Written by Melissa McPherson, Stockbridge Community News

Making sense of the transportation alphabet soup

At a town hall meeting held on Sept. 24 at the Stockbridge Area Senior Center, residents of Stockbridge and the surrounding area expressed both frustration and concern over the recent announcement that CATA Rural Service (CRS) would be taking over all transportation services for Stockbridge beginning Oct. 1. This service would be replacing the WAVE, which had been providing service to the Stockbridge area for several years. NOTE: CATA=Capital Area Transportation Authority. WAVE=Western Washtenaw Area Value Express.

Unfortunately, the meeting did little to dispel attendees’ concerns and frustrations as the CATA answers to attendee questions that day were considered vague at best by this attendee. Since then, many residents have yet to use the new-to-them service, out of fear of the unknown, especially those needing transportation to Chelsea.

The change is due to a lack of funding. The WAVE had been providing services to Stockbridge thanks to funding from Stockbridge Township and a grant through Chelsea Hospital. When the hospital grant ended, Stockbridge Township went to Ingham County to ask for the $50,000 needed to fund the program in the next year but was told CATA was already receiving money to service the area, so, request denied.

CATA/CRS presence in Stockbridge

Many residents at the September meeting expressed concern over never having heard of CATA Rural Service, stating that they could not recall ever seeing a CATA bus in the area. But according to CATA, in the past year, they have provided nearly 400 rides to and from Stockbridge. Clients in Stockbridge have traveled to and from Dansville, Mason, Williamston, Webberville, East Lansing, Okemo, Leslie, and Lansing for school, medical appointments, shopping, and leisure trips.

CATA buses, like the WAVE transportation, provide curb-to-curb services to riders and can assist riders who need help getting to their doors safely. CATA buses are ADA compliant and can accommodate a rider with any type of mobility device.

Of course, CATA is only part of the solution. While transportation services typically define themselves by county, our community often defines itself by the school district. In our area, there are seven townships sitting in four counties, so what happens to those needing transportation to a different, nearby county?

Rides to Chelsea via CATA

The biggest concern that residents had is how they were going to get to their appointments in Chelsea, an area that CATA, which serves Ingham county, had not provided service to in the past. At the meeting, a CATA representative stated that residents would be allowed to transfer to the WAVE and continue their trip from there. But a transfer location had not been set up between the two providers. And, many residents were concerned about their own, or a family members’ ability to transfer from one service to the other, especially in winter.

Since that September meeting, CATA has stated that it will honor all medical trips for those who previously relied on the WAVE to travel between Stockbridge and Chelsea.

However, CATA does not plan to travel regularly into Washtenaw County for nonmedical trips. CATA’s preference is that customers transfer to the WAVE for travel into Chelsea. Both CATA and the WAVE have expressed a willingness to provide transfers from one service to the other, but at the time of this publication, no agreed-upon location has been set. CATA has stated that in the absence of an agreed upon transfer point, it will provide residents rides to Chelsea for essential services like medical appointments and grocery shopping.

Rides to Chelsea via LETS

For those living in Livingston county, transportation is covered by LETS (Livingston Essential Transportation Services). LETS, like the previous WAVE service, offers transportation to anyone traveling within and around their service area regardless of residency.

LETS also travels within a five mile radius  of the county line, which will allow residents in Gregory and other nearby Livingston County locations  to travel to locations in Stockbridge—for example Stockbridge schools—without a transfer to WAVE or CATA. LETS also allows riders to travel outside of the county for medical trips, but will require a transfer for things like grocery shopping. LETS has dedicated staff on hand to help riders book rides requiring transfers and encourages anyone needing a ride outside Livingston County to book a ride as far in advance as possible, up to thirty days.

Stockbridge area is a special case

If all of this seems complicated, that’s because it is. Our community is unique in the number of counties and townships it encompasses, and most transportation services were designed to operate within a county, not a school district. The good news is that CATA, WAVE, and LETS have all stated they plan to work with one another to figure out solutions that will work for everyone.

While the Stockbridge community would love to see a seamless service like the previous WAVE service they enjoyed, which crossed county lines there and back, the alternatives seem to be committed to getting residents where they need to go.

By using the services provided, we as a community can help identify where the gaps are and how they need to be filled, which is the first step to better services and maybe achieving more funding.

• CATA: You can book a ride with CATA in as little as a day in advance by calling 517-394-2282. CATA runs Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Information on fares and a service map can be found at cata.org.
• LETS: To book with LETS, call  517-546-6600. Rides in-county can be made up to two weeks in advance. For those needing trips outside the county, you will be connected with a mobility manager who will help make your trip as smooth as possible. LETS runs Monday through Friday from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and has limited Saturday and Sunday availability. Routes and fares can be found at milivcounty.gov/lets.

Stockbridge Community News will continue to follow this story as it develops. If you have used CATA or LETS to travel and would like to share your experience for a future story, please contact Melissa at melissa@melissamcpherson.com. If you have previously used WAVE and have had to switch to CATA or LETS, we’d love to hear from you as well.