buses, may operate at somewhat lower levels in relation to the overall
system average, and that each route needs to be closely examined to account for this impact.
Service effectiveness describes the amount utilization of service per unit of transit service
provided. Service effectiveness is measured based on two indicators, passengers per mile and
passengers per hour. While both passengers per mile and passengers per hour are presented, only
passengers per hour is included in the route scoring and ranking presented at the end of the route
diagnostics section to avoid duplication.
4
2004 total operating expense of $2,599,187.38, 2004 total revenue Hours of 38,385.75 hours, for an average
cost per hour of $67.71
5
2004 total operating revenue of $348,655.00, 2004 total passengers totaled 746,239, for an average revenue
per passenger of $0.47
81
Table 6-2: Route Level Ridership, Operating Data, Cost, and Revenue
Route
Weekday
A
B
C
D
E
G
H
I
J
Regular Route Total
X1
X2
X3
X4
X5
X6
X7
X8
X9
Express Total
Weekday Total
Saturday
A
B
C
D
E
G
H
I
J
Saturday Total
Average
Daily
Ridership
Daily
Revenue
Hours
Daily
Revenue
Miles
Daily
Operating
Cost
Daily
Farebox
Revenue
306
323
224
264
209
338
284
199
242
2,389
241
98
215
217
111
254
141
73
91
1,441
3,830
12.417
12.417
12.833
12.417
12.417
12.417
12.417
12.417
12.417
112.169
5.334
2.167
3.500
11.500
2.083
3.500
2.250
1.333
6.000
37.667
149.836
162.50
192.50
210.60
157.50
182.50
165.00
202.50
195.00
182.50
1,650.60
41.59
17.27
39.92
130.64
30.06
48.18
19.76
11.19
80.40
419.01
2,069.61
$840.78
$840.78
$868.95
$840.78
$840.78
$840.78
$840.78
$840.78
$840.78
$7,595.22
$361.18
$146.73
$236.99
$778.69
$141.04
$236.99
$152.35
$90.26
$406.27
$2,550.52
$10,145.74
$142.97
$150.91
$104.66
$123.35
$97.65
$157.92
$132.69
$92.98
$113.07
$1,116.18
$112.60
$45.79
$100.45
$101.39
$51.86
$118.67
$65.88
$34.11
$45.52
$673.26
$1,789.44
80
73
68
40
22
166
87
52
108
696
8.917
8.917
8.917
4.458
4.458
8.917
8.917
8.917
8.917
71.335
117.00
138.60
145.80
56.70
65.70
118.80
145.80
140.40
131.40
1,060.20
$603.79
$603.79
$603.79
$301.86
$301.86
$603.79
$603.79
$603.79
$603.79
$4,830.26
$37.38
$34.11
$31.77
$18.69
$10.28
$77.56
$40.65
$24.30
$50.46
$36.13
82
Passenger per Mile – This passenger per mile figures and rankings are presented below on
Table 6-3 for both weekdays and Saturdays. This indicator measures the number of passengers
carried each day by each route versus the number of miles per day the route operates. This table
shows that Route G carries the most people per mile of service provided. The route that carries
the fewest passengers per mile during weekdays is Route I, picking up 1.02 passengers per mile.
The route with the highest passengers per mile on Saturdays is also Route G, while Route E is
has the lowest number of passengers per mile on Saturdays.
Table 6-3: Passengers per Mile
Route
G
A
B
D
X4
H
J
E
X9
C
I
Average
Weekday
Passengers per Mile
2.05
1.88
1.68
1.68
1.66
1.40
1.33
1.15
1.13
1.06
1.02
1.45
Weekday Saturday Passengers Saturday
Rank
per Mile
Rank
1
1.40
1
2
0.68
4
3
0.53
6
4
0.71
2
5
No Service
6
0.60
5
7
0.82
3
8
0.33
9
9
No Service
10
0.47
7
11
0.37
8
0.66
Routes E, X9, C, and I all require review based upon not meeting the 80 percent target, with
particular attention to the level of ridership per mile on Saturdays.
The systemwide passenger per mile figure is 1.45 on weekdays and 0.66 on Saturdays, the latter
figure indicating a cause for concern for the system. One significant factor affecting Saturday
ridership levels is clearly the lack of service to Rib Mountain, Target/Weston, and Cedar Creek,
trip generators which all generate significant use on weekends for shoppers as well as
employees.
Passenger per Hour – The passengers per hour figures, which include rankings, is presented for
both weekdays and Saturdays on Table 6-4. This indicator measures the number of passengers
carried each day by each route versus the number of hours per day the route operates. This table
shows that Route G has the highest passengers per hour on both weekdays and Saturdays. On
weekdays the lowest performing route in terms of passengers per hour is the X9, while Route J is
the lowest performer on Saturdays. The average passenger per hour on weekdays is 20.80, while
the Saturday average is 9.45 passengers per hour, which at less than half of the weekday average
requires further analysis.
Two routes, Route I and X9, fall between 60 percent and 80 percent of the system average on
weekdays. Route I also falls between 60 percent and 80 percent of this standard on Saturdays
while Route E falls below 60 percent of this standard on Saturdays. Each will be studied in more
83
depth to determine what changes, if any, can improve performance. Note that the X9 service is
jointly provided with the school district and has to be treated differently than the regular fixed
routes.
Table 6-4: Passengers per Hour
Route
G
B
A
H
D
J
X4
C
E
I
X9
Average
Weekday Passengers
per Hour
27.22
26.01
24.64
22.87
21.26
19.49
18.87
17.45
16.83
16.03
15.17
20.80
Weekday Saturday Passengers Saturday
Rank
per Hour
Rank
1
18.62
1
2
8.19
5
3
8.97
4
4
9.76
2
5
8.97
3
6
1.11
9
7
No Service
8
7.63
6
9
4.93
8
10
5.83
7
11
No Service
9.45
The productivity of the regular routes on weekdays ranges from 16 to 27 passengers per hour.
Because all but Route C operate with 30 minute headways, this means that the average loads are
between 8 and 13.5 for these routes, an indication that there may be too much service offered
during parts of the day on any or all of the routes. Saturday levels are even lower and need to be
studied as well. These data also relate to the perception that there are always “empty buses” even
though the overall productivity is generally solid on weekdays. Ultimately, there is a need to
investigate each route by time of day along with data on key stops and generators along each to
determine the best trade-off between service levels and resource utilization.
Financial efficiency measures the cost of providing transit service per unit of service provided.
Two indicators; cost per mile and cost per hour can be used to determine financial efficiency.
Since the daily operating cost was determined using an average cost per hour figure for the
system as a whole and not for each individual route, only the cost per mile indicator varies from
route to route in this analysis and therefore is presented for the review of financial efficiency.
84
Cost per Mile – Table 6-5 presents the cost per mile for each route and the route rankings for
both weekdays and Saturdays. This indicator presents the total daily route cost per revenue of
mile operated, and is an indicator of how well resources are being used to produce a unit of
service. The WATS average cost per mile is $4.72 on weekdays and $4.63 on Saturdays. The
nationwide per average for cost per mile is $4.14, a level at which only the Routes C on both
weekdays and Saturday, and Route H on Saturday perform.
Table 6-5: Cost per Mile
Route
C
H
I
B
E
J
X9
G
A
D
X4
Average
Weekday Cost per
Mile
$4.13
$4.15
$4.31
$4.37
$4.61
$4.61
$5.05
$5.10
$5.17
$5.34
$5.96
$4.72
Weekday
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
5
7
8
9
10
11
Saturday Cost per Saturday
Mile
Rank
$4.14
1
$4.14
1
$4.30
3
$4.36
4
$4.59
5
$4.60
6
No Service
$5.08
7
$5.16
8
$5.32
9
No Service
$4.63
The route with the highest cost per mile on weekdays is Route X4, while Route D is the route
with the highest cost per mile on Saturdays. Because all routes but Route C operate on a uniform
headway with the same number of hours of service, there is a direct correlation between average
route length and cost per mile, with longer routes having a lower cost per mile than shorter
routes.
The objective is to maximize the number of miles operated per hour without creating routes that
are too long with consistently poor on-time performance. Each route will be reviewed with this
perspective in mind as suggestions are made for small changes, realignments, or new routes.
Cost Effectiveness
Cost effectiveness measures the effectiveness of the system from a financial standpoint. The cost
effectiveness indicators are cost per passenger, subsidy per passenger, and farebox recovery. The
cost effectiveness indicators that are calculated for the route score and ranking at the end of the
route diagnostics section are cost per passenger and farebox recovery.
Cost per Passenger – Table 6-6 presents the cost per passenger and ranking for each route on
both weekdays and Saturdays. This indicator divides the route operating cost among all
passengers that use the route. This table shows that the route with the lowest cost per passenger
(e.g., the best performance) on both weekdays and Saturdays is Route G. Route X9 has the
highest cost per passenger on weekdays, while Route E has the highest cost per passenger on
85
Saturdays. The average cost per passenger is $3.26 on weekdays and $8.19 on Saturdays. The
nationwide peer average cost per passenger is $3.46. The X9 has a cost per passenger that is
between 60 percent and 80 percent of the peer average on weekdays. On Saturdays most routes
have a cost per passenger that is over 60 percent of the peer average.
Table 6-6: Cost per Passenger
Route
G
B
A
H
D
J
X4
C
E
I
X9
Average
Weekday Cost per
Passenger
$2.49
$2.60
$2.75
$2.96
$3.18
$3.47
$3.59
$3.88
$4.02
$4.23
$4.46
$3.26
Weekday
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Saturday Cost per Saturday
Passenger
Rank
$3.64
1
$8.27
6
$7.55
4
$6.94
3
$7.55
4
$5.59
2
No Service
$8.88
7
$13.72
9
$11.61
8
No Service
$8.19
Once again, it is Routes C, E, I and X9 which need the most attention regarding this factor.
Farebox Recovery – The farebox recovery for each route is presented on Table 6-7 for both
weekdays and Saturdays. Farebox recovery measures the percent of operating cost covered by
fares, and is an outcome heavily influenced by the ridership productivity of a route against its
total operating cost. It is calculated by dividing fare revenue, calculated by multiplying ridership
by the WATS average fare, by operating cost.
Table 6-7 shows that Route G has the highest farebox recovery on both weekdays and Saturdays,
which would be expected based on its rankings on productivity and operating cost. Route X9 has
the lowest farebox recovery on weekdays, while Route E has the lowest farebox recovery on
Saturdays. The average farebox recovery for WATS is 14.4 percent on weekdays and only 6.5
percent on Saturdays, again indicating concern regarding the provision of Saturday service. Two
routes are between 60 percent and 80 percent of the service standard on weekdays for farebox
recovery, Route I and X9. On Saturdays Route E is below 60 percent below the farebox recover
standard, while Route I is between 60 percent and 80 percent of the standard.
86
Table 6-7: Farebox Recovery
Route
G
B
A
H
D
J
X4
C
E
I
X9
Average
Weekday Subsidy per Weekday
Passenger
Rank
18.8 percent
1
17.9 percent
2
17.0 percent
3
15.8 percent
4
14.7 percent
5
13.4 percent
6
13.0 percent
7
12.0 percent
8
11.6 percent
9
11.1 percent
10
10.5 percent
11
14.4 percent
Saturday Subsidy
Saturday
per Passenger
Rank
12.8 percent
1
5.6 percent
6
6.2 percent
4
6.7 percent
3
6.2 percent
4
8.4 percent
2
No Service
5.3 percent
7
3.4 percent
9
4.0 percent
8
No Service
6.5 percent
Route Ranking
The rankings of each of the routes for three indicators can be used to calculate a cumulative rank
score for each route on both weekday and Saturdays. The three indicators include passenger per
hour to rate service effectiveness, and cost per passenger and farebox recovery to rate cost
effectiveness. Financial efficiency was not rated because the ratings of the routes in this category
correlated directly to route length, which does not measure performance. Routes with a higher
score are indicative of poorer performing routes which need to be addressed. Routes with a lower
score better performing routes that may only require monitoring or minor adjustment in order to
integrate better into the WATS network or serve new generators.
Weekday Route Ranking – Table 6-8 presents the weekday route rankings. All of the routes
have the same ranking across all categories considered which would be expected given the
preceding discussion but is not always the case in these studies. . Route G is the best performing
route on weekdays while Route X9 ranks the lowest. Routes C, E, I, and X9 are the four poorest
performers and need the most discussion and study. These lower ranking routes may require
redesign, restructuring, or elimination, all of which will be considered.
87
Table 6-8: Weekday Route Ranking
Route
G
B
A
H
D
J
X4
C
E
I
X9
Passengers
per Hour
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Cost per
Passenger
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Farebox
Recovery
Rank
Cumulative
Rank Score
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Rank
3
6
9
12
15
18
21
24
27
30
33
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Saturday Route Ranking – Table 6-9 presents the Saturday route rankings. As has been noted
in earlier sections, the overall performance of WATS on Saturdays is not good and needs review.
The overall productivity of less than 10 riders per hour is indicative of a need to address the
levels of service provided and the need to focus attention on obtaining agreements to provide
service to the unserved trip generators in surrounding communities.
Table 6-9: Saturday Route Ranking
Route
G
H
D
J
A
B
C
I
E
Passengers
per Hour
Rank
1
2
3
9
4
5
6
7
8
Cost per
Passenger
Rank
1
3
4
2
4
6
7
8
9
Farebox
Recovery
Rank
Cumulative
Rank Score
1
3
4
2
4
6
7
8
9
3
8
11
13
16
17
20
23
26
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Within that context of change, the table shows that on Saturdays Route G and Route H are the
best performing routes, and that Routes B, C, I and E. The poorest performer need the most
attention, even as the entire Saturday program needs attention given its overall performance in
relation to the standards and weekday ridership levels.
88
Time of Day Analysis
An analysis of ridership by time of day is key to understanding some of the dimensions of the
performance described above. Looking at the system as a whole and each route by time of day,
essentially by each trip, provides details that help to understand productivity levels, cost per trip
data, and other quantifiable results. Furthermore, looking at each route on a per trip basis
provides a profile to study ridership levels in relation to operating headways, and ultimately
allows one to determine is current levels of service are appropriate to the results.
On weekdays all routes provide 30 minute service except for Route C, which operates all day on
60 minute headways. On Saturdays Route D and E, are interlined, which results in 60 minute
service for each route; Route C continues to operate on 60 minute headways.
Figure 6-2 shows the ridership trend throughout the day. The weekday time of day ridership
profile of the regular route network shows a generally flat ridership pattern with the exception of
two pulse times -- 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM – which correspond to school opening and closing
times and carry significantly higher numbers of passengers. The first morning trip and last two
trips of the day have significantly lower ridership, which is a common pattern with any transit
system and does not necessarily require attention.
Figure 6-2: Wausau Area Transit System (WATS) Weekday Ridership by Time of Day
89
The Saturday time of day ridership profile (Figure 6-3) is hump backed, with the peak ridership
occurring in the late morning and early afternoon.
Figure 6-3: Wausau Area Transit System (WATS) Saturday Ridership by Time of Day
Route Issues and Opportunities
The following section provides an overview of the individual fixed routes that run all or most of
the service day. This section includes data collected for each route from the route diagnostics
section and the ridership counts taken for this project. This section compares the performance of
each route to the standards identified in this chapter.
The routes are reviewed in alphabetical order and not by the rankings presented above.
Route A – Route A is a solid route, ranking third in the system on weekdays and fifth on
Saturdays. It provides service to The North Central Health Care facilities campus, senior
housing, and other key trip generators along Grand Avenue. This route has a 30 minute headway
all day on weekdays and Saturdays. Table 6-10 presents the indicators and operating statistics for
this route.
90
Table 6-10: Route A Indicators
Factor/Indicator
Average Daily Ridership
Daily Revenue Hours
Daily Revenue Miles
Daily Operating Cost
Daily Farebox Revenue
Passengers per Mile
Passengers per Hour
Cost per Mile
Cost per Passenger
Subsidy per Passenger
Farebox Recovery
Cumulative Rank Score
Rank
Weekday
306
12.417
162.50
$840.78
$142.97
1.88
24.64
$5.17
$2.75
$2.28
17.0 percent
9
3
Saturday
80
8.917
117.00
$603.79
$37.38
0.68
8.97
$5.16
$7.55
$7.08
6.2 percent
16
5
Figure 6-4 presents the weekday time of day ridership profile for Route A, while the Saturday
time of day profile for this route is presented on Figure 6-5. Peak period ridership is not much
higher than midday ridership on this route. The round trip that carries the most passengers is the
2:00 PM trip which recorded 24 boardings during the survey period, followed by the 7:00 AM
trip, which is likely related to student ridership. The first and last trips of the day are the trips
with the lowest ridership. Average weekday loads per trip generally run between 10 and 15
passengers, and overall there are no long periods of low utilization. Route C takes some load off
of Route A on Grand Avenue north of Kent Street, but not in significant numbers according to
the Route C on/off profile.
91
Figure 6-4: Route A Weekday Ridership by Time of Day
Figure 6-5: Route A Saturday Ridership by Time of Day
On Saturdays the ridership pattern is consistently low all day, with all trips ranging between 2
and 9 passengers per trip. About half of the roundtrips board less than 5 passengers through the
entire roundtrip, which brings into question the need for 30 minute service on Saturdays. Route
C covers the Grand Avenue section of Route A from Kent Street to downtown, so there may be
opportunities to maintain at least some 30 minute service on the route if such a change is
considered.
92
As with all routes, most of the boarding and alighting activity on this route occurs at the
Downtown Transit Center. Other stop locations that had significant (over 20 boardings or
alightings on weekdays) boarding and alighting activity during the survey period include the
intersection of Grand Avenue and Sturgeon Eddy, and the North Central Health Care facilities.
There was activity along all segments of the route with many stops having modest levels of
activity. In-bound activity on Grand was a bit lower than the outbound activity, likely due to the
use of Route C along the corridor for inbound trips. Figure 6-6 presents the weekday ridership
activity. Saturday boarding and alighting activity is presented on Figure 6-7, and it is noticeable
that ridership activity drops off at the North Central Health Care stop.
93
Figure 6-6: Route A Weekday On/Off Activity
94
Figure 6-7: Route A Saturday On/Off Activity
95
The average running time observed for this route is 27.7 minutes on weekdays and 24.2 minutes
on Saturdays per roundtrip. The weekday running time is sufficient for the 30 minute schedule,
while the Saturday time is very generous and needs to be reviewed in context with an overall
look at the Saturday WATS network.
Overall, Route A has a well defined service area with some overlap on Grand Avenue with
Route C, consistent ridership throughout the day on weekdays, activity spread throughout the
route, and appropriate running times. On the other hand, ridership is poor on Saturdays while
service is still provided every 30 minutes.
Route B – Route B is a very strong weekday route, but only a modest performer on Saturdays.
Clearly, one reason for the difference is that this route serves provides service to Northcentral
Technical College, a commuter campus, as well as to other public schools within Wausau. This
route operates with a 30 minute headway all day on weekdays and Saturdays. Table 6-11
presents statistics and indicators for Route B.
Table 6-11: Route B Indicators
Factor/Indicator
Daily Revenue Hours
Daily Revenue Miles
Passengers per Mile
Passengers per Hour
Cost per Mile
Cost per Passenger
Farebox Recovery
Rank
Weekday
323
12.417
192.50
$840.78
$150.91
1.68
26.01
$4.37
$2.60
$2.14
17.9 percent
6
2
Saturday
73
8.917
138.60
$603.79
$34.11
0.53
8.19
$4.36
$7.55
$7.08
5.6 percent
17
6
Time of day ridership for Route B is presented on Figure 6-8 for weekdays and Figure 6-9 for
Saturdays. Figure 6-8 shows steady ridership all day with a strong midday performance. Most
trips carry in excess of 10 passengers, with 9 carrying at least 15 passengers. Only the first and
last trips have very low ridership levels. On Saturdays ridership is very low and only had one
strong trip (1:00 PM). Most trips carried fewer than 5 passengers. The influence of the
Community College is evident in the numbers and in the difference in the weekday and Saturday
on/off ridership patterns.
96
Figure 6-8: Route B Weekday Ridership by Time of Day
Figure 6-9: Route B Saturday Ridership by Time of Day
Figure 6-10 shows the bus stops outside of downtown that have a good amount of boarding and
alighting activity on weekdays are at North Central Technical College and at Campus and 10th
97
Avenue. The area of this route that shows little boarding and alighting activity is along Randolph
Street, Burek Avenue, portions of East Campus Drive, and areas of 3rd Avenue inbound along
this route. On Saturdays, Route B sees sporadic boarding and alighting activity at most stops as
shown on Figure 6-11.
Route B has an observed average roundtrip running time of 25.5 minutes on weekdays and 27.3
minutes on Saturdays. The roundtrip running time allows a small amount of room for improving
route coverage, if needed. However, since running times through the college can be
unpredictable, it may not be beneficial to increase service coverage by increasing the running
time of this route.
Overall, Route B is a strong weekday route anchored by the Northcentral Technical College
campus which performs poorly on Saturdays. The route has a loop using Randolph Street, Burek
Avenue, and E. Campus Drive which is unproductive and only served outbound. Ridership
northbound along 1st Avenue N and southbound along 3rd Avenue N is solid on weekdays and
provides the only Saturday activity.
98
Figure 6-10: Route B Weekday On/Off Activity
99
Figure 6-11: Route B Saturday On/Off Activity
100
Route C – Route C performance has mixed results. Table 6-12 presents the operating statistics
and indicators for Route C. While not strong with regard to passengers per mile, the route does
produce 17.45 passengers per hour, which, while ranking only 8th in the system, is solid with
respect to the system average of 20.8. The discrepancy is because Route C operates at a higher
speed than the others in the system – 16.4 miles per hour – as it links Wausau with the
surrounding communities using principally major arterial roadways. The route connects
Rothschild and Schofield to downtown Wausau, and services the Grand Avenue corridor and
Business Highway 51, providing links to many significant generators.
Table 6-12: Route C Indicators
Factor/Indicator
Daily Revenue Hours
Daily Revenue Miles
Passengers per Mile
Passengers per Hour
Cost per Mile
Cost per Passenger
Farebox Recovery
Rank
Weekday
224
12.833
210.60
$868.95
$104.66
1.06
17.45
$4.13
$3.88
$3.41
12.0 percent
24
8
Saturday
68
8.917
145.8
$603.79
$31.77
0.47
7.63
$4.14
$8.88
$8.41
5.3 percent
20
7
Another difference which influences ridership is that Route C is the only route that operates on
60 minute headways at all times, which keeps its resource utilization (number of hours and miles
of service per day) within the same range as all other routes in the system, albeit at a lower level
of service. Howe this influences ridership and operating cost and efficiency will be reviewed as
options are developed and reviewed and discussed.
The time of day ridership profile for Route C is presented on Figure 6-12 for weekday ridership
and on Figure 6-13 for Saturday ridership. The weekday ridership profile shows no morning or
late afternoon peaking, but rather a route dominated by midday ridership between 10:30 AM and
3:30 PM. This is characteristic of a 60 minute headway, which limits peak AM and PM work and
school trip opportunities, and instead functions best as a service for midday shopping, medical,
recreational, and other non-work trips. In this respect Route C functions well, with peak on/offs
recorded at Shopko and other commercial locations along the route, and consistent albeit modest
pick ups and drop-offs along the entire route. On Saturdays, there are only 8 trips, three of which
produced between 12 and 16 passengers, and 3 of which had fewer than 5 passengers. Saturday
use is very limited, with Shopko and downtown Wausau being the major attractions. Route C
productivity ranks 6th on Saturdays and is very similar to the productivity of Routes B, A, H, and
D, which rank 2nd through 5th.
101
Figure 6-12: Route C Weekday Ridership by Time of Day
Figure 6-13: Route C Saturday Ridership by Time of Day
The boarding and alighting activity by stop for this route are constant with no truly weak
segments. Figure 6-14 presents the boarding and alighting profile for Route C on weekdays and
shows that most stops do generate ridership, with the Shopko stop and the Transit Center as
particularly busy stops. Ridership is weaker on Saturdays and concentrated at fewer stops than
on weekdays, as shown on Figure 6-15.
102
The observed average roundtrip on weekdays is 56.6 minutes and on Saturdays is 59.6 minutes.
The weekday running time is ideal for providing adequate driver recovery time; the Saturday
performance was tight during the survey period and needs to be discussed. Note that the route
enters the Shopko Shopping Center in both directions.
Route C has both strengths and weaknesses. It provides a critical service along Grand Avenue in
Wausau as well as the only linkage to Schofield and Rothschild. It links many residents to key
shopping areas along the route, and provides two way service to the Riverview Towers East and
Sturgeon Bluff apartments. The headways need to be reviewed and discussed, along with issues
related to extensions to Cedar Creek, or new services to Weston. While tight, the running times
seem acceptable. The future of this route is clearly tied to some of the major issues of this
project, particularly the development of new services to Weston, Cedar Creek, and even Rib
Mountain, which would significantly increase opportunities for bus riders throughout Wausau.
103
Figure 6-14: Route C Weekday On/Off Activity
104
Figure 6-15: Route C Saturday On/Off Activity
105
Route D – Route D is a solid performer in the WATS system in terms of its operating statistics
and indicators. This is shown below on Table 6-13, which shows that the route ranks fifth on
weekdays and third on Saturdays. This route serves both Wausau West High School and
Newman High School, while also providing service to a number of apartment complexes.
Table 6-13: Route D Indicators
Factor/Indicator
Daily Revenue Hours
Daily Revenue Miles
Passengers per Mile
Passengers per Hour
Cost per Mile
Cost per Passenger
Farebox Recovery
Rank
Weekday
264
12.417
157.50
$840.78
$123.35
1.68
21.26
$5.34
$3.18
$2.72
14.7 percent
15
5
Saturday
40
4.458
56.70
$301.86
$18.69
0.71
8.97
$5.32
$7.55
$7.08
6.2 percent
11
3
Route D ridership is highly peaked on weekdays, with major spikes between 6:30 AM and 8:00
AM and 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM. Given the early afternoon peak generally associated with school
hours, and low ridership from 3:30 PM onward, it is clear that these two peaks are school-related
and not work-related, further evidenced by the on/off profile to be discussed below. The
passenger loads during the peaks exceed 15 passengers per trip, while the loads at all other times
are below 10 passengers per trip, indicating an opportunity to review the off-peak headways.
Route D is interlined with Route E on Saturdays and has 60 minute service, a recommendation
from the last TDP that was implemented due to low ridership. The nine Saturday trips carry 40
passengers and produce 8.97 passengers per our, but there are never more than 9 riders on any
given trip, and often fewer than five. Saturday service once again needs to be reviewed in light of
this performance.
106
Figure 6-16: Route D Weekday Ridership by Time of Day
Figure 6-17: Route D Saturday Ridership by Time of Day
Outside the downtown stop, the stop that has the highest boarding and alighting activity on
weekdays is Wausau West High School. There is a weak ridership segment on this route on
107
weekdays along 6th Street and Stevens/Randolph Street that needs to be reviewed. Figure 6-19
presents the boarding/alighting profile for this route on Saturdays. The Saturday profile shows
that the strong segment of this route is along Strowbridge Street, with very little activity
occurring on other segments; again, this profile is based on only 40 boardings.
The observed average roundtrip travel time for this route is 27.9 minutes on weekdays and
although reported as 30 minutes on Saturdays was more likely also 28 minutes with 2 minutes of
recovery. These times are tight and will be reviewed with WATS staff.
Overall, Route D is a particularly good weekday route because it provides service to two high
schools as well as apartment complexes along Merrill Avenue and Strowbridge Drive. Saturday
ridership is very low but the adjustment to 60 minute headways keeps the average hourly
productivity reasonable, though the actual loads for each trip are also very low. Route D runs
parallel to Route B and is crossed by Route E on Bridge Street, which somewhat diminishes the
impact of Newman High School on the route. There is a major loop above Wausau Avenue that
needs to be explored further, as it appears to be generating little ridership.
108
Figure 6-18: Route D Weekday On/Off Activity
109
Figure 6-19: Route D Saturday On/Off Activity
110
Route E – Route E performance has declined over time as the Wausau Insurance Companies has
been reduced in size, even as the hospitals are expanding. On both weekdays and Saturdays it
ranks ninth in the WATS system, which is surprising as routes that serve major hospitals are
generally among the best performers in a system. Daily operating statistics and indicators are
presented on Table 6-14.
Table 6-14: Route E Indicators
Factor/Indicator
Daily Revenue Hours
Daily Revenue Miles
Passengers per Mile
Passengers per Hour
Cost per Mile
Cost per Passenger
Farebox Recovery
Rank
Weekday
209
12.417
182.50
$840.78
$97.65
1.15
16.83
$4.61
$4.02
$3.56
11.6 percent
27
9
Saturday
22
4.458
65.70
$301.86
$10.28
0.33
4.93
$4.59
$13.72
$13.25
3.4 percent
26
9
Time of day ridership trends for Route E is shown on Figure 6-20 for weekdays and Figure 6-21
for Saturdays. Figure 6-20 shows one AM ridership spike at 6:30 AM and some modest
afternoon peaks between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM. From 7:00 AM through the 2:30 PM trip loads
never exceeded 10 passengers, indicating that further study is needed regarding the 30 minute
off-peak headways. Route E is interlined on Saturdays with Route D and operates hourly,
providing 7 trips. Figure 6-21 shows that none of the round trips for this route have more than 7
passengers, with most providing zero to three passenger trips. The need for Saturday service
clearly will be discussed in light of this poor performance.
111
Figure 6-20: Route E Weekday Ridership by Time of Day
Figure 6-21: Route E Saturday Ridership by Time of Day
The strong segments of this route are along 3rd Street and the stops serving the hospitals. Most of
the Bridge Street segment shows very low ridership. Figure 6-22 shows the weekday stop
112
activity which shows little activity at the stops along Bridge Street; it appears that people board
and alight either downtown or along 3rd Street to ride to and from the hospitals complex. Figure
6-23 presents the Saturday profile which shows almost no activity along Bridge Street, nor at the
hospitals.
Route E runs every 30 minutes all day on weekdays and every 60 minutes on Saturdays. The
observed average roundtrip running time for this route was 27.9 minutes on weekdays and 30.0
minutes on Saturdays, it is likely that the Saturday observed running time includes recovery. The
schedule is tight but appears manageable and will be discussed with WATS staff.
Route E is going to be greatly affected by the reconstruction of the Highway 51 and Highway 29
interchange, and the running times and routing will likely consistently change during the
construction period. However, that aside, the route’s performance with regard to ridership
generation is very poor, with little or no activity except at the hostpitals complex and east of the
Wisconsin River on North 3rd Street. The need for Saturday service is not clear given the activity
observed during the survey period.
Routes B, D, and E have to be reviewed together as options and developed and discussed, as they
all serve the northwest part of the city and have various strengths and weaknesses which are best
looked at together.
113
Figure 6-22: Route E Weekday On/Off Activity
114
Figure 6-23: Route E Saturday On/Off Activity
115
Route G – Route G is the strongest WATS route. This route serves major shopping destinations
within the City, both downtown and along Stewart Avenue, where the route terminates at
Shopko. Furthermore, it is a compact route that also serves a corridor along West Sherman
Street, Werle Avenue, and 3rd Avenue South. Table 6-15 presents the route statistics and
indicators for Route G.
Table 6-15: Route G Indicators
Factor/Indicator
Daily Revenue Hours
Daily Revenue Miles
Passengers per Mile
Passengers per Hour
Cost per Mile
Cost per Passenger
Farebox Recovery
Rank
Weekday
338
12.417
165.00
$840.78
$157.92
2.05
27.22
$5.10
$2.49
$2.02
18.8 percent
3
1
Saturday
166
8.917
118.80
$603.79
$77.56
1.40
18.62
$5.08
$3.64
$3.17
12.8 percent
3
1
Ridership along this route is strong all day with no clear peak. Figure 6-24 presents the weekday
ridership by roundtrip time, which shows a spike at 7:00 AM which has been observed on most
other routes and is related to school trips. There are some light midday loads between 11:30 AM
and 1:30 PM, as well as after the 5:00 PM trip. With five loads of over 20 passengers and 4 more
at or above 15, this route appears to generate sufficient ridership for its 30 minute all day
headways.
Figure 6-25 presents the Saturday ridership by time of day, which shows that ridership is
generally strong all day, although the loads only exceed 15 twice during the day, which would
suggest a review of the headways in concert with the overall analyses for the entire network.
116
Figure 6-24: Route G Weekday Ridership by Time of Day
Figure 6-25: Route G Saturday Ridership by Time of Day
The bus stop activity charts (Figures 6-26 and 6-27) show that the majority of activity outside the
transit center occurs at Shopko, with a strong on/off profile generated along all but 17th Avenue.
This trend holds for both weekdays and Saturdays, with a more scattered profile on Saturdays
117
The 17th Avenue segment between Sherman Street and Stewart Avenue basically provides the
best connection between the shopping areas and neighborhoods along West Sherman Street and
does not suggest the need to redesign the route.
This route provides all day 30 minute service on both weekdays and Saturdays. The observed
average running time for this route was 27.5 minutes on weekdays and 25.4 minutes on
Saturdays, sufficient for ensuring enough driver recovery time.
•
Overall, Route G is a strong route with sufficient running time, strong trip generators, and
a strong residential base. The only issue to review is the 30 minute Saturday headway in
light of per trip loads.
118
Figure 6-26: Route G Weekday On/Off Activity
119
Figure 6-27: Route G Saturday On/Off Activity
120
Route H – Route H is another good route, ranking fourth on weekdays and second on Saturdays.
This is the second longest of all the routes, serving the northeast neighborhoods of Wausau with
strong weekday anchors including Horace Mann Middle School, Franklin Elementary School,
Saint Michael’s School, and Riverview Elementary School. Table 6-16 presents the operating
statistics and indicators for Route H.
Table 6-16: Route H Indicators
Factor/Indicator
Daily Revenue Hours
Daily Revenue Miles
Passengers per Mile
Passengers per Hour
Cost per Mile
Cost per Passenger
Farebox Recovery
Rank
Weekday
284
12.417
202.50
$840.78
$132.69
1.40
22.87
$4.15
$2.96
$2.49
15.8 percent
12
4
Saturday
87
8.917
145.80
$603.79
$40.65
0.60
9.76
$4.14
$6.94
6.47
6.7 percent
8
2
Figure 6-28 presents the time of day ridership profile on weekdays. Route H has a slight
weekday AM peak for the 7:00 AM trip, and a noticeable PM weekday peak from 3:00 PM to
4:30 PM., with the 3:00 PM trip having a load of 35 passengers. Outside of the peaks, the
ridership is low, with no trips exceeding 10 passengers and many with ridership below 5
passengers, indicating a need to review the route’s headways. Figure 6-29 presents the Saturday
time of day ridership profile, which is scattered, but largely concentrated between 10:00 AM and
2:00 PM. The loads again are low indicating a need to assess the headways on the route.
121
Figure 6-28: Route H Weekday Ridership by Time of Day
Figure 6-29: Route H Saturday Ridership by Time of Day
The weekday bus stop boarding and alighting profile in Figure 6-30 shows that most bus stops do
have some modest boarding alighting activity, with the highest activity levels occurring at the
transit center and at Horace Mann Middle School. The Saturday boarding and alighting profile,
122
shown on Figure 6-31, shows that there is solid boarding and alighting activity south of Brown
Street, and almost no activity north of Brown Street, indicating a need to assess the route’s
Saturday pattern.
Route H provides 30 minute service throughout the service day on both weekdays and Saturdays.
On weekdays the observed average roundtrip travel time for this route is 29.2 minutes which
does not allow very much recovery time. On Saturdays the average observed roundtrip travel
time is 29.1 minutes which again leaves very little recovery time. These data will be; discussed
with WATS staff. .
Overall, Route H performs well during the week, relying on student ridership generated all along
the route. On Saturdays, the route does comparatively well within the WATS network of routes,
but like all other Saturday routes has low loads per trip and significant non-performing segments
above Brown Street. The weekday peak ridership is driven by students, which in turn
compensates for the low midday loads during the weekday, suggesting a review of the current
headways.
123
Figure 6-30: Route H Weekday On/Off Activity
124
Figure 6-31: Route H Saturday On/Off Activity
125
Route I – Route I has among the lowest levels of weekday and Saturday ridership in the system
and ranks tenth on weekdays and eighth on Saturdays (Table 6-17). This route serves the Stewart
Avenue corridor to 32nd Avenue South, turning north to serve a number of medical clinics along
Westhill Drive and returning via 28th Avenue. This route provides service to a number of schools
including Newman Middle School, John Muir Middle School, University of WisconsinMarathon County, and Trinity Elementary School.
Table 6-17: Route I Indicators
Factor/Indicator
Daily Revenue Hours
Daily Revenue Miles
Passengers per Mile
Passengers per Hour
Cost per Mile
Cost per Passenger
Farebox Recovery
Rank
Weekday
199
12.417
195.00
$840.78
$92.98
1.02
16.03
$4.31
$4.23
$3.76
11.1 percent
30
10
Saturday
52
8.917
140.40
$603.79
$24.30
0.37
5.83
$4.30
$11.61
$11.14
4.0 percent
23
8
Despite the number of potential generators along the route, the route only carried 199 passengers
when surveyed for the on/off counts. Time of day ridership for this route is presented on Figure
6-32 for weekday ridership and Figure 6-33 for Saturday ridership. Figure 6-32 has a very
scattered pattern of activity with four active trips with over 15 passengers, and the rest with very
scattered activity. Students clearly drive at least two of the peak trips at 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM as
they do on many other routes. On Saturdays all but one roundtrip carried 5 or fewer passengers
during the survey period.
126
Figure 6-32: Route I Weekday Ridership by Time of Day
Figure 6-33: Route I Saturday Ridership by Time of Day
The bus stop activity figures show that most of the ridership activity is concentrated at a few
stops. Figure 6-34 shows that on weekdays most of the boarding and alighting activity occurs at
the transit center, Stewart and 12th Avenue, and Newman Middle School. Figure 6-35 shows the
127
Saturday boarding and alighting activity which shows that the most active locations are at the
transit center and at Stewart Square.
This route provides 30 minute service all day on both weekdays and Saturdays. The average
observed roundtrip running time for this route on weekdays is 28.8 minutes and 24.9 on
Saturday, which provides for a tight recovery weekdays and ample recovery Saturdays.
Overall, Route I has few strengths and needs to be reassessed in concert with the assessment of
all services to the Westside from Stewart Avenue north. West Stewart Avenue is a busy, divided
highway along much of the route, which limits the route’s ability to adequately service the trip
generators located along it in the manner that Route G can by circulating through the shopping
area. The clinics and other facilities on Westhill Drive are important and expanding, but even
there ridership levels are low, much as they are to the hospitals complex.
128
Figure 6-34: Route I Weekday On/Off Activity
129
Figure 6-35: Route I Saturday On/Off Activity
130
Route J – Route J’s performance ranks it in the middle of all WATS routes, sixth on weekdays
and fourth on Saturdays. This route serves relatively dense residential areas in the southeast area
of Wausau, and dos not have any commercial anchors or major schools along its route. It does
provide service to two smaller schools; G.D. Jones Elementary School, and Our Savior’s School.
Table 6-18 presents the daily operating statistics and indicators for Route J.
Table 6-18: Route J Indicators
Factor/Indicator
Daily Revenue Hours
Daily Revenue Miles
Passengers per Mile
Passengers per Hour
Cost per Mile
Cost per Passenger
Farebox Recovery
Rank
Weekday
242
12.417
182.50
$840.78
$113.07
1.33
19.49
$4.61
$3.47
$3.01
13.4 percent
18
6
Saturday
108
8.917
131.40
$603.79
$50.46
0.82
12.11
$4.60
$5.59
$5.12
8.4 percent
13
4
The weekday time of day figure (Figure 6-36) shows that this route carries a consistent number
of passengers all day, with only one load above 15 passengers, four above 10 passengers, and the
bulk carrying about 4-6 passengers. These loads suggest a headway review. On Saturdays
(Figure 6-37), the roundtrip that carries the most passengers is at 1:00 PM, but it carries only 11
passengers. Figure 6-37 shows that on Saturdays the peak period is during the midday between
12:00 PM and 2:30 PM.
131
Figure 6-36: Route J Weekday Ridership by Time of Day
Figure 6-37: Route J Saturday Ridership by Time of Day
With no key generators along the route, the only major on/off location is the Downtown Transit
Center (Figure 6-38). Otherwise, the route has steady ridership throughout the residential
neighborhoods it serves, with modest ons and offs and almost every stop. Figure 6-39 shows that
the Saturday pattern is the same but at lower levels.
132
Route J has a 30 minute headway all day on weekdays and Saturdays, with the average observed
roundtrip travel time was 29.7 minutes on weekdays and 27.3 minutes on Saturdays. This does
not allow much time for route recovery and driver layovers either on weekdays or Saturdays,
which will be discussed with WATS staff.
Route J is a solid neighborhood route with steady if unspectacular ridership throughout. It
connects the neighborhoods it serves to the rest of the community through downtown, which
means that is does not provide direct service to the shopping area on the west side nor the
hospitals, West High or Newman High. The route, with modifications, would likely provide the
link between downtown and Rib Mountain Drive if the Town of Rib Mountain was to join the
system, which would significantly change its character and performance. The large loop –
outbound on West Thomas and inbound on Imm Street and West Chellis – does not appear to be
a problem to residents served by the route. The headways need to be reviewed as apart of the
overall system review.
133
Figure 6-38: Route J Weekday On/Off Activity
134
Figure 6-39: Route J Saturday On/Off Activity
135
Route X4 – Route X4 is ranked seventh of all WATS routes on weekdays. Service along this
route is not provided on Saturdays. This route is primarily a shuttle between the transit center
and Wausau East High School and was developed in concert with the School District. Table 6-19
presents the route statistics and indicators for Route X4.
Table 6-19: Route X4 Indicators
Factor/Indicator
Daily Revenue Hours
Daily Revenue Miles
Passengers per Mile
Passengers per Hour
Cost per Mile
Cost per Passenger
Farebox Recovery
Rank
Weekday
217
11.500
130.64
$778.69
$101.39
1.66
18.87
$5.96
$3.59
$3.12
13.0 percent
21
7
Saturday
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
Ridership counts by trip and location were taken during the midday trips for this route as a
means of assessing its overall utility to the community outside of school arrival and dismissal
times. The time of day ridership for the surveyed trips is presented on Figure 6-40. It shows that
the off-peak ridership count was 56 passengers, or about 25 percent of the total ridership for the
day of 217 passengers.
136
Figure 6-40: Route X4 Weekday Ridership by Time of Day
Most of the off-peak boarding and alighting activities occurred at Wausau East High School and
the transit center. This is shown on Figure 6-41. A few of the intermediate stops had small
boarding or alighting activities.
Route X4 provides 30 minute service on weekdays only, and operates only when schools are
open. The average observed roundtrip running time for this route was 23.8 minutes. This allows
for plenty of time for driver layover and route recovery.
Route X4 was developed to meet the needs of the new Wausau East High School when it opened
because of the site’s location well east of the nearest WATS route. It is a cooperative service
arranged by WATS and the Board of Education, and provides not only service to the school but
also to residents living along East Wausau Avenue who are also at a distance to Route H. The
service is well-designed to meet its primary purpose, but its limited span and days of operation
reduce its utility to the neighborhoods it serves. Given its current level of use, however, the
potential exists to create new full-service linkages in concert with Route H to the northeast side.
In doing so, duplications on the near northeast side from the transfer center to East Wausau
Avenue could also be studied and possibly reduced.
137
Figure 6-41: Route X4 Weekday On/Off Activity
138
Route X9 – Route X9 is a peak only replacement service for the old Route F, which was
dropped based on the recommendations of the last TDP. As a peak hour service, the X9 was
designed to maintain the key connections from the neighborhoods along 10th Street particularly
for school trips. The revised service was developed with the School District. Route X9 was not a
part of the on/off count program; the overall ridership data was collected from WATS, and
shows that the route ranks poorly against the other routes in the system. The service is tailored to
the needs described above and only operates between 6:30 AM and 8:30 AM, and 2:30 PM and
6:30 PM. This route provides service to Saint Michael’s School and Terrace Heights Apartments.
Table 6-20 presents the daily service statistics and indicators for this route.
Table 6-20: Route X9 Indicators
Factor/Indicator
Daily Revenue Hours
Daily Revenue Miles
Passengers per Mile
Passengers per Hour
Cost per Mile
Cost per Passenger
Farebox Recovery
Rank
•
Weekday
91
6.000
80.40
$406.27
$42.52
1.13
15.17
$5.05
$4.46
$4.00
10.5 percent
33
11
Saturday
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
No Service
Route X9 carried 91 passengers during the operating day, an average of about 15
passengers per hour for the 6 hours of service provided, which is reasonable. The route
replaced a previously poor performing all day and Saturday route, so by comparison it is
achieving WATS’ and the School District’s objectives at a more affordable cost. The
coverage to the area is reduced to only those hours and days when school is in session,
but the previous study found that when there was a full-time service it was not used so
this does not appear to be an issue.
Issues and Opportunities
This chapter is the third to analyze and discuss issues regarding WATS service and the
community, the other two being the memoranda on peers and trends and on public outreach.
Three broad themes have emerged which frame the issues, opportunities, and subsequently the
development of alternatives and the five year plan:
•
The overall quality of the WATS program is excellent, and where service is provided it is
done professionally with a high regard for the customer.
139
•
WATS service has not changed appreciably in the past five years due to a combination of
financial constraints and an inability to serve the growth occurring in non-participating
communities, which has significantly impacted ridership, productivity, and other service
indicators.
•
WATS service needs to expand in order for the system to move forward and fully serve
the needs of the urbanized area. Without expansion, the system will likely have to reduce
service levels to bring them in line with observed and anticipated ridership.
The topic of expansion and the development of a truly regional WATS program dominated the
stakeholder discussions, was evidenced by the on-board survey responses, and was voiced by the
majority of those with whom we spoke at drop-in sessions. As previously stated in Chapter 4:
WATS should be a regional system, serving the most densely populated parts of the
region as it is today and will be over the next five years – Wausau, Weston, Schofield,
Rothschild, and Rib Mountain – with the potential to expand to Stettin, Kronenwetter,
and Mosinee when and if those locations reach appropriate densities for service.
Furthermore, it was recognized that this was an objective of the 1999 TDP, and of the
recommendations of that plan to expand serve to Weston and Rib Mountain, and to expand
service in Rothschild to Cedar Creek.
The majority of the stakeholders and riders, speaking on behalf of the community, have positive
feelings concerning the services that WATS currently provides, the professionalism with which
the services are delivered, and the need to maintain a bus system as a part of the urban
infrastructure. This professionalism is reflected in WATS staff’s ability to maintain reasonable
performance levels during the succeeding five-year period even as public resources were
reduced, fares raised, and services adjusted without implementation of any of the expansion
recommendations called for in 1999.
Given this context, the identification of issues related to service levels and individual routes in
this chapter have to be considered with a backdrop of two scenarios, one with and one without
service expansion to Weston, Cedar Creek, and Rib Mountain. And finally, this plan needs to
address why WATS service has not expanded its service area since these recommendations were
made in 1999, and how it can do so as an outcome of this plan.
Therefore, the first and most significant issue/opportunity, along with its corollary opportunities,
is as follows:
•
The City of Wausau needs to work with its neighbors to develop and implement new
services to Weston, Cedar Creek, and Rib Mountain Drive, integrating these services into
the current route network. Specific routes, schedules, and forecasted operating costs and
subsidies need to be well-defined and developed in a partnership with these communities.
The inclusion of any or all of these locations will have an immediate and dramatic impact
upon each of the issues identified in this current chapter relating to headways, load
factors, productivity, and other service adjustments.
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•
In conjunction with the above, the system identity needs to be changed to reflect WATS’
identity as a regional transit system, and a marketing and program needs to be developed
to reflect the new image and services to the community.
•
An expanded WATS program should also consider the need for evening services to first
and foremost provide employment opportunities, but also to provide evening access for
shopping and other recreational uses.
•
The entire WATS network would be reexamined and revised in light of an expansion, but
it is expected that expansion would only have positive impacts on ridership even on the
least productive routes. As an example, Route C headways would likely be reviewed and
improved, and Route J service revised to serve Rib Mountain, with both routes expected
to be big “winners” in an expanded WATS program.
Expansion is clearly the key to an exciting future for WATS and the Wausau urbanized area.
However, in the absence of expansion, there are some very basic issues which need to be
addressed:
•
The WATS ridership base, which is currently heavily based upon school aged riders, who
make up 31 percent of the regular route users and nearly 100 percent of the express bus
users, has to be expanded in order for WATS to remain stable and/or grow even modestly
in the next five years. Providing expanded service is clearly the best option, but others
include revisiting services to the hospital, along Stewart Avenue, to the Technical
College, and other major generators in the existing service area.
•
WATS needs to improve its ridership productivity and trip loads, by either serving new
markets or by trimming headways appropriately, be they peak, off-peak, or Saturdays. At
present, there are many routes with all-day 30 minute headways that do not appear to
require that much service.
•
Similarly, the entire Saturday service needs to be reviewed and discussed, as ridership
levels and productivity on most of the routes are not up to reasonable standards, service is
provided every 30 minutes on most routes, and passenger loads are very low
•
Flexible services -- route deviation, flex routes, demand response services -- may be an
option for lower density neighborhoods and/or for areas where current fixed route
ridership is very low. These type of services travel off route (or do not have a route) and
are provided within a specified area to pick up or drop off passengers upon request.
Ideally smaller vehicles would operate on route deviated services and the capital program
of WATS will be reviewed in conjunction with any such options.
•
The survey of the West Wausau Industrial Park (TM # 5) indicates that there is no
interest in bus service among all but a handful of the 80 employers contacted – only 18 of
80 employers responded to the survey sponsored by the City of Wausau, and of the 18
only 4 indicated even a mild interest. Only one respondent, Eastbay, appears to a viable
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candidate for bus service, which would therefore mitigate against a regular route to the
park and instead suggest discussions to develop a tripper service.
•
Service to the northwest areas of Wausau, as provided by Routes E, I, and J, and to a
lesser extent Route B, which is more productive, has to be reviewed due to low ridership
levels and poor performance statistics.
•
All other details discussed on a route by route basis concerning segment analyses,
headways, directness, et al need to be reviewed and discussed.
In conclusion, the WATS system is stalled at the same crossroads as it was in 1999, with two
alternative futures. Without expansion into surrounding communities, it is likely that the system
will need to be trimmed to bring service levels in line with ridership, and that going forward
ridership levels will likely remain generally flat. Under such a scenario, WATS will not only not
grow but will likely continue to slowly shrink, eventually providing services only to students and
those who have no other means of transportation.
With an expansion program, WATS has a dynamic future. Ridership levels would immediately
increase on all routes and in all locations served by WATS, most current headways could be
maintained, and evening service would become a real possibility in the latter years of the
program. With opportunities to reach all of the area’s key commercial centers, hospitals, and
schools, the ridership base would grow beyond its student and transit dependent base. Finally,
with a new identity, WATS would be perceived as a regional system and significant contributor
to the economic growth of the community.
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CHAPTER 7:
RECOMMENDED FIVE YEAR SERVICE PLAN
This chapter describes the elements of the recommended five year program for the Wausau
Area Transit System Transit Development Plan. The chapter begins with the service plan,
which describes a set of operating recommendations phased in over the five year period of the
TDP, and is subsequently supported by vehicles, a financial plan, and ancillary recommendations
in support of the service recommendations.
The service plan presented in this chapter was created through working sessions between the
WATS staff. It was reviewed in draft form by the transit commission in early 2006 and, with one
small operating modification to Route K on Saturdays, was accepted as the five year blueprint.
The timing of some of the actions is phased somewhat differently than was presented at that
time, given circumstances at WATS during the Spring which will delay some of the actions into
the Fall or even to the start of 2007. The timetable reflects these shifts, calling for modest
changes in Year 1 (2006) with the implementation of the bulk of the route changes beginning in
2007.
Service Plan
The service plan, which forms the core of the program, describes route and service
recommendations, including:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Modifications to Existing WATS Routes
Implementation of New Routes
Schedule Changes
Headway Adjustments
Operating Days
Operating Hours
Fare Policy
The recommendations grow out of the analyses conducted in the earlier phases of the project,
and the route studies and issues and opportunities discussions specifically contained in Chapter
6. As a result, they considered all of the inputs to the project provided through the outreach
process, community and demographic analysis, operating and financial statistics, and staff input.
The service plan recommendations in each of the categories were developed for phased
implementation over a five year period, 2006 – 2010, and are summarized in Table 7-1. A
description of these service changes by year follows.
Recommended Five Year Service Plan
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Table 7-1: Five Year Service Plan Recommendations
Service Plan: Year 1 (2006)
The recommendations for Year 1 include two service changes and one marketing change. Two of
these changes have been or are in the process of being implemented already. The new Route K in
Weston was implemented in January 2006, and the system name is being changed to MetroRide
to reflect its expanding services and role in the metropolitan area.
•
Route K Weston (Figure 7-1) – The Weston service, designated as Route K, began
operation on January 3, 2006 after several years of planning and discussion. The route is
designed as a one way circulator, operating every 30 minutes beginning and ending at the
Shopko Plaza on Business 51. Route K provides connections to Route C, which operates
on a 60 minute schedule, once every hour. From Shopko Plaza, the route travels
clockwise through Weston, serving key destinations including the Aspirus Weston Clinic,
Marshfield Clinic, and St. Clare’s Hospital; the D.C. Everest Junior and Senior High
Schools; and the businesses along Schofield Avenue including Target, Goodwill, and
Mega Pick’n Save. Route K will be integrated with Route C on Saturdays, which will
offer a direct connection to downtown Wausau.
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Figure 7-1: Year 1 – New Route K Weston
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•
Route G (Figure 7-2) – An adjustment is recommended for Route G. In the inbound
direction, as the bus proceeds north on Werle Avenue, it is suggested that it should turn
left on Garfield Avenue, right on 6th Avenue South, and then right onto Stewart Avenue
where it would pick up the present routing. This small deviation is intended to bring the
service one block closer to the UW-Marathon Campus.
Figure 7-2: Year 1 – Revisions to Route G
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•
Rename the WATS Bus System – The WATS mission for this five year TDP should be
to grow with the Metropolitan area, and the plan clearly heads in that direction with the
2006 implementation of the Weston route, and recommendations for expansion in the
five year period to Rib Mountain and Cedar Creek. In conversations with stakeholders,
including businesses and elected officials, there was a strong sentiment for this vision,
which will require regional cooperation, broad support, and leadership to realize.
One suggestion that was made by many parties was the need to update and broaden the
WATS’ image as a regional service that serves the need of all residents and not just the
transit dependent. In this vein, it is suggested that WATS should rename its services
(while retaining the WATS name as its official organizational name, and retaining its
current structure as a department of the City of Wausau) to capture this mission. One
suggested name and logo, “The Marathon Runner” was proposed by the consulting team
as an example of this approach. The name includes the county name rather than the city
name, a marathon runner is a well-known phrase and image to work with, and running
suggests movement.
Using this type of name clearly suggests that the service is not just for the City of
Wausau but for everybody within the urbanized area, and that it serves multiple needs
and destinations.
Figure 7-3: Suggested Logo
Subsequently, the transit commission adopted the name “MetroRide” for the system,
which has many of the same characteristics, particularly creating a regional identity for
the program. At the time of this report, WATS was in the process of working with a
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marketing agency on the development of a new logo and associated materials to initiate
the change from WATS to MetroRide.
Year 1 Summary – The key recommendations for Year 1 have already been implemented, with
the January 2nd start of Route K in Weston and the change in names for the system. The
remaining recommendation is a minor route change that can be implemented at almost anytime
during the year with little surrounding activity required.
Broadly described, the second year service plan includes alignment and schedule modifications
to existing routes for both weekdays and Saturdays; and several proposals for new routes. The
proposals for the existing WATS routes are oriented to improving the overall operating
efficiency of the network, either by reallocating resources from low performing locations by
reducing the overall operating cost, or though a combination of both types of actions; while the
expansion recommendations are oriented to serving new markets identified not only through this
project but also in the earlier 1999 TDP.
Weekday Modifications to Existing WATS Routes (Figure 7-4) – Based upon the analyses
contained in the previous report, alignment changes are recommended for the following routes:
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Figure 7-4: Year 2 Weekday Route Network
•
Route E – Route E is recommended for elimination. The route has low and declining
ridership, with very low activity along West Bridge Street, and will be significantly
impacted by the closure of West Bridge Street during the Route 29/51 reconstruction
project. The active parts of the route around Liberty Mutual Insurance and the medical
complex will be served by a new shuttle route described below, while the segments along
West Bridge Street and North 3rd Street can be served instead by modifying Route D.
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•
Route D (Figure 7-5) – Route D should be modified to pick-up some of the parts of
Route E, specifically the section of West Bridge Street from 10th Avenue North to North
3rd Street as well as North 3rd Street to the transit center. In order to do so, the southern
end of the route would be shortened from Elm Street two blocks to the north to Spruce
Street, and the sections on 3rd Avenue South and 1st Avenue South would continue to be
served by Route B.
Figure 7-5: Year 2 – Revisions to Route D
150
•
Route I (Figure 7-6) – The Stewart Avenue route would be modified at its western end
to turn north at 28th Avenue, circle the hospital using West Ridge Drive, and terminate at
the Hospital main entrance. This change responds to the need to shorten the route’s travel
time to ensure better on-time performance, which will be particularly necessary with the
on-going construction work for Routes 29/51. The entire hospital/medical complex and
Liberty Mutual Insurance campus will be served by a single shuttle route, described
below, which will originate from the same bus stop at the main entrance to Wausau
Hospital.
Figure 7-6: Year 2 – Revisions to Route I
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One final recommendation, to be implemented only if there are serious running time issues
would be to modify the north end of Route B to operate entirely along 1st Avenue North rather
than using West Randolph Street and Burek Avenue, which are very sparsely utilized. Because
WATS provides express services on West Randolph Street and Burek Avenue, it is preferable to
retain those segments to offer greater flexibility to the express route riders. At present, on-time
performance for this route is acceptable.
Weekday Schedule Changes to Existing Routes – The recommendation in this section should
only be implemented if budgetary constraints are such that all of the other actions to reduce
operating costs, particularly on Saturdays, require further cuts. If further savings are required,
a further reduction in operating cost could be achieved as follows:
•
Pair Routes H and J and adjust off-peak headways - Routes H and J are reasonably
good routes overall, but they both perform relatively weakly in the off-peak period. Route
H has pronounced peaks associated with school trips, while Route J has a more consistent
but modest profile throughout the day. If necessary, service could be reduced in the offpeak period, from 30 minute headways to 60 minute headways, beginning at 8:30AM and
ending at 2:30 PM. During the off-peak period, one bus would be interlined to serve both
routes, with Route H operating on the half hour from the downtown transit center, and
Route J operating on the hour from the downtown transit center. In total, six trips for each
route are eliminated, approximately a 25 percent savings in operating hours.
Weekday New Routes – One new weekday routes is proposed for Year 2. It will serve the
Wausau Hospital/Liberty Mutual Insurance area to replace the service now provided by Routes E
and I.
•
Wausau Hospital/Liberty Mutual Campus Shuttle (Figure 7-7) – This shuttle service
replaces the services provided today by Route E, which serves the area east of 28th
Avenue and is slated for elimination; and Route I, which serves 28th Avenue and the
facilities west of it and has running time problems. The proposed route would maintain
service to all of the areas currently covered by Routes E and I, would connect the various
facilities together on a single route to allow for better inter-building movements, and
would have the flexibility to expand as the medical complex expands. The route would
start and end at the WATS shelter at Aspirus-Wausau Hospital’s main entrance, and
would loop through the entire area. As drawn, the shuttle would operate on a 30 minute
headway and would be coordinated with the arrival and departure of Route I to facilitate
transfers between the two routes.
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Figure 7-7: Year 2 – New Hospital Shuttle
Saturday Modifications and Schedule Changes – The route diagnostics and issues and
opportunity statement in Chapter 6 clearly identified significant issues with the ridership levels
and cost-effectiveness of the entire Saturday service network, while at the same time identifying
year-round Saturday service as an unmet need according to stakeholders, customer surveys, and
interviews during the drop-in sessions. The lack of Saturday service to Rib Mountain, Weston,
and Cedar Creek was cited as a reason for low ridership, since these were three of the most
significant commercial areas that current as well as potential riders wanted to get to for
recreation and shopping.
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Overall, Saturday loads on all routes are poor, resulting in an operating cost per trip that is over
2.5 times that of the operating cost per trip on weekdays. Similarly, farebox recovery is only 6.5
percent, well below the weekday rate of 14.4 percent.
Clearly, Saturday service needs to be pared back to achieve better operating statistics, at least
until such time as Weston, Cedar Creek and Rib Mountain are all incorporated into the WATS
network. As of January 2, 2006 Weston has joined the WATS system, which should increase
activity all around the system with the addition of Target, Goodwill, Pic’n Save, as well as the
medical facilities as destinations.
Still, until the system reaches the other commercial centers, Saturday service, with the new
Weston route, will need to be reduced in scope to better match the level of resources spent to the
ridership.
The plan being recommended has three components:
•
•
•
•
The first is to operate an entirely new network of routes designed to maintain coverage to
most of the current service area but to do so with fewer resources by extending headways
and increasing individual route running times. Route K Weston would be included in this
network, and the hours of service would be the same as they currently are.
Second, the new network would include a Saturday demonstration to Cedar Creek as an
extension of the Route C service.
Third, Saturday service would be provided all year, rather than suspending it during the
summer.
Revised Saturday Route Network (Figure 7-8) - The revised Saturday network is
shown in the attached figure. It consists of 4 routes and uses 5 buses, versus the current
system which has 10 routes (including Route K) and uses 9 buses (Routes D and E are
interlined and share a single bus). This results in significant reduction in operating cost,
which in turn allows for the provision of summer Saturday service. Each Saturday Route,
with the exceptoion of Route K, was developed from an aggregation of at least two
weekday routes, as will been seen in the following discussion. In each case, the
development of the aggregated route was done looking at specific boarding and alighting
counts by location to identify the strong and weak segments of each route to ensure as
little disruption as possible to the existing WATS ridership base.
Each of the aggregated routes was designed to operate on a 45 minute headway from the
downtown transit center. The South route includes a Saturday demonstration to Cedar
Creek, as well as the integration of Route K Weston, which allows for the use of 2 buses
to maintain the 45 minute schedule.
154
Figure 7-8: Year 2 Saturday Route Network
155
•
North Route (Routes H, B, and D) (Figure 7-9) – The North route is the most
complex of the four aggregated routes, requiring a looping alignment on the east side
of the river both on outbound and inbound trips. The route picks up all Route H
activity south of Brown Street, which is almost the entire activity for Route H on
Saturdays; most of Route B north of West Bridge Street, and all of the reconstructed
Route D except the segments west of West Wausau High School. The segments
which were dropped, particularly north of Brown Street on Route H and west of the
high school had little or no activity recorded from the surveys and counts.
Figure 7-9: Saturday North Route
156
•
South Route (Routes A, C, and K) (Figure 7-10) – The south route basically
follows the current path of Route C to the split at Grand Avenue and Schofield
Avenue with the addition of the Route A segments west of S. Grand Avenue. From
there proceeding south, it has two branches which will provided on alternating 45
minute trips. One of the branches will continue along the pat of Route C with an
extension to Cedar Creek as a demonstration project to assess the potential for more
extensive service to those businesses. The other will continue the plan started in Year
1, and will pick up a slightly modified Route K, which would continue out Schofield
Avenue instead of beginning at Shopko, would make the loop and return to South
Grand Avenue. The two branches would have 90 minute headways while the main
section would have 45 minute headways. The proposal does not require additional
vehicles; rather, it shifts the excess time of the Weston shuttle to the trunk portion of
the route.
157
Figure 7-10: Saturday South Route
158
•
West Route (Route I and Hospital/Insurance area Shuttle) (Figure 7-11) – The
west route combines Route I and the shuttle, with the shuttle path adjusted to serve
only the medical facilities that are active on Saturdays, and not the Insurance
company which is closed. Implementation planning of the shuttle route will need to
occur during the Fall of 2006 to determine the appropriate pathway through the
medical complex to meet Saturday customer needs.
Figure 7-11: Saturday West Route
159
•
Southwest Route (Routes G and J) (Figure 7-12) – The southwest route is a
clockwise loop from downtown, following much of the path of Route J outbound
except the section of West Thomas between 3rd and 16th Avenues; and the path of
Route G through the Shopko area and back on Sherman Street and 3rd Avenue.
Figure 7-12: Saturday Southwest Route
160
•
Cedar Creek Demonstration Service – It is proposed above that the South Route be
extended on Saturdays to the Cedar Creek area, which may require some adjustments in
the pathway through Rothschild if the running time becomes too long. However, route
adjustments to the pathway in and out of downtown Wausau should provide some
additional running time to initiate the demonstration. Route C currently does a complex
set of turns when entering and leaving downtown, largely in order to serve River Drive
which is largely an area of offices open on weekdays only. Route C could be simplified
to enter and leave downtown via Grand Avenue and 5th Street. This would save
significant operating minutes on Route C that would alleviate running time concerns.
Test runs and discussions with Rothschild and the Cedar Creek management should occur
during the Spring prior to implementation to negotiate any possible changes if necessary
and to determine if the Cedar Creek management will participate financially in the
service.
•
All Year Service – One of the most asked for improvements to Saturday service was to
operate it throughout the year, and this should be implemented beginning in 2007. The
schedule extension, which adds approximately 12 Saturdays to the service, is made
possible by the cost savings associated with the new network, which will still have a net
operating cost lower than the current network.
The Saturday changes, which are substantial, are designed to bring the level of service provided
more in line with the level of activity observed, while maintaining reasonable coverage,
headways, and travel times for those customers who do use WATS on Saturdays. Furthermore,
the network changes allow WATS to provide year-round Saturday service in response to the
community’s stated needs without negatively impacting its budget.
Other Actions – Two other actions are included in the service plan recommendations which are
more related to fare policy.
•
Increase Base Fare – By 2007 (Year 2), it will have been six years since the fares were
last adjusted in 2001, which would be several years beyond what was recommended in
the 1999 TDP. In that plan, it was recommended that the system implement incremental
increases every 2 to 3 years, which at a minimum would have triggered an increase in
2004. However, given the need to first stabilize and then increase ridership, a fare
increase earlier than Year 2, after all of the recommended changes are put in place, would
be inadvisable and likely counter-productive. In Year 2, on the other hand, an incremental
change of 10 cents to the base fare, bringing it to $ 1.10, would not be unreasonable with
respect to fares around the country for similar sized systems, and would help pay for the
cost of the new services.
•
Institute a U-Pass Program – WATS has already had preliminary discussions about a
U-Pass program for its students, and the same type of program might be extended to the
Northcentral Technical College as well. Basically a U-Pass program provides students
with a semester pass to the bus system good for rides at all times on all routes. All
enrolled students are eligible for the pass program, which is paid for by allocation from
the student activity fee paid to the University. The University, its representative student
161
organization, and the bus operator generally determine a reasonable allocation per
student, and then the University works with the students to obtain approval either
implement that rate or negotiate the rate further. The U-Pass monies can be used as part
of the community’s local matching funds, which provides an opportunity to fund new
services tailored to the needs of the university/college, which could be a service to Rib
Mountain but could also be night service, special shuttles, etc.
U-Passes have become particularly popular for all of the parties over the past several
years for many reasons:
•
Universities and Colleges see the U-Pass as an opportunity to control vehicular
circulation and parking capacity on their campuses, as well as a safety measure where
services run at night and can be used in lieu of walking.
•
Students get a great deal of bus service, with access throughout a community, for a
very affordable price, and can use the bus to commute to/and from school instead of a
car, can move about freely during the day, and generally can save money and improve
their mobility.
•
The bus operator can meet its mission of providing better and more affordable access
in the community, can obtain a steady income stream with greater predictability, and
can obtain a source of funding to make implement additional creative solutions.
WATS, the UW-Marathon, and Northcentral Technical College officials should continue
to discuss the U-Pass concept, pricing, and service needs in 2006 with an eye to
implementing it for the Spring 2007 semester.
Year 2 Summary – All of the changes are programmed to begin January 1, 2007, with on-going
planning in the Fall required to finalize the plan, hold public hearings on all of the changes, and
do all of the preliminary work needed to implement them including preparing new maps,
timetables, and public information; changing signage both on the routes and at the transit center;
obtaining a shuttle vehicle for the Hospital/Insurance route; preparing driver runs and picks; etc..
With so many changes having been made in Year 2, the activities in Year 3 are more limited in
scope, although critical to the long range growth of WATS in the region.
Route Recommendations – The route recommendations for Year 3 (Figure 7-13) revolve
around the implementation of a route to Rib Mountain, serving the businesses along Rib
Mountain Drive, operating both weekdays and Saturdays. With the implementation of that route
would be two minor route modifications to existing routes as well. A description of the changes,
which would be done for both weekdays and Saturdays follows:
162
Figure 7-13: Year 3 Weekday Route Network
163
•
Implement Service to Rib Mountain (Figure 7-14) – The Year 3 network includes a
route from the downtown transit center to Rib Mountain Drive via Thomas Street, leaving
downtown Wausau via River Drive. The route alignment was designed to optimize its
directness and travel speed from downtown, to ensure that there would be enough
running time to provide doorstep access to the stores set back from the road on the west
side of Rib Mountain Drive, and to make the service as convenient as possible for WATS
customers, particularly those transferring from other routes. The route would operate
every 30 minutes weekdays during regular operating hours; and every 45 minutes on
Saturdays, both to correspond to the rest of the system and to add needed running time to
account for more congestion.
Implementing a route to Rib Mountain requires a source of local funding, which has held
this proposal up in the past. Once this plan is adopted, representatives of WATS, the City
of Wausau, and other stakeholders in the system need to begin formal discussions on this
proposal in an effort to include it in the 2007 WATS network.
The financial plan will shoe the estimated operating cost impact to the system, along with
projected ridership and revenues for the Year 3 program. WATS will use its formula to
divide these dollars according to the mileage operated in Wausau versus Rib Mountain,
and will need to present them to the town for consideration. Alternative sources other
than the Town of Rib Mountain for the local match could come from businesses,
including participation by the Rib Mountain Business Association, the UW-Marathon
officials (who have cited an interest in service to Rib Mountain), or others with an
interest in the service; and possibly a shared local cost scenario could be advanced for
implementation much as is occurring in Weston for Route K.
164
Figure 7-14: New Rib Mountain Route
165
•
Modify Route J (Figure 7-15) – Rather than having two routes operating over West
Thomas Street between 3rd Avenue and 17th Avenue, Route J would be adjusted to
provide two way service instead in the neighborhoods south of West Thomas Street. This
would improve the level of service to this area by substantially shortening the outbound
trip from downtown. A proposed routing is shown in the attached figure, but this can be
modified during 2006 based upon multiple travel time runs at different times of the day
or days of the week.
Figure 7-15: Year 3 – Revisions to Route J
166
•
Modify Route C (Figure 7-16) – Route C currently does a complex set of turns when
entering and leaving downtown, largely in order to serve River Drive. With the
implementation of the Rib Mountain route, Route C could be simplified to enter and
leave downtown via Grand Avenue, with the Rib Mountain route covering River Drive
outbound and N 4th Street inbound. This would be the fastest way for the Rib Mountain
route to enter and leave downtown, and would save significant operating minutes on
Route C that would alleviate running time concerns.
Figure 7-16: Year 3 – Route C Downtown Re-Alignment
167
With the changes from Years 1 and 2 in place, it is expected that ridership will have increased
dramatically, as the system will be accessible to residents and businesses in all of the identified
areas of transportation need as determined in earlier reports. With all of the modifications to
routes and route segments made in Years 1 and 2, the actions in Year 3 are oriented to further
controlled expansion of the system.
•
Weekday Integration of Weston Route K and Route C, including the extension to
Cedar Creek – Up to this point, Routes K and C are two separate weekday routes
requiring a transfer at Shopko; and the integration of the two and Cedar Creek extension
is a Saturday only demonstration. Finally, Route C is still a 60 minute service on
weekdays, but a 45 minute service on Saturdays.
With all of the changes to the system and the anticipation of increased ridership, it is
recommended that these three services be integrated into a single route operated every 30
minutes weekdays from the downtown transit center in Wausau with two branches, one to
Weston and the other to Cedar Creek, doing the same moves as those shown earlier for
saturdays. This eliminates the need for a transfer between buses at Shopko for trips to and
from Weston and expands the service to Cedar Creek to 6 days a week. However, at the
same time the half hourly shuttle service in Weston becomes an hourly service, which we
believe is reasonable given that under the current structure Route K only meets Route C
once an hour. Route changes may also be needed in Rothschild to accommodate the
weekday headway and running times, which is one of the reasons that the revised Route
C routing in Year 2 was so important to the system.
No additional units (buses) are needed to increase to this level of service, although the
Weston bus may need to be upgraded to a larger vehicle. The added time needed to
improve the headway on Route C is actually a reallocation of the non-connecting 30
minute running time of Route K. As a result, the action should be operating cost neutral,
although there will be a reallocation of local shares.
The final design of the two branches clearly will take shape in coming years and cannot
be exactly determined today, particularly as both communities continue to grow.
However, the basic concept should be implemented to provide more frequent service to
the south communities, to take the transfer out of the Route K/Route C trip, and to
increase service to Cedar Creek.
There are two recommendation for Year 4:
•
Add Evening Service – Evening service was another need identified by the community
for a variety of purposes including both employment and recreational trips. Because
many of these trips today would be to destinations that are inaccessible from WATS, the
institution of a viable evening service needs to wait until the system is reaching more of
the community. By Year 3, this service will be in place; therefore, the next expansion
would be to provide weekday night services.
168
The recommendation is to provide night service beginning at 6:00 PM (replacing the final
trips currently provided) using the Saturday route network, including two buses for the
south route to Weston/Cedar Creek to maintain 45 minute service on the branches
(Alternatively, the South route could operate at a 90 minute headway with alternating
branches also getting 90 minute service; however, it is felt at this time that this would not
be enough service on the branches, although this can be monitored before a final decision
is made at the end of Year 2). Routes would leave the downtown transit center at 6:00
PM, 6:45 PM, 7:30 PM, 8:15 PM, 9:00 PM, 9:45 PM, and 10:30 PM.
•
Increase Base Fare – By 2009 (Year 4), it will have been two years since a modest fare
adjustment in 2007. In the 1999 plan, it was recommended that the system implement
incremental increases every 2 to 3 years, which would be less of an impact than waiting a
longer period and making a single, more dramatic change. Given the need to first
stabilize and then increase ridership, a fare increase to $ 1.25 in Year 4, after all of the
recommended changes are put in place, would not be unreasonable with respect to fares
around the country for similar sized systems, and would help pay for the cost of the new
services.
The last recommendation for Year 5 is to extend evening service to Saturdays:
•
Add Saturday Evening Service – Just as Saturday ridership in most systems including
WATS is lower than weekday ridership due to much lower rates of education and work
trips, Saturday night ridership will be lower than weeknight ridership. Thus, only once
evening service is established and operating well during the week should WATS expand
the service to Saturday evenings. WATS would implement the same network and
headways as used on weekdays for this service.
In the final year of the plan WATS should for the most part be solidifying all of the new services
and programs, and should also be beginning on a new TDP for the next five year period 20112016. The start of a new TDP process will provide a far clearer picture of what has occurred in
the first 4 years of this program, and what the community needs will be at time. Assuming that
the plan is implemented as described for the first four years, the system should be stable in 2010
with a steadily increasing ridership base. The only recommendation that may be necessary would
be to restore off-peak 30 minute service to Routes H and J if in fact that reduction was made
earlier in the plan. With the growth of the system and the WATS service area, the demand for 30
minute service throughout the community should materialize in all areas, an all routes should be
operated as such in 2010.
Summary – If this plan is implemented as described during the five year period, at the end of
Year 5, WATS will truly be a regional system. It will have:
•
Service to Cedar Creek and Rib Mountain, in addition to services already provided in
Wausau, Rothschild, Schofield, and Weston
169
•
•
•
•
•
30 minute weekday daytime headways
Year-round Saturday service with 45 minute headways
45 minute evening headways six days a week
A U-Pass program
A new system identity program
Capital Requirements
WATS has an on-going vehicle replacement schedule, a new downtown transfer center, and
good administration/maintenance base for its operations. In discussions with the staff at WATS,
it was suggested that this section need only address any requirements for additional vehicles for
the system, and that these needs would be integrated into the system’s capital program by staff.
It should be noted, however, that there will be a need to significantly change the signage for the
system as the system identity is changed, as new routes are established like Route K or a Rib
Mountain route, and to sign for Saturday services as distinct from the weekday services. Also,
some consideration will need to be given for new shelters at some of the new bus stop locations
not already served.
With regard to vehicle needs, WATS will need to purchase three cutaway vehicles that seat up to
25 passengers to provide Route K service and the Hospital shuttle, which would also provide for
a new spare vehicle as well as the use of the current older equipment now serving Route K.
These vehicles cost about $ 125,000 apiece, for a total of $ 375,000 for the program.
The Rib Mountain route will require a full-size bus, but with the reduction of a bus in operation
from the consolidations in Year 2, WATS may already have the equipment to provide the service
when it is initiated. Otherwise, the system will need to purchase one heavy duty coach at a cost
of approximately $ 350,000 for the new route in Year 3.
Generally speaking, the federal government will pick up 80 percent of the cost of these vehicles,
which would be $ 580,000, leaving $ 145,000 to be funded by state and local sources.
Fare Structure
The recommendations for fare changes were highlighted in the service plan, and consisted of a $
0.10 bump to the base fare in Year 2, and a $ 0.25 bump in Year 4, bring the base fare to $ 1.25.
This structured fare change program was first suggested in the 1999 TDP and should be
followed, with the array of other media being increased in proportion to these changes.
The impact of the fare changes will be discussed in the financial section of this chapter.
Marketing Efforts
WATS needs to do more marketing of its services, particularly as it becomes a metropolitan
system, and particularly with regard to demonstrating to the community that it is a system for
everyone, that is, for choice riders as well as the transit-dependent. We met many choice riders
during the outreach effort, and some of their stories could be shared to the community in a
170
marketing campaign designed around a theme – “Look who rides WATS” or “WATS – Its for
Everyone”,etc.
The new name MetroRide will be a great opportunity to latch onto. It will e not only all new
materials, but a publicity campaign which will re-brand the system, increase its visibility, and
hopefully identify it as a valuable regional resource tied to the economic future of the area.
Bus signage, signage at the transfer center, shelters and other amenities all should be branded
with the MetroRide name and symbol and used as an opportunity to demonstrate the MetroRide
is everywhere. Flyers and brochures handed out to new residents and businesses along new
routes can promote new services, as can displays, public service ads, speaking engagements, and
other low cost outreach efforts.
WATS should use the services of the advertising/marketing firm working with it on the name
change to help redesign signage, schedules, maps, and brochures; and to develop a long cost
marketing and outreach program consisting of special events, speaker’s bureaus, news releases,
etc.
171
Implementation Schedule
The schedule of implementation activities was described in the service plan by year and shown
in Table 7-1.
Table 7-1: Five Year Service Plan
172
Financial Plan
The financial plan is based upon projections of various operating statistics, the use of unit
operating cost data taken from WATS 2005, and ridership and revenue estimates based upon the
impact of the operating changes and fare increases. Each of these factors can be found on Table
7-2 which contains the five year financial plan, and is discussed below.
Table 7-2: Five Year Financial Projection 2006-2010
Category
System Characteristics
Regular Route Vehicle Miles
Regular Route Vehicle Hours
Total Fixed Route Vehicle Miles
Total Fixed Route Vehicle Hours
Base Fare
Passenger Trips
Passenger Revenues
Expenses
Operating Cost
Deficit
Funding
Federal/State
Local
Total
Baseline
2005
Year 1
2006
Year 2
2007
Year 3
2008
Year 4
2009
Year 5
2010
464,600
33,100
567,000
44,000
$1.00
809,500
$366,400
525,500
36,600
627,900
47,500
$1.00
850,000
$382,000
504,000
35,500
606,400
46,400
$1.10
860,000
$428,000
557,000
39,200
659,400
50,100
$1.10
991,000
$493,000
629,000
44,000
731,400
54,900
$1.25
1,030,000
$583,000
645,700
45,000
748,100
55,900
$1.25
1,093,000
$619,000
$2,696,000
$2,329,600
$3,150,000
$2,768,000
$3,077,000
$2,649,000
$3,322,000
$2,829,000
$3,641,000
$3,058,000
$3,707,000
$3,088,000
$1,421,056
$908,544
$2,329,600
$1,688,480
$1,079,520
$2,768,000
$1,615,890
$1,033,110
$2,649,000
$1,725,690
$1,103,310
$2,829,000
$1,865,380
$1,192,620
$3,058,000
$1,883,680
$1,204,320
$3,088,000
Miles and Hours of Service – The actual miles and hours of service provided in total for the
network, as well as for just the regular route system, were used as a base from which all
subsequent estimates were made. Charts of miles by route were developed for the base year, and
as modifications were made and new routes added, the miles and hours for each were estimated
and a new annual total arrived at for each program year.
The miles and hours for the system will increase in Year 1 with the implementation of Route K
and possible demonstration on Saturdays, if implemented, of a Cedar Creek extension. The
mileage and hours in Year 2 actually decrease over Year 1 with the implementation of the new
Saturday network and changes to Routes D, E, and I, even as the new Hospital shuttle is
implemented along with all year Saturday service. Year 3 increases with the addition of the Rib
Mountain service, Year 4 for weekday evening service, and Year 5 for Saturday evening service.
Base Fare – The base fare is assumed to go to $ 1.10 in Year 2 (10 percent increase), and $1.25
in Year 4 (13.6 percent increase), with similar increase to all of the various media sold by
WATS, which will impact both ridership and revenues.
173
Ridership – Ridership estimates are influenced by three factors:
•
The background growth rate exhibited by the WATS system from 2004 to 2005, and
the increase seen in the first quarter of 2006 versus 2005 – The system’s ridership
grew from 746,000 trips in 2004 as documented in Chapter 2, to 809,500 in 2005 as
documented by WATS reports for 2005, a jump of 8.5 percent. In the first quarter of
2006, WATS reports an increase of 3.5 percent over 2005. Discounting some of the
ridership growth in the total ridership number because it was on trippers, plus using the
first quarter numbers as a guide, we have input an annual growth rate of 3 percent per
year as a background growth rate independent of all changes. From Year 3 on, we have
increased the background growth rate to 5 percent to account for the increased utility of
the system with the implementation of the Rib Mountain route.
•
The impact of fare changes on ridership – In terms of fare change impacts, an elasticity
formula was utilized which states that for every 1 percent increase in fares there is a 1/3
percent decrease in ridership. This is the “Curtin rule”, which has been used in transit
planning for over 40 years and which provides good estimates of ridership impacts when
doing macro-economic analyses such as contained in this plan. Thus, for the Year 32
increase of 10 percent, we have estimated a loss of about 3.3 percent in ridership,
effectively a wash with the background growth projection. For the Year 4 increase of
13.6 percent, we are inputting a drop in ridership of 4.5 percent; in combination with the
background growth this results in a modest 1.5 percent overall background growth.
•
The impact of new routes and schedules – The third element is the impact on ridership
of route and schedule changes, which are done individually for each change to the
system, then summed to be included as part of the annual total ridership. Estimates of
these changes are based on service elasticities, comparisons to similar routes, and the
consulting team’s experience with these service changes. In some cases, the
modifications were not estimated to produce significant ridership changes. Some
assumptions follow:
•
The implementation of Route K should produce about 6 passengers per hour in
Year 1 and about 8 passengers per hour in Years 2-5, based upon experience with
other suburban circulators, the land use patterns in the community, the service
frequency, and hours of service.
•
The changes to Routes D, E, and I, coupled with the Hospital area shuttle are
estimated conservatively to produce a small increase in riders due to better
connections and more direct services, but the changes should be viewed as part of
the overall 3 percent background growth rate rather than as a significant bump in
riders.
•
The new Saturday network was developed to reduce the total operating cost of the
Saturday network and to retain current ridership, rather than to initially grow
ridership, particularly as the routes themselves will be on 45 minute headways
rather than 30 minute headways, and will operate for the most part as one-
174
directional loops. The expectation is that ridership will stabilize at first, but once
the system grows in Year 3 with the addition of the Rib Mountain route, that
Saturday ridership on these routes will begin to grow by as much as 10 percent
per year, which has already been input into the overall background growth jump
above to 5 percent in Years 3-5.
•
The Rib Mountain route is expected to be a strong route in the system, and should
be as productive as the best routes in the system, which would mean about 25
passengers per our on weekdays, and 18 passengers per hour on Saturdays.
•
The Cedar Creek extension ridership should be considered within the overall
background growth rate of 5 percent for Year 3, the year it is programmed.
•
Evening service in Year 4 should produce about 8 passengers per hour in Year 4,
increasing to 10 passengers per hour in Year 5.
•
Saturday evening service in Year 5 should produce about 6 passengers per hour to
start, and should grow in subsequent years.
The steps in making the ridership estimates are done as follows:
1. Using the base year ridership, calculate the new ridership for the next year using the
background growth factor.
2. In a year with a fare increase, estimate the loss in ridership due to the fare change.
3. Add ridership as calculated for each service change
4. Produce the estimated ridership for the year
5. Repeat for succeeding years following the same process.
The resulting annual ridership numbers show a change from 809,500 trips in the base year to
1,093,000 trips in Year 5. The relatively flat ridership between Years 1 and 2 reflect that the
service changes that year are largely to reduce operating expenditures and changing the Saturday
system, and the implementation of a fare increase, with only some minor offset potentially from
a U-Pass program and the Cedar Creek Saturday demonstration. Years 3 and 4 show the most
dramatic increase with the implementation of the Rib Mountain route in Year 3, and introduction
of weekday night service in Year 4.
Revenue – Revenue was estimated based on average fare calculations from the base year
adjusted as the fare increase take place. Thus the average fare in 2005 was $ 0.453, which was
used to forecast Year 1; in Years 2 and 3 it was calculated to be 10 percent more reflecting the
fare change, or $ 0.498; and in Years 4 and 5 it was calculated to be 13.6 percent more, or $
0.566.
Operating Expenses – Fixed route operating expenses were provided for the base year by
WATS. The budget was increased in subsequent years to reflect the cost of each service change,
but also included a small 2 percent per year adjustment to reflect normal cost increases, as well
as a significant adjustment in Year 1 to include a significant jump in fuel prices as well as to
175
allow for the additional staffing called for in the recently completed Management Performance
Review, specifically for a mechanic, supervisor, and utility person.
Funding Estimate – Projecting funding for the operating deficit has been difficult in recent
years, with very little certainty in federal and state subsidy programs and levels for transit
services. The best estimates that can be made at this time follow historic levels, with about 61
percent of the funding of the operations of WATS from Federal and State funds, and the
remainder from local shares from the community, either from the municipalities themselves or
other local parties.
176

County of Marathon Wausau Area Transit System Urbitran

Transcription

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