To the Editor:
Westport is in danger of losing the Wheels2U shuttle yet again.
At its meeting in March the Board of Finance voted to eliminate all funding for Wheels2U, the Westport Transit District’s door-to-train station on-demand commuter shuttle. This will effectively shut down the service as of June 30, 2023. (The door-to-door service for the elderly and persons with disabilities will not be affected.)
We need your help to keep the shuttle alive.
The Transit Committee and the Finance Committee of Westport’s Representative Town Meeting (RTM) are meeting on April 17 and April 26, respectively, to make recommendations to the full RTM regarding the budget for Wheels2U, and the full RTM is meeting May 1 to vote on restoring funding to keep the shuttle running for another year.
Please send an email to the RTM (RTM-DL@Westportct.gov) before the end of April urging the RTM to restore the budget and keep the shuttle alive. All emails sent to this address will also go to the members of the RTM Transit and Finance committees.
Wheels2U provided over 21,100 rides to and from Westport’s two train stations to more than 1,170 people since the start of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2022, with over 2,780 rides to and from Westport’s train stations in March alone.
Wheels2U supports Westport residents and businesses, and aids economic development by providing a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way for Westport commuters, reverse commuters and others to link their homes, their employers and downtown to the train stations. By sharing your stories of how useful the service has been to you we can help to save the shuttle service.
It takes a vote of 70 percent of the RTM members present and voting at a meeting to override the Board of Finance and restore the funding for Wheels2U, and every bit of support matters.
Information about Wheels2U, its cost, the benefits it currently provides to riders and the town as a whole, and what it could become if it’s allowed to continue and grow, can be found here.
Thank you for your support!
Peter Gold
Director, Westport Transit District
Member, RTM District 5
The RTM needs to stop this year-in-year out madness. The RTM should uphold the Board of Finance’s decision to de-fund the grossly inefficient W2U commuter service, and go one step further and vote to eliminate the Westport Transit District, an entity which no longer serves any useful purpose.
W2U is basically a subsidized Uber service in which empty buses deliver Westport resident private rides to their doorsteps. It’s not green (these empty buses are bigger than any car) and it’s not cost-effective. Frankly, its not public transit.
There are some basic steps to get public transit back on track: (1) The RTM should not be managing the town’s transportation needs – that’s a job for the First Selectman not a legislative committee ; (2) bring back the fixed-route bus service that previously served multiple neighborhoods and downtown (regularly connecting to the Coastal Link); (3) Stop perpetuating the inefficient waste of tax dollars by forcing the state to fund seven different transit districts – all in the same southwestern corner of our state.
Over the past ten years in which we have been replaying this annual funding charade, commuter ridership has plummeted from over 63,500 rides per year to less than 22,000 all while costing tax payers millions of dollars. Clearly the status quo is not working.
It’s time for Westport to be a leader again in transit and non-car mobility. We need our elected leaders to get us moving toward a better transit future. Urge your RTM Representative to (1) vote ‘NO to restoring funding for the inefficient W2U commuter service and (2) eliminate the current Westport Transit District as an administrative entity. And then demand that our Town’s executive leaders assume the role of managing our town’s transit needs so Westport can finally move forward.
– Jennifer Johnson
Former Westport Transit District Director
Anyone know what percentage of capacity the commuter lots now seem to be filling?
If we never expect to get back to full capacity, that alleviates the need for W2U, which replaced the old commuter shuttles.
If we expect to return to filling the lots in coming years, it behooves us to continue to offer the service to those who move to Westport.
(What’s the wait now for parking passes?)