Western Washtenaw Area Value Express

WAVE provides door-to-door (demand-response) bus services in its namesake western Washtenaw County. The service area also includes the adjacent municipalities of Grass Lake in Jackson County, Pinckney in Livingston County, and Stockbridge in Ingham County.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-09 |title=WAVE Expands Service to Lodi Township |url=https://thesuntimesnews.com/wave-expands-service-to-lodi-township/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |work=The Sun Times News}} WAVE operates local shuttle bus services in the city of Chelsea and in Scio Township, and regional route from Chelsea to Scio Township that connects with AAATA Route 30.{{Cite web |title=Chelsea-Dexter-Ann Arbor Connectors |url=https://ridethewavebus.org/maps-and-schedules/chelsea-dexter-ann-arbor-connectors/ |access-date=2025-05-14 |work=Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express}}

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 {{Convert|54|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} area centered on the town of Chelsea.{{Cite news |date=1976-04-22 |title=Bus service formed |work=Jackson Citizen-Patriot |pages=10 |via=NewsBank}} By the early 1980s, the organization had an annual operating budget of $17,500 ({{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=17500|start_year=1981|r=-3|fmt=eq}}), and served over 8,000 riders per year.{{Cite news |date=1982-06-10 |title=Chelsea bus system's funds cut |work=The Ann Arbor News |page=A5 |pages= |via=NewsBank}}{{Cite news |date=1981-02-17 |title=Chelsea bus service losing state money |work=Jackson Citizen-Patriot |pages=10 |via=NewsBank}}

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. The funding arrangements gained media attention in October 1996, when a legally blind Scio Township resident paid AATA $1,566 ({{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=1566|start_year=1996|r=0|fmt=eq}}) out of her own pocket to keep the service operating. The sum was later reimbursed by a local business association.{{Cite news |last=Hollander |first=Sarah |date=1996-10-31 |title=Bus money is back in her pocket |work=The Ann Arbor News |pages=C1, C4 |via=NewsBank}} 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.{{Cite news |last1=Pyen |first1=Chong W. |last2=Kauth-Karjala |first2=Marjorie |last3=Cobbs |first3=Liz |date=2003-05-15 |title=Route nearing last stop |journal=The Ann Arbor News |pages=B1, B3 |via=NewsBank}}

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.{{Cite news |last=Mulcahy |first=John |date=2004-04-05 |title=CATS bus service thriving |access-date= |work=The Ann Arbor News |pages=B1 |via=NewsBank}} CATS changed its name to Western Washtenaw Area Value Express in 2005, reflecting its new regional role.{{Cite news |last=Mulcahy |first=John |date=2008-08-12 |title=People's Express causes rift in Scio |access-date= |work=The Ann Arbor News |pages=A3 |via=NewsBank}}

WAVE expanded its demand-response service area in 2005, covering the entire Dexter Community Schools district.{{Cite news |last=Mulcahy |first=John |date=2005-09-15 |title=New bus service to begin making runs in Dexter area |access-date= |work=The Ann Arbor News |pages=B2 |via=NewsBank}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Mulcahy |first=John |date=2008-10-20 |title=Scio paying 2 bus services: Township DDA to subsidize both WAVE and People's Express |url= |access-date= |work=The Ann Arbor News |pages=A3 |via=NewsBank}}

WAVE halted its services in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic became a crisis in Michigan, resuming after three months.{{Cite web |last=Dandron |first=Joe |date=2020-07-15 |title=Free transportation service expanding to Stockbridge, Manchester |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2020/07/free-transportation-service-expanding-to-stockbridge-manchester.html |access-date=2025-05-13 |work=MLive}} 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.{{Cite book |last1=Viggiano |first1=Cecilia |url=https://www.nap.edu/catalog/26892 |title=Partnerships for Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery |last2=Stein |first2=Naomi |last3=Twisk |first3=Allison Van |date=2023-02-07 |publisher=Transportation Research Board |isbn=978-0-309-68774-4 |series=TCRP Synthesis 167 |location=Washington, D.C. |chapter=Case Examples |access-date=2025-05-13}} The Stockbridge–Manchester route was replaced by demand-response service in the Stockbridge and Manchester areas in late 2021.{{Cite web |date=2021-10-01 |title=Stockbridge – Manchester WAVE free shuttle is now Door-to-Door |url=https://ridethewavebus.org/post001/ |access-date=2025-05-14 |work=Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express}} In 2023, WAVE announced that it was considering purchasing electric buses.{{Cite news |last=Smolcic Larson |first=Lucas |date=2023-03-29 |title=First electric buses set to be deployed for Washtenaw County transit agency |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2023/03/first-electric-buses-set-to-be-deployed-for-washtenaw-county-transit-agency.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418071708/https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2023/03/first-electric-buses-set-to-be-deployed-for-washtenaw-county-transit-agency.html |archive-date=2023-04-18 |access-date=2024-01-07 |work=MLive.com}}

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• {{Official website}}

{{Michigan public transit}}

{{Authority control|qid=Q124248491}}

Category:Transportation in Washtenaw County, Michigan

Category:Bus transportation in Michigan