If the route canāt sustain bus service, future rail service does not look too good.
Not even the allegedly rail and mass transit friendly WISDOT could save it.
You are reading too much into that article.
The reason the state paid for the bus service in the first place was for the guaranteed Amtrak connection in Milwaukee. Which I never understood with the increasing Chicago to Milwaukee train frequency. There are 2 or 3 other bus carriers that offer Milwaukee to Green Bay service from the Milwaukee Amtrak station. The schedules are rather odd. I think the original issue for the subsidy was schedules coinciding with the Chicago to Milwaukee trains which made the total trip time reasonable. So the route has demonstrated ridership and the Milwaukee Amtrak station is also the bus station. I know zippo about this Amtrak bus service though and have no ridership stats.
As for the proposed train service. I donāt think it was ever a certainty but it had more certainty than Milwaukee to Madison which was my point earlier. WisDOT still is in study phase with Milwaukee to Green Bay and there are two rather expensive projects underway in Milwaukee last I heard. Mitchell Field Airport station expansion and the Muskego Yard bypass project.
Itās too bad. Thruway is a good service. Significantly quicker than ācompetingā bus service along the GB-Milwaukee route(s). Itād take tens of millions to provide train service that matches the travel times Thruway provides now.
Looking from outside, it seems ridiculous that Wisconsin didnāt choose to develop passenger service to its 2nd largest metro area from Milwaukee. Maybe political? Especially when service to GB, of a different identification, is still studied.
The last time my Aunt rode it about 3-4 years ago she said the bus was fairly full to Fond Du Lac (which I have no idea what that means and never asked back then). So I tend to think this was a political move more than one of low ridership. I donāt understand why they did not setup a contractual agreement with another line.
From what I understood beforeā¦ the state actually purchased the buses and the contract was to maintain the buses and run the service. That is what I suspect is behind the maintenance costs mention. The original service provider was US Coach (Wisconsin Coach Lines).
āRising operational costs due to equipment and maintenance needs, combined with inflation, made the service financially unsustainable without additional state support, according to the department.ā
The state legislature is to blame.
The service contract would need to be renewed. The cost was paid for by ridership plus the state.
I note that there are two bus runs supported by WisDOT between Milwaukee and Green Bay via Sheboygan, so the issue is not connectivity but (as mentioned) convenience. Note that there is also a subsidized route from Madison to Green Bay via Fond du Lac, and an unsubsidized run from Milwaukee through Fond du Lac to Appleton (where it turns west to serve other communities) so one wonders if the argument is in part about competition with private operators.
https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/travel/pub-transit/icbus-map.pdf
Buses are rolling bathrooms. Avoid them if you can.
Not all buses are created equal. Vonlane, which operates 18 schedules a day between Dallas and Austin, offers a luxury ride that is a better experience than coach class on Amtrakās once a day late running Texas Eagle or economy class on Southwest or one of the other carriers.
Each coach is equipped with 22 luxury seats. Snacks and beer or wine are available. When I rode the service they were included in the fare. The average time for the trip is 3 hours 15 minutes. The price for a September 24th departure is $137.
Red Coach, which offers a class of service between FlixBus and Vonlane has two schedules a day between Austin and Dallas. The price for a September 24th departure is $49.99; the running time is approximately 3 hours 20 minutes.
Greyhound/FlixBus have 11 schedules between Dallas and Austin. The average fare is approximately $34; the average running time is approximately four hours.
FlixBus has a daily schedule between Milwaukee and Green Bay. The price is $26.98 for a September 24th departure.
The scheduled running time is 2 hours 55 minutes from the Milwaukee Intermodal Station. The bus stops in Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, and Appleton Transit Center before arriving at the Green Bay Transit Center.
Attempts to book for September 22nd and 23rd showed the bus is sold out. The bus is operated by Voigt Motorcoach Travel, Inc. Discontinuance of the Amtrak service leaves the Flixbus service between Milwaukee and Green Bay as an option.
Flix is a lower-cost German transportation company also operating in US. It operates Greyhound and even train services in Germany.
If you look on the WisDOT website link which has remaining bus services lined at the top of this threadā¦they have two Mexican based bus lines as well to Green Bay or else I found them via other means. Just curious where those buses originate in Mexico or if the route is entirely in CONUS.
Megabus, which is owned by Indian Trails, at least in Wisconsin, has two schedules a day between Green Bay and Milwaukee. The average time is 2 hours 30 minutes; the average cost is $24. Indian Trails is a U.S. family owned business.
My objective was to show that discontinuance of the Amtrak Thruway service between Milwaukee and Green Bay, which required state supported, will not leave people in need of ground based commercial passenger transport between the points high and dry. There may be other services.
What is this supposed to mean???
āCan you be more specific?ā