MONROE - The City of Monroe will see a minibus traveling its streets this fall, one capable of accommodating several wheelchairs at a time.
The city received the minibus, leased without cost, from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and will use it for general public transportation in its Share Ride Taxi service operated by the Brown Cab company in Monroe.
Brown Cab will add the vehicle to its present fleet and assume the cost of operating and maintaining it. The bus is expected to last about two to three years.
Carol Stamm, city clerk, said the addition of the minibus will help the city's transportation service run more efficiently, because the service is currently able to handle only one wheelchair at a time.
The bus, a 2004 Ford, was originally purchased with federal funds for the special transportation needs of disabled or elderly individuals, and was awarded through a grant to Care Wisconsin, Inc., Madison. Care Wisconsin has been scheduling lay-offs through the year, with the latest layoff of 30 people in October, announced August 14. The DOT made the Care Wisconsin busses available to other Wisconsin municipalities.
The city received the minibus, leased without cost, from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and will use it for general public transportation in its Share Ride Taxi service operated by the Brown Cab company in Monroe.
Brown Cab will add the vehicle to its present fleet and assume the cost of operating and maintaining it. The bus is expected to last about two to three years.
Carol Stamm, city clerk, said the addition of the minibus will help the city's transportation service run more efficiently, because the service is currently able to handle only one wheelchair at a time.
The bus, a 2004 Ford, was originally purchased with federal funds for the special transportation needs of disabled or elderly individuals, and was awarded through a grant to Care Wisconsin, Inc., Madison. Care Wisconsin has been scheduling lay-offs through the year, with the latest layoff of 30 people in October, announced August 14. The DOT made the Care Wisconsin busses available to other Wisconsin municipalities.