It's the end of the line for the SMRT bus.

The La Crosse County board voted Thursday to discontinue the 14-year-old regional transportation network starting Jan. 1.

Board members and county staff said that although they regret ending what some residents have called their only available transportation, the service proved financially unsustainable.

"I feel it would be very irresponsible … to continue to saddle La Crosse County taxpayers with hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, with no sustainable changes in sight to keep this program operational," said county board member Monica Kruse.

The board will hold a public hearing, as required by state procedure, although the date hasn't yet been determined.

The Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit program serves Vernon, Crawford, Monroe and La Crosse counties.

La Crosse County administers the SMRT program, which leaves it to cover local funding shortfalls. All participating counties have signaled they wouldn't contribute anything to the bus service, which meant La Crosse would've paid about $280,000 in 2027.

Board members have also pointed out that most SMRT bus riders live outside La Crosse County, and questioned why La Crosse should bear sole responsibility for an inter-county service. Ridership has also declined by 27% since 2019, with staff estimating about 29 daily riders in 2025. The daily, county-wide cost is around $37 per rider.

Other board members agreed the system didn't make fiscal sense, but said the county hadn't done enough to provide an alternative for those left behind.

Board member Lia Manock, who voted against the resolution, said she was "incredibly disappointed" to witness the end of the program.

"What I do not accept is us throwing up our hands and saying that we've done everything that we can," Manock said at the meeting. "Because I think everybody in this room recognizes that we have not done that."

Manock called on county staff to implement some of the changes floated by residents and riders in the past, such as implementing better signage, redesigning routes and advertising the program.

Other board members have also expressed interest in investigating alternatives for the county residents who will lose their transportation in 2027.

Although residents shouldn't expect any new public transportation options in the near term, the board will decide in August whether to investigate a "multi-county transit commission" that might fill the gap left by the SMRT.

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