Every time Liz Fryseth uses the bus, she has to walk ¾ of a mile to get to her bus stop.

For Fryseth the bus is a need, not a choice, because she is blind. She is one of the 40% of non-drivers in La Crosse who rely on public transportation in the area.

The La Crosse Area Transit Activists group took part in the national week without driving to raise awareness about the importance of public transportation and how difficult it can be for those who rely on it. During the week, activists encouraged drivers to try a week without driving, or at least a day getting around just using the bus.

The effort came just as the La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility Board plans to review and possibly update its bus routes. A public meeting to discuss the proposals is set to take place from 4-6 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Southside Neighborhood Center.

La Crosse's bus system is based off of a spoke and wheel model, where a hub serves as a primary transfer center and each of the routes radiates from there.

Fryseth said that model is worth re-examining as people's paths have changed and different hubs have formed in the city outside of downtown.

Raising awareness about the critical nature of the system in the region is also a goal for those who oversee it.

“For car riders, be conscious of when you're driving and ask yourself, 'What if I didn't have a car, or what if it broke down, or what if I got into an accident?'” said Alexander McDonough, a new member of the La Crosse MTU board.

He said public transportation is in the community's best interest because everyone will eventually have their “non-driver” moment.

“There are a lot of situations like that where you would be up the creek without a paddle, for lack of a better term, and there's a lot of cases where even if you are a car driver, it is in your interest to have better public transportation,” McDonough said. “I heard a story of somebody dropping their mom off at the hospital, and they had to go do something, and they couldn't pick them up, so they took the bus home.”

A ride on the MTU bus costs an adult $1.50 cash, or $35 for a whole month, according to its website.

The Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit bus connects towns in the Driftless Area including in La Crosse, Vernon, Monroe and Crawford counties. The SMRT will stop operations on New Year’s Eve because of funding issues and low ridership. McDonough said he knows people who will now be stranded and have to rely on friends and family to get where they need to go.

He believes public transportation is cost efficient, but people don’t always look at it that way because of the up-front cost. Buying a car has an expensive sunk cost and over time will have more costs incurring because of the normal wear and tear of the vehicle.

After buying, cars immediately depreciate in value. According to an article from Direct Car Buying, car depreciation averages around eight cents per mile.

Andrew Erickson, another member of the MTU board, has been carless by choice for years. He said getting around can be a logistical nightmare, and noted that as a cyclist it can be unsafe.

“Cars are a great invention and they’re not going away but the quality of other transportation is not good enough,” Erickson said.

While there are issues with the transportation in La Crosse it is actually one of the better systems, Cathy Maren, a transportation activist said. Fryseth also agreed and said the bus app is fairly accessible.

Maren said La Crosse is one of the few places in Wisconsin with a bus system that operates on Sunday.

There are still issues with the system, like the distance Fryseth has to walk to her bus stop. She said she has noticed there are sections of the city that are underserved but she hopes new bus routes will change that.

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