Lake City’s Hiawathaland Transit Delivers
By Dawn Schuett, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
Feb. 16–LAKE CITY — Icy Lake Pepin glistens in the morning sun by the time a Hiawathaland Transit bus is on its way to pick up the first passenger of the day.
Bus driver Jim Schenk pulls up to his own Lake City home, where his wife, Dorothy, boards the bus as she hands him the fare.
“I won’t let her on unless she pays,” Jim Schenk says, closing the bus door behind her. It’s a few minutes before 9 a.m.
Dorothy settles into a seat for a brief ride to Hair Deziners, the downtown salon where she works part-time as a receptionist.
“It’s a lot better than getting out your cold car,” Dorothy Schenk says of riding the bus this winter morning when the temperature outside is about 10 degrees below zero.
Convenience is a factor for riders in Goodhue and Wabasha counties using Hiawathaland Transit, which started 10 years ago and has seen its ridership steadily increase.
In 2004, the service gave 83,000 rides. Last year, it gave 113,000.
“There are a lot of reasons why it’s gone up,” said Amy Repinski, transportation director for Hiawathaland Transit.
The aging of baby boomers, the growing population of immigrants and other minorities in rural communities and rising gas prices have contributed to increased ridership, Repinski said.
The public transportation service, a program of Three Rivers Community Action, Inc., based in Zumbrota, has made several changes recently. It added Zumbrota to the list of communities it serves, purchased a Plainview bus garage previously owned by Kurth Bus Service and added inter-city routes from Plainview to Wabasha and from Wabasha to Lake City to Red Wing. Repinski said Hiawathaland may eventually offer inter-city service from Zumbrota to Red Wing.
Hiawathaland has 16 to 20 buses in its fleet and gets about 85 percent of its operating funds from state and federal sources. Fares, which haven’t increased since 2001, and donations from cities and counties contribute to the other 15 percent.
In the small communities and townships served by Hiawathaland, passengers call in advance to arrange a ride. The more common locations are to the grocery store, to medical appointments and to after-school activities, Repinski said, but “we’ll take them anywhere they want to go.”
During Schenk’s recent morning in Lake City, he picked up eight other passengers before 11 a.m. Seven of them were on their way to pick up groceries at Fiesta Foods.
Edna Freiheit, a passenger that morning, said the service is important for senior citizens like her who no longer drive their own cars.
“I’m very, very thankful for the bus because I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t get this ride,” Freiheit said.
“We all are,” adds 90-year-old Evelyn Courtier.
HIAWATHALAND TRANSIT:
–Service areas: Communities in Goodhue and Wabasha counties, including Cannon Falls, Elgin, Kellogg, Lake City, Plainview, Red Wing, Wabasha, Zumbrota and the surrounding communities/townships of Leon, Stanton, Randolph, Florence, Greenfield, Reads Landing, Featherstone, Hay Creek, Wacouta and Lake Pepin Golf Course.
–Fares: $1 to $1.50 one way depending on service area. Hiawathaland Transit tokens and punch passes are available.
–Routes and dial-a-rides: Passengers in the service areas can make dial-a-ride appointments by calling 1-866-623-7505. Hiawathaland Transit also has two scheduled routes in Red Wing operating Monday through Friday.
–For more information: www.threeriverscap.org/Publictrans.htm
—–
To see more of the Post-Bulletin, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.postbulletin.com.
Copyright (c) 2007, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.