“Our work is now more important than ever.” Keep reading to find out why, or click here to watch a short film about the Winona Riders!

As part of their response to COVID-19, the City of Winona suspended transit fares for April through December of 2020. This was, of course, very welcome and exciting news for those of us working toward fare-free transit in Winona. Unfortunately, 2020 was not a good time to promote increased transit use, as we were all encouraged to reduce community spread of the virus by avoiding public spaces whenever possible. So the work of the Winona Riders Coalition–advocating for fare-free busing, calling for expanded and more frequent service, and promoting ridership–became temporarily irrelevant.

But our work is now more important than ever. With a return to normalcy, many people will begin developing new habits and returning to in-person jobs. Building greater awareness of our transit system now may encourage some to make transit use a regular part of their new routine. Additionally, the city resumed collecting fares at the start of 2021. Now that they’ve had experience as a fare-free system, though, perhaps they’ll be warmer to the idea of eliminating fares for the long term. Also, the four regular routes have buses running less frequently than they had been pre-COVID due to sanitizing breaks. When these cleaning protocols are no longer required, and the schedules will need to be adjusted anyway, it could be a perfect time for the city to increase service to include more frequent buses and Sunday and evening route service.

Early last year, a talented WSU Mass Communications student, Perry Greenwood, had been working on a film about the Winona Riders Coalition for his Senior Capstone Project. I assumed he had abandoned it during the lockdown, when access to the University’s filmmaking equipment became much more limited. But I just discovered that he completed the video, and that he did an amazing job. Many of the details are now out of date (specifics about schedules and fares, for example) as so much has changed since early 2020, but the arguments made in favor of free transit and expanded service remain relevant and compelling. I’m excited to share the video, and I’m hopeful that it will help persuade Winona citizens and city officials to make our transit system a major priority and a point of pride for our city.

The City of Winona has wisely decided to extend fare suspensions through the end of 2020. Thank you, City of Winona! Additionally, with new contractor Transport3 in charge of operations, evening Dial-a-Ride service is now available!

Read More in the Winona Daily News.

In response to the COVID crisis, the City of Winona has suspended all bus fares for the remainder of the year! Please visit the City’s website for more information and to view the new schedule: https://www.cityofwinona.com/city-services/city-clerks-office/winona-transit-services/

The Winona City Council has moved to suspend transit fares in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the motion passed by the council Monday evening, the move will reduce interactions between transit drivers and riders, as well as lessen the burden on those facing unemployment or simply trying to get to the grocery store.

The suspension begins immediately and is expected to last until Friday, May 8, but the council said its next meeting on May 4 will address whether an extension is needed.

Read more in The Winona Post

https://winonariders.org/news/

Unfortunately, there’s been a setback to the increased service to Winona Transit as the current contractor, Three Rivers Transit, has backed out of their deal with the city. Chris Rogers reports:

Three Rivers Community Action, the Southeast Minnesota nonprofit that runs the city’s transit service, moved on December 31 to terminate its contract with the city of Winona. Three Rivers was about to begin the second year of a five-year contract, but opted to pull out of the deal. Its last day of service will be April 30. City officials announced the news last week and said they are already working to recruit a new contractor that can take over before May 1.

“Winona Bus Company Will Quit,” Winona Post.

The city does not anticipate an interruption of service, but it will delay implementation of the new schedule, which was to have included much-needed evening Dial-a-Ride service.

In a letter to the Post, the Winona Catholic Worker’s Diane Luetgeb Munson replies,

The Winona Catholic Worker community was surprised and disappointed when this service was not available on the date announced…This service is particularly important for members of our community who struggle with homelessness and mobility issues and need transportation to the Warming Center, which does not open until 9 p.m. A number of people are in great need of these additional hours of public transportation because they attend the free evening meal we provide and do not have means to get home or to the Warming Center after the bus stops running…Hopefully this issue can be quickly resolved and extended dial-a-ride can be made available during the coldest months when it is most needed.  

Luetgeb Munson in the Post.

We join Luetgeb Munson and the Catholic Worker Community in calling for a speedy resolution to this problem.