From WisARP:
There's a special event at St. Paul Union Station on May 3 (3 to 8 p.m.) and one in Franklin Park, Illinois on May 8, but no events for train access or rides are scheduled for Wisconsin.
The CPKC tour will follow Amtrak's Empire Builder route. It is scheduled to pass through La Crosse on May 5. This tracker is supposed to show where the train is in real time.
We had perfect weather for our May Day Ride SMRT 2 Viroqua. We were joined by former La Crosse County Board chair, Tara Johnson, who was part of the birth of SMRT. The bus was right on time and we spent the whole ride talking transit.
Once in Viroqua, everyone split up to do their own things with return options throughout the afternoon, though we did learn from the driver of our next-to-last bus back that, just this week, the last bus back had been dropped (but it was still on the schedule!)
My daughter and I rented bikes at Bluedog Cycles, right across the street from where we got off the bus, and met up with a friend. We got a delicious take-out lunch from The Noble Rind Cheese Company, then ode to Ekhart Park to eat and chat. We rode to the other end of town to visit more friends and then spent some time at Driftless Books and Music. We returned the bikes and walked to Vernon Memorial Hospital to catch the 3:24 bus back to La Crosse.
The SMRT is such a gem. In a state with no Regional Transit Authority (a governmental entity that allows several counties to work together and levy taxes to provide regional transit) this system, a public-private partnership that DOES provide regional transit for workers, students, patients, youth, elders, the Amish community and more, is really a miracle.
It's a shame that there is almost zero marketing or information about this great service. The website is minimal (no information about requesting a stop at the Amtrak, for example), many of the stops are unmarked or marked incorrectly, there's no way to know in real time if the bus is late or cancelled, and, aside from the LATA SMRT rides, there are no education and outreach events to highlight all the places you can go on the SMRT. We have heard that even employers whose workers use the service do very little promotion.
After last spring's ride, LATA offered suggestions and volunteered time to help with some of these issues, but we did not hear anything back. We will try again this year and we plan another ride this fall during Week Without Driving.
Ride the SMRT with LATA on Wednesday, May 1! We'll catch the Yellow route as it circles through La Crosse mid-morning, then arrive at Vernon Memorial Hospital in Viroqua a little after 11 a.m.
They you're on your own - visit the county historical museum just next door, go to a park, check out some cool little shops, have lunch at a local restaurant ... There's even a shared ride taxi to help you get around.
Coming back, there are four options.
The cost is $4 per ride (each way) bus fare paid in cash to the driver.
Register or visit our SMRT 2 Viroqua page for more details!
Wow.
If only there were a service that moved people, safely and affordably, from one part of the city to another without the need for a driver's license or an expensive, dangerous private car. Hmmm.
We DO have such a system and it's called public transportation. Let's promote it and use it. Let's include it for school activities, community events, and daily life.
There are three MTU buses routes that stop by Central and two from the north side that connect at the Transit Center. If rehearsals were move to the Polytechnic it woud be even easier. The student passes are a great deal. Time on the bus can be used socializing or studying.
And there are other places you can get to by bus. You can take the #4 to the Earth Fair, for example. What better way to greenify your travel than to hop on a bus (if you can't bike or walk there). I think the bus route will even detour on April 28 to get riders closer to the fair entrance.
If you haven't ridden before or if it's been a while, contact us for a Ride Guide. One of our guides will meet you, ride with you, go over the maps and apps, and answer your questions so you'll be an expert rider in no time.
Let's get on the bus and encourage others to ride, too!
