SMRT Bus Recognition

SMRT Bus Service receives recognition, continues growth

by Ted Pennekamp

The Scenic Mississippi River Transit (SMRT) Bus Service has recently been recognized by Wisconsin Rural Partners as one of Wisconsin’s Top Rural Development Initiatives in 2017 because ridership continues to increase and a rider survey shows that 100 percent of riders are either satisfied or very satisfied.

“It started out as kind of an experiment,” said Ron Leys, one of three Crawford County representatives on the Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission (MRRPC), which has issued a report about the SMRT Bus Service.

Leys noted it’s an experiment that turned out quite well.

“I think it’s a nice way of transportation for whom automobiles might be expensive. It’s also been a boon to college students who attend one of the three colleges in La Crosse  and to people with medical appointments.”

Leys said that the SMRT Bus Service got its start in large part because of people in Prairie du Chien and Crawford County. In 2010, the Crawford County Transportation Coordinating Committee completed a feasibility study that showed residents desired a reliable and affordable public transportation service to get to work, medical appointments, shopping and social activities. Bus routes were designed based on the surveys and resulted in the creation of the SMRT Bus Service, which provides a fixed route serving Crawford County, southern La Crosse County, and middle-western Vernon County.

SMRT Bus began operating in December of 2012 and ridership has increased every year. In 1016, ridership totaled 20,848, a 60 percent increase over 2013, according to MRRPC, which assists in marketing and raising funds form the private and public sectors to match a U.S. Department of Transportation Grant to cover operations. MRRPC staff also regularly evaluates routes and schedules in order to provide the best utilization of the SMRT Bus to keep the service operational for years to come.

SMRT Bus had 13,013 riders in 2013, 18,100 in 2014, 19,223 in 2015 and 20,848 in 2016. With the success of the SMRT Bus, La Crosse County is looking into the possibility of having a similar service to Monroe and Trempealeau counties, including to Tomah and Arcadia.

In Prairie du Chien SMRT Bus has stops at Crossing Rivers Health, the intersection of Blackhawk Avenue and Main Street, and Cabela’s. It stops in Lynxville at the intersection of Highway 35 and County E. In Ferryville, it stops at the village hall/community center, and in De Soto, it stops at the village park.

The addition of the Organic Valley facilities as a twice daily stop in La Farge in September of 2015 has resulted in approximately 5,000 more riders annually and $5,000 in program support each year from Organic Valley. 

In addition to Organic Valley’s financial contribution, numerous employers and public entities already help to subsidize the bus system. Those entities include Gundersen Lutheran, Crossing Rivers Health, Dairyland Power Cooperative, Southwest Tech and a number of local governments and other entities. 

“The success of the SMRT Bus is a lesson that we should not be afraid to try new things,” said Leys.

“Any and every opportunity to move and transport people so they can affordably get to and from work and shop, will greatly benefit our area employers and businesses. We are experiencing a very tight labor market with employers facing unfilled job openings,” said Crawford County Economic Development Executive Director Jim Bowman. “As the workforce becomes more scarce an​d employers struggle with hiring talent, transportation will be one of the solutions to job creation and business expansion and growth. The mobility of our region’s labor force is critical to our competitiveness and prosperity within the mix of the world of work, consumer purchasing and leisure and recreation. This announcement will directly benefit our local and regional economy many times over.”