Western Washtenaw Area Value Express
 WAVE bus parked at the company's headquarters in Lima Township | |
| Founded | 1976 |
|---|---|
| Service area | Washtenaw and parts of Ingham, Jackson, and Livingston counties |
| Fleet | 13 buses, 2 vans[1] |
| Annual ridership | 27,000 |
| Board President | Kim Moore[2] |
| Website | ridethewavebus |
The Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express, also known as The WAVE, is a non-profit bus system serving western Washtenaw County, Michigan.[3]
Services
[edit]WAVE provides door-to-door (demand-response) bus services in its namesake western Washtenaw County. The service area reaches beyond Washtenaw County, including to Grass Lake in Jackson County, Pinckney in Livingston County, and Stockbridge in Ingham County.[4] WAVE also operates local fixed-route services in the city of Chelsea and in Scio Township, and a regional route from Chelsea to Scio Township.[5]
History
[edit]WAVE was established in 1976 as the Chelsea Area Transportation System (CATS), a nonprofit organization providing demand-response bus service to seniors and individuals with disabilities. CATS began service with one bus, serving a 54-square-mile (140 km2) area centered on the town of Chelsea.[6] By the early 1980s, the organization had an annual operating budget of $17,500 (equivalent to $50,000 in 2023), and served over 8,000 riders per year.[7][8]
The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority began an Ann Arbor–Dexter–Chelsea bus service in 1987. AATA route 210 was funded by Scio Township and the villages of Chelsea and Dexter. Ridership on the route was low, and Scio Township withdrew from its agreement to fund part of the service in 1996. In October 1996, a Scio Township resident who used the service regularly paid AATA $1,566 out of her own pocket to keep it operating, which was later reimbursed by a local business association.[9] The unusual funding arrangements for the service were not sustainable, and AATA cut the Dexter–Chelsea segment in 2002, before discontinuing the entire route in 2003.[10]
CATS expanded its services after AATA route 210 was cut back to Dexter, seeking to serve some of the demand for the AATA service. CATS applied for federal funding to supplement its existing local funding in 2002, and purchased multiple buses to support its expanded services. By 2004, CATS was operating 6 round-trips daily between Chelsea and the Ann Arbor city limits, connecting to an existing AATA bus service.[11] CATS changed its name to Western Washtenaw Area Value Express in 2005, reflecting its new regional role.[12]
WAVE expanded its demand-response service area in 2005, covering the entire Dexter Community Schools district.[13] In 2008, Scio Township contracted with a local human services agency to operate another bus service along part of WAVE's route for one year, causing conflict between the township and the two bus operators. WAVE took over the service after the one-year trial period.[14]
WAVE halted its services in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic became a crisis in Michigan, resuming after three months.[15] In August 2020, WAVE introduced a route from Stockbridge to Manchester via Chelsea, sponsored by the St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea Hospital. The goal of the Stockbridge–Manchester service was to combat isolation in the two relatively small towns and provide access to healthcare and human services. With the assistance of federal COVID-19 relief funding, WAVE introduced new computerized dispatch systems and coordinated rides to COVID-19 vaccination sites.[16] The Stockbridge–Manchester route was replaced by demand-response service in the Stockbridge and Manchester areas in late 2021.[17] In 2023, WAVE announced that it was considering purchasing electric buses.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ "WAVE Unveils Electrifying Future with New Buses, Apps, and Accessibility Upgrades | The Sun Times News". thesuntimesnews.com. May 5, 2023. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
- ^ "Leadership Change at Western Washtenaw Area Value Express | The Sun Times News". thesuntimesnews.com. May 26, 2023. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
- ^ "Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express | United Way of Washtenaw County Volunteer Center". www.volunteerwashtenaw.org. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
- ^ "WAVE Expands Service to Lodi Township". The Sun Times News. April 9, 2025. Retrieved 2025-05-13.
- ^ "Chelsea-Dexter-Ann Arbor Connectors". Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
- ^ "Bus service formed". Jackson Citizen-Patriot. April 22, 1976. p. 10 – via NewsBank.
- ^ "Chelsea bus system's funds cut". The Ann Arbor News. June 10, 1982. p. A5 – via NewsBank.
- ^ "Chelsea bus service losing state money". Jackson Citizen-Patriot. February 17, 1981. p. 10 – via NewsBank.
- ^ Hollander, Sarah (October 31, 1996). "Bus money is back in her pocket". The Ann Arbor News. pp. C1, C4 – via NewsBank.
- ^ Pyen, Chong W.; Kauth-Karjala, Marjorie; Cobbs, Liz (May 15, 2003). "Route nearing last stop". The Ann Arbor News. pp. B1, B3 – via NewsBank.
- ^ Mulcahy, John (April 5, 2004). "CATS bus service thriving". The Ann Arbor News. pp. B1 – via NewsBank.
- ^ Mulcahy, John (August 12, 2008). "People's Express causes rift in Scio". The Ann Arbor News. pp. A3 – via NewsBank.
- ^ Mulcahy, John (September 15, 2005). "New bus service to begin making runs in Dexter area". The Ann Arbor News. pp. B2 – via NewsBank.
- ^ Mulcahy, John (October 20, 2008). "Scio paying 2 bus services: Township DDA to subsidize both WAVE and People's Express". The Ann Arbor News. pp. A3 – via NewsBank.
- ^ Dandron, Joe (July 15, 2020). "Free transportation service expanding to Stockbridge, Manchester". MLive. Retrieved 2025-05-13.
- ^ Viggiano, Cecilia; Stein, Naomi; Twisk, Allison Van (February 7, 2023). "Case Examples". Partnerships for Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery. TCRP Synthesis 167. Washington, D.C.: Transportation Research Board. ISBN 978-0-309-68774-4. Retrieved 2025-05-13.
- ^ "Stockbridge – Manchester WAVE free shuttle is now Door-to-Door". Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express. October 1, 2021. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
- ^ Smolcic Larson, Lucas (March 29, 2023). "First electric buses set to be deployed for Washtenaw County transit agency". MLive.com. Archived from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2024-01-07.