Winona Transit Service

{{Short description|Provider of mass transportation in Winona County, Minnesota}}

{{Infobox Bus transit

| name = Winona Transit Service

| logo =

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| image = Winona_Transit_Service_buses.jpg

| image_caption = Winona Transit Services buses at the downtown transfer point

| company_slogan =

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| founded =

| headquarters =

| locale = Winona, Minnesota

| service_area = Winona County, Minnesota

| service_type = Bus service, paratransit

| alliance =

| routes = 4

| destinations =

| stops =

| hubs =

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| lounge =

| fleet = 7 buses

| annual ridership= 225,350 (2019)

| website = [https://www.cityofwinona.com/175/Winona-Transit-Service Winona Transit Service]

}}

Winona Transit Service is the primary provider of mass transportation in Winona County, Minnesota with routes serving the Winona area. As of 2019, the system provided 225,350 rides over 17,171 annual vehicle revenue hours with 7 buses and 1 demand response vehicle.{{cite web|url=https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/transit_agency_profile_doc/2019/5R04-50349.pdf|title= Winona Transit Service Agency Profile|access-date=June 21, 2023}}

History

Public transit in the Winona area began in the form of horse cars starting in 1883, operated by the Winona City Railway Co. In 1892, the horse cars were replaced by electric streetcars, which in turn were replaced with buses in 1938.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagorailfan.com/aatmn2.html|title=TRANSIT SYSTEMS IN MINNESOTA: SMALLER CITIES|access-date=June 21, 2023}}

Buses were fare-free for much of 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite news|url=https://www.news8000.com/news/coronavirus/winona-transit-fare-free-through-2020-due-to-covid-19/article_17aa0069-6e1b-5d0d-bffa-327c0df5a753.html|title=Winona Transit fare-free through 2020 due to COVID-19|date=May 5, 2020|newspaper=News8000.com|access-date=June 21, 2023}} In 2021, the bus routes were redesigned, while fares for dial-a-ride service were increased.{{cite news|url=https://winonaradio.com/2021/08/04/95776/|title=Winona Signs off on New Transit Routes, Fares|author=TJ|newspaper=Winona Radio|date=August 4, 2021|access-date=June 21, 2023}} Benches at the downtown transfer hub were removed in 2023, due to littering and other issues. The small shelter is planned to be replaced with a standard bus shelter.{{cite news|url=https://www.winonapost.com/news/winona-removes-benches-from-bus-shelter/article_9bde8ef4-0ac6-11ee-b2a4-6f37a88515bb.html|title=Winona removes benches from bus shelter|author=Gabriel Hathaway|newspaper=Winona Post|date=June 14, 2023|access-date=June 21, 2023}}

Service

Winona Transit Service operates four routes. Two routes begin at the transfer hub situated on 3rd Street and Center Street, while there is one east and one west route that connect with each of those routes. Hours of operation for regular routes are Monday through Friday from 6:00 A.M. to 6:15 P.M. Saturday service runs from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. There is no Sunday service. As of 2023, single fares are set at $1.25.{{cite web|url=https://www.cityofwinona.com/175/Winona-Transit-Service|title=Winona Transit Service|access-date=June 21, 2023}}

Connections to intercity public transit are available via Jefferson Lines buses and the Amtrak Empire Builder.

Fixed Route Ridership

The ridership statistics shown here are of fixed route services only and do not include demand response.{{cite web | title=The National Transit Database (NTD) | url=https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/transit-agency-profiles/winona-city | access-date=June 21, 2023}}

{{#invoke:Chart | bar chart

| group 1 = 259344:254494:241754:248960:234461:225350:177861:68939

| units suffix =

| group names = Annual ridership

| x legends =2014:2015:2016:2017:2018:2019:2020:2021

| colors = #{{rcr|Metra|SouthWest}}

}}

References

External links

[https://www.cityofwinona.com/175/Winona-Transit-Service Winona Transit Service]

Category:Winona, Minnesota

Category:Bus transportation in Minnesota