Bay Area Rural Transit

Bay Area Rural Transit
Founded	1981
Headquarters	2216 6th St. E., Ashland, WI
Locale	Ashland County and Bayfield County, Wisconsin
Service type	bus service, paratransit
Routes	14
Fleet	24
Annual ridership	88,599 (2022)
Website	http://www.bartbus.com/

Bay Area Rural Transit is a public transportation system in Ashland County, Bayfield County and Price County, Wisconsin.

History[edit]

In 1980 a group of individuals determined to find a solution to the transportation needs of area residents, researched ways to establish a transit system that would help people get back and forth to work. With the help of some very determined area leaders and a representative from the Department of Transportation, Bay Area Rural Transit was born in 1981. ^[2]

In 1981 Bay Area Rural Transit first began with only two Routes, Route 1 (Red Cliff to Ashland) and Route 2 (Ashland to Odanah).
In 2006 BART took over operations for the Washburn Blue Goose.
In 2009 BART added Route 8 (City of Ashland) and Route 6 (Mellen) services.
In the Summer of 2013, BART moved into its new building at 2216 East 6th Street.
In 2016 BART began its first service in Price County with Route 11 (Park Falls).
In 2018 BART expanded service to Price County with Route 12 (Phillips).
In 2019 BART started Route 7. This route operates three times a day on Tuesdays between Ashland and Prentice servicing all of the communities in between on the Highway 13 corridor.
In 2020 BART expanded service in Price County with Routes 16 and 17. These routes operate Monday through Saturday and travel between Phillips/Park Falls and Minocqua.
In 2020 BART began its first service in Iron County with Routes 18 and 19. Route 18 operates on Tuesdays and travels between Hurley and Bad River. Route 19 operates on Wednesdays and travels between Hurley and Woodruff.

Services[edit]

The transit system currently operates twelve routes, which run as follows:

Route 1: Bad River-Red Cliff, Monday-Friday
Route 2: Red Cliff-Bad River, Monday-Friday
Route 3: Ashland-Red Cliff-Ashland, Saturday
Route 4: "Blue Goose" Demand Response, Monday-Friday
Route 6: Mellen-Ashland-Mellen, Monday, Thursday
Route 8: Ashland City, Demand Response, Monday-Friday
Route 9: Glidden-Park Falls-Glidden, Demand Response, Monday-Friday
Route 10: Glidden-Mellen-Glidden, Demand Response, Monday-Friday
Route 11: Park Falls-Phillips, Demand Response, Monday-Saturday
Route 12: Phillips-Park Falls, Demand Response, Monday-Saturday
Route 16: Phillips-Minocqua-Phillips, Demand Response, Monday-Friday
Route 17: Phillips-Minocqua-Phillips, Demand Response, Saturday
Route 18: Hurley, Canceled
Route 19: Hurley, Canceled

Communities Served[edit]

Ridership[edit]


	Ridership	Change over previous year
2014^[3]	152,074	n/a
2015^[4]	139,601	08.2%
2016^[5]	133,625	04.28%
2017^[6]	140,341	05.03%
2018^[7]	124,367	011.38%
2019^[8]	136,981	010.14%
2020^[9]	124,022	09.46%
2021^[10]	75,804	038.88%
2022^[11]	88,599	016.88%

References[edit]

^ "2020 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved November 12, 2023.
^ "BART History".
^ "2014 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2022.
^ "2015 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2022.
^ "2016 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2022.
^ "2017 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2022.
^ "2018 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2022.
^ "2019 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2022.
^ "2020 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2022.
^ "2021 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved February 5, 2023.
^ "2022 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved November 12, 2023.

External links[edit]

"BAY AREA RURAL TRANSIT". BAY AREA RURAL TRANSIT.

46°35′58″N 90°51′11″W / 46.59944°N 90.85306°W / 46.59944; -90.85306

[1] "2020 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved November 12, 2023.

[2] "BART History".

[3] "2014 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2022.

[4] "2015 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2022.

[5] "2016 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2022.

[6] "2017 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2022.

[7] "2018 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2022.

[8] "2019 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2022.

[9] "2020 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2022.

[10] "2021 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved February 5, 2023.

[11] "2022 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved November 12, 2023.

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v t e Public transit in Wisconsin
Statewide	Amtrak Empire Builder Hiawatha Service TCMC (2024 Badger Bus Coach USA Greyhound Lines Indian Trails Jefferson Lines Lamers Bus Lines Van Galder Bus Company Wisconsin Coach Lines List of intercity bus stops in Wisconsin
Southeast Wisconsin	The Hop Kenosha Area Transit Kenosha Streetcar KRM Commuter Link (Proposed) Metra Union Pacific North Line Milwaukee County Transit System MCTS Connect Ryde Racine Washington County Commuter Express (defunct) Waukesha Metro Transit Western Kenosha County Transit
Northeast Wisconsin	Fond du Lac Area Transit GO Transit Green Bay Metro Langlade County Public Transit Maritime Metro Transit Shoreline Metro Valley Transit
Northwest Wisconsin	Bay Area Rural Transit Duluth Transit Authority Dunn County Transit Eau Claire Transit Metro Ride Namekagon Transit Stevens Point Transit
Southwest Wisconsin	Beloit Transit Janesville Transit System La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility Madison Metro Transit Monona Express Platteville Public Transportation Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit
Transportation in Wisconsin