Wooster expands WayGo bus fleet

By mid- to late summer, buses from the city’s public transit system, WayGo, will look a little different.

The purchase of two new larger buses was approved by Wooster City Council at its March 1 meeting.

The eight-seat buses being used since WayGo started in August will be replaced with ones that have almost twice as many seats.

“When we go to The College of Wooster and some other places where a lot of people get on, we quickly fill up eight seats,” City Public Transportation Manager Kevin White told council.

Because of that, WayGo runs two buses during its busiest time for riders between 2-6 p.m. on its fixed route. It also offers demand-response rides, which updated its hours to 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. to support the community’s morning commute.

Not having to run two buses with the new buses will “be a pretty significant cost savings,” White said.

The purchases were made possible through an ODOT Workforce Mobility Partnership (WMP) grant, which covers 78% of the cost ($205,648), while the city will pay the remaining balance of $65,000.

It’s an 80%-to-20% match for purchasing the vehicles, but the ratio for Wooster is 78%-to-22% to cover the WayGo decals and signage, according to White.

The city considered purchasing used vehicles as an alternative, but that would have required 100% local funding.

One of the new vehicles will have capacity for 14 seated passengers while the other will hold 13 seated passengers with the flexibility to carry up to four wheelchair passengers. And they remain under the size threshold that requires drivers to hold a Commercial Driver’s License.

Once the new buses arrive, the current vehicles will improve WayGo’s spare-vehicle ratio and could help with the goal of having a countywide public transit system, White said.

“We are starting with Wooster, but once we leverage some other agreements, we hope to use those vehicles for other services,” White said. “We applied for this grant very close to the deadline, and we are very fortunate to get it.”

Council also approved a resolution to advertise according to the law and enter into a contract with the lowest and best bidder for the construction of parking lots on city-owned property on North Street and Beall Avenue.

It will add 50 free public paved parking spots downtown.

“This will be a strong benefit to that area,” Council Member Jennifer Warden said. “The estimated cost is $350,000, which is already included in our budget.”

During the miscellaneous part of the meeting, eight residents spoke, asking council to be prepared for the possibility of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents coming to Wooster and voicing concerns about what could happen negatively if they do come.

At the end of the meeting, several of the council members thanked the residents for having the courage to bring a difficult topic to the city’s attention.