Dunn County Transit Reports Record Ridership in 2025

Dunn County Transit officials are reporting record ridership for 2025, crediting years of planning to make routes simpler and faster.

According to a press release, Dunn County Transit’s Community Route saw a total of 20,660 riders last year. That mark represents a nearly 30 percent increase over the ridership in 2024 and a nearly 75 percent increase over the 10 year average. The Community Route operates on an hourly loop connecting residents to the downtown Menomonie area, the University of Wisconsin – Stout, and other important areas.

Dunn County Transit officials shared the data with the full County Board in their recent annual report. They say the record ridership is the culmination of years of planning that began with a major route redesign project implemented in 2021. The Transit Commission also temporarily waived fares until 2023 in order to rebuild ridership and implemented a real-time bus tracking program last year to improve reliability.

In addition to the larger multi-year projects, Dunn County Transit also fine-tuned their routes and service times. While studying ridership trends, they identified some areas of the County where nearly nobody was using the service despite multiple stops each day.

Public Transportation improvements have been a significant focus across Western Wisconsin over recent years. In the last year alone, nearby Eau Claire has opened a new transfer center downtown and added a new express route connecting unhoused individuals to essential services. They’ve also waived bus fares for kids 18 and younger to encourage them to use the public transit system more often.

Dunn County Transit officials also expect to receive two electric shuttle buses this summer for increased flexibility, and have already built the charging infrastructure needed to accommodate those buses.