By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
After a brief hiatus, a new form of mass transit service is returning to Whitewater Monday.
Chuck Nass, Whitewater’s streets, parks and forestry superintendent, announced at a Common Council meeting Feb. 2 a bus service that will stop in Whitewater twice daily as part of a route that extends from Milwaukee to Janesville.
The city is not directly involved in the new route service, which is being overseen by Wisconsin Coach Lines, nor is it funding the program. Nass said a grant from the state brought the service to fruition.
“This will for sure be available for the next year,” Nass said of the new bus line.
Other than the bus route’s beginning and ending points, the new bus line serves many areas that currently lack mass transit. In addition to Whitewater, stops along the way include East Troy, Milton and Muskego.
The bus line also will provide service to Gen. Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee.
When the bus service begins Feb. 15, Nass said the plan is for the service to be offered on a daily basis, including major holidays. Plans call for two stops in Whitewater — one at 11 a.m. and another at 1 p.m.
The route will begin at 9:10 a.m. daily when the bus service leaves a terminal in downtown Milwaukee and ends at the Janesville Transit Center at 11:45 a.m. The bus will then reverse course before returning to downtown Milwaukee around 3 p.m.
Passengers’ rates will depend on the length of service. For riders picking up service in Whitewater, the cost is $18 to travel to Milwaukee, $15 to Gen. Mitchell, $10 to Muskego, $6 to Janesville, $5 to East Troy and $3 to Milton.
Whitewater had been a participant in the Innovation Express mass transit line through the Janesville Transit System, but withdrew participation in 2014 during budget deliberations.
