Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

January 19, 2011, Front Page

Contact: Dolores Mohr Kenyon

Clark County Taxi now available

Clark County Social Services Director Ronald Schmidt (l) shakes hands with Neillsville Mayor Dewey Poeschel Monday, Jan. 10, 2011, in front of an Abby Vans vehicle.  Social Services partnered with the city to start the Clark County Taxi, which is available to all County residents.  Abby Vans was contracted to provide the taxi. (Photo by Peter Spicer/Clark County Press)

By Peter Spicer

The Clark County Taxi is a service now available to all Clark County residents, allowing residents to go where they need to.

The city of Neillsville partnered with Clark County Social Services, which runs the service, said Pam Kernan, Clark County Social Services supervisor and business office manager, who added, the project received federal funding.

The Clark County Transportation Coordination Plan was developed in March 2009. After a Clark County Board of Supervisors’ resolution was approved, a Transportation Coordination Committee was developed to include a broad base of stakeholders, including Clark County Board members, Social Services, Aging, Veteran, Disabled Advocates, Aging Advocates, Family Care and any interested public or private party.

Committee members meet monthly to work on strategies developed in the plan; this project is one of the strategies to increase Clark County Public and specialized transportation services.

Clark County participated in a regional survey; the Aging Department also completed a survey.  Both surveys identified a lack of basic services within Clark County’s small communities and lack of public transportation throughout Clark County.

Social Services then presented information about the Clark County Taxi to the Neillsville Common Council at a 2010 meeting; Neillsville Mayor Dewey Poeschel supported the partnership.

The committee presented information about expanding the Neillsville Taxi to include all of Clark County. The city of Neillsville invited Clark County Department of Social Services and Department of Aging representatives to provide a presentation to the city of Neillsville’s Transit Committee to inform the committee about the identified gaps in transportation services throughout Clark County. 

The overall idea to expend the program – to secure federal funding through a 5311 Grant using the same match money used for the state funded s.85.21 – reduces the cost of transportation to less than one-third the cost of using a volunteer driver. The American Automobile Association recently announced the cost of transportation is $1.00 per mile.

The Transit Committee and Neillsville Common Council unanimously approved the expansion of the Section 5311 federal funding to include the Clark County demonstration project to meet the identified gaps in transportation and support the current efforts of Clark County’s Transportation Coordination Committee.

Neillsville completes administrative work for the Clark County Taxi, said Kernan.

The Clark County Taxi began providing services Monday, Jan. 3, 2011.

The Clark County Taxi received funding for a van, which will be available in a different County “zone” each day to transport County residents to neighboring locations within the County, said Kernan.

The van, which was contracted by Abby Vans, can transport three individuals and one handicapped individual at one time, explained Kernan.

Transportation services are available to all Clark County residents for any reason, including medical appointments, pharmacy needs, nutrition services, shopping, beauty shops, bank visits and visiting friends and loved ones.

The taxi also does parcel delivery.  Discounted rates are available for elderly and disabled riders. The Clark County taxi will serve Greenwood, Withee, Thorp, Stanley and Owen Mondays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.  The taxi will serve Greenwood, Loyal, Spencer, Unity, Colby, Abbotsford, Dorchester, Curtiss, Owen and Withee Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The Taxi will serve Neillsville, Granton, Spencer, Loyal and Greenwood Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The cost is $5 for adults, $3 for senior citizens, ages 60 and older, $3 for disabled citizens, $3 for children under age 18 (first child under 5 is free; those under age five need an attendant), $5 for parcel delivery and $2 per individual stop in town.

To schedule a ride, call 715-743-3364 or 1-800-236-843 

“This program is going to be beneficial to many individuals without transportation in Clark County,” said Poeschel.  “It was a pleasure to work with the Department of Social Services and Mark Jones of Abby Vans to help coordinate and implement this plan.”