Public Transit & Specialized Transportation

Transit planning concentrated on providing service to cost-effectively meet the needs of communities. Valley Transit and the Oshkosh Transit System both continue to be in compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). Each of the systems 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. Specialized transportation services are also available at the county level throughout the region.

Oshkosh Transit System – Transit Development Plan (TDP)

East Central completed a Transit Development Plan (TDP) for the Oshkosh Transit System, which was adopted by both the Oshkosh Transit Advisory Board on June 15, 2011 and the Oshkosh Common Council on July 13, 2011. The plan provides a comprehensive examination of the Oshkosh Transit System and identifies recommendations for improving the system over the next five years. If you would like more information, please contact us.

Valley Transit – Transit Development Plan (TDP)

A Transit Development Plan (TDP) is a short-term strategic plan which assists the planning efforts of a transit system. This document is an update to the City of Appleton’s (Valley Transit) TDP. Valley Transit’s most recent TDP was completed in 2009, with the current plan updated in 2018-2019. This effort was funded through a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5304 Statewide Transportation Planning Program applied for by Valley Transit and East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (ECWRPC). This project was a collaborative effort from ECWRPC and SRF Consulting Group. Please contact ECWRPC for more information.

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: