By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
The future of a transit service aimed at linking passengers to Whitewater, Milton and Janesville is in limbo, following a recent vote by Whitewater officials.
During an ongoing discussion of the city’s 2015 budget, the Whitewater Common Council voted not to allocate funds toward the Janesville-Milton-Whitewater Express Bus Service, formerly known as the Innovation Express.
City Manager Cameron Clapper had placed $15,543 in a draft version of the budget toward a contribution of the bus service in 2015. But the council, on a 5-2 vote Nov. 6, decided not to allocate those funds in next year’s budget.
Last week’s move paints an unclear portrait of whether The JMW Express, run by the Janesville Transit System, will continue as an entity, and whether it will include any stops in Whitewater.
While the majority of the council favored a green-friendly alternative, such as riding mass transit, the decreasing rider figures, coupled with ongoing budgetary challenges, led to last week’s decision.
Ridership figures were cited as the primary reason behind the decision. According to numbers crunched by JTS, the number of riders, through September, has declined by 9 percent in year-over-year comparisons.
“There just simply is not enough demand,” council member Stephanie Abbott said.
But JTS officials assert other factors could be at play. Addressing the council last week, Assistant Director Rebecca Smith pointed to a fare increase, instituted in January, as a possible reason for declining ridership numbers.
Also, the number of routes were reduced at the beginning of the year — the outgrowth of contentious discussions a year ago as Whitewater officials debated whether to allocate funds toward the Innovation Express in the city’s 2014 budget. While an eleventh hour decision led to a continued contribution, it came with the caveat fewer funds would be allocated.
While Whitewater nixes its financial contribution, other municipalities have taken a different stance.
The Milton Common Council recently decided to increase the city’s contribution in 2015 — due, in part, to a deal with the Blackhawk Technical College to build an advanced manufacturing training center within the community.
Milton officials have asserted Blackhawk’s presence within the city will result in a growth in ridership numbers.
Whitewater has maintained a similar type of partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in funding the service.
Last month, as Whitewater’s 2015 budget discussion picked up steam, Clapper revealed the anticipated cost of running the JMW Express, in its current iteration, had a projected price tag of $439,264.
The City of Janesville pledged to fund the first $200,000 of the service in 2015, and an additional $117,799 was expected to be funded through state and federal dollars, as well as ridership fares. The balance is to be funded by public and private entities.
In addition to Abbott, Whitewater council members voting against contributing to the JMW Express in 2015 included Lynn Binnie, Phil Frawley, Ken Kidd and Council President Patrick Singer.
Council members Sarah Bregant and Jim Winship voted against subtracting the funds.
