Public Transit & Specialized Transportation

Transit planning concentrates on providing services to cost-effectively meet the needs of communities and offer transportation alternatives to residents and employees. Valley Transit and GO Transit provide transportation services to in the Appleton (Fox Cities) MPO and Oshkosh MPO, respectively. Each system provides both fixed-route services and paratransit services. Additionally, specialized transportation services are available at the county level throughout the region. surpasses the ADA requirements by providing complementary paratransit services for more hours and at higher service level than required for those individuals who are unable to use the fixed route systems.

GO Transit – Transit Development Plan (TDP)

GO Transit’s Transit Development Plan, updated every five years, was most recently adopted in April 2024 by the City of Oshkosh Common Council. The plan provides a comprehensive examination of the Oshkosh Transit System and identifies recommendations for improving the system over the next five years.

City of Oshkosh Transit Development Plan 2024

Valley Transit – Transit Development Plan (TDP)

Valley Transit’s Transit Development Plan, updated every five years, was most recently adopted in December 2019 by the City of Appleton Common Council. The plan provides a comprehensive examination of the the Valley Transit system and identifies recommendations for improving the system over the next five years. Valley Transit is currently in the process of update its TDP,  which is anticipated to be completed in 2026.

City of Appleton Transit Development Plan 2020

County Public Transportation/Human Service Transportation Coordination Plans

In August of 2005, Congress passed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation, Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), reauthorizing the surface transportation act. As part of this reauthorization, grantees under the New Freedom Initiative, Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) and Elderly and Disabled Transportation Program (5310) must meet certain requirements in order to receive funding for fiscal 2007 (beginning 10/1/06) and beyond.

One of the SAFETEA-LU requirements is that projects from the programs listed above must be part of a “locally developed coordinated public transit-human services transportation plan.” These plans were required to be developed through a process that included representatives of public, private, and non-profit transportation services, human services providers and the general public. For 5310 and JARC grantees to continue to receive funding in 2007, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation developed a one-day county meeting process to comply with SAFETEA-LU requirements. Regional Planning Commission (RPC) planners were chosen to coordinate and conduct these meetings. RPCs are currently responsible for reviewing/approving federal and state program applications, are aware and knowledgeable of transit programs and funding streams in each county and are an independent and objective entity. In those counties that are not affiliated with a RPC, a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) planner, county planner or WisDOT coordinator arranged and facilitated the county meetings.

In addition to approving a list of projects, the meetings included completing an assessment of human services transportation coordination within each county, the level of coordination between transportation programs, and an action plan with strategies and steps for improving coordination efforts was developed. Listed below are the final action plans for the three counties containing both the Fox Cities and Oshkosh Urbanized Areas: