Valley Transit Description

The City of Appleton, Wisconsin operates Valley Transit (VT) within the Fox Cities urbanized area and serves the following jurisdictions: the cities of Appleton, Kaukauna, Menasha and Neenah; the towns of Buchanan, Grand Chute and Menasha; and the villages of Kimberly and Little Chute. Public transportation in the Fox Cities began its operation in 1886 using electric streetcar systems. In 1930, the streetcar system was completely replaced by buses. Starting in the late 1960’s Fox River Bus Lines began receiving a subsidy from the City of Appleton to continue public transit services for the community. Using an Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) capital grant, the City of Appleton purchased the Appleton City Transit from the Fox River Bus lines in 1977. The City of Appleton began to operate the Appleton City Transit publicly known as Valley Transit (VT) on January 1, 1978.

Governance
VT is owned and operated by the City of Appleton. The Fox Cities Transit Commission, consisting of eight members representing the participating municipalities, governs its policies and procedures. Two of the eight are Appleton City Council members, who are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. The Appleton Common Council has final decision making authority over budget and major service changes. The Fox Cities Transit Commission has final decision making authority over all no financial decisions relating to Valley Transit II Paratransit services.

Staff
Valley Transit has a General Manager who coordinates Administrative Services, Marketing, Operations and Maintenance. All Valley Transit staff are employees of the City of Appleton. Operators, mechanics and dispatchers are members of Teamsters Local 563. Opened in 1983, Valley Transit’s Administrative facility and garage includes the administrative offices, an operations area, maintenance area, bus service area and bus storage garage.

Operations
Valley Transit’s operations consist of regular fixed route bus service and paratransit service for the elderly and the disabled. Valley Transit’s fleet for fixed route service consists of 25 buses operating on 16 routes. Twenty (20) vehicles are used during peak service times. Weekday route service operates from 5:45 a.m. to 10:30 p.m with the last routes leaving downtown Appleton at 9:45 p.m. Saturday service begins at 7:45 a.m. and ends at 10:30 p.m with the last routes leaving downtown at 9:45 p.m. There is no fixed route service on Sundays. 

Routes disseminate outward from the Downtown Transfer Center, which was opened in 1990. One route operates entirely within the City of Neenah and it radiates from the Transit Center there. The system also includes one Call-A-Ride zone, which connects passengers to the fixed route via shared-ride taxi service. 

Paratransit Service
Valley Transit’s paratransit service, called Valley Transit II (VTII), is provided for those who are unable to use the fixed route service and who meet the ADA guidelines for eligibility. VTII operates within ¾ mile of the fixed routes and during the same hours as the fixed route operations, plus service on Sundays from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Currently, Kobussen Buses, Ltd. provides paratransit service. The Valley Transit II service is primarily curb-to-curb, with door-to-door, door-through-door and will-call service available for a premium fare rate. All trips made on Valley Transit buses by ADA eligible individuals are at half price.

For more information on this topic, please e-mail us at valley.transit@appleton.org 
or call 920/832-5800.