Valley Transit (Wisconsin)
Valley Transit is a city bus and paratransit commission operated by the city government of Appleton, Wisconsin. It has operated as a bus system since 1930, and has been fully operated by the city since 1978.
The system operates across the Fox Cities and serves the cities of Appleton, Kaukauna, Menasha, and Neenah, as well as the towns of Buchanan and Grand Chute; and the villages of
Fox Crossing, Darboy, Kimberly, and Little Chute. Through an agreement with the Appleton Area School District, Valley Transit allows all students enrolled in an AASD middle/high school to ride the bus for free during the school year.
History
Public transportation in the area originated with streetcar systems, which operated from 1886 to 1930 when they were completely replaced by buses operated by a company called Fox River Bus Lines. Toward the end of the 1960s, the city began to subsidize the company, until it bought and took over operations on New Year's Day 1978.Routes
Valley Transit's operations consist of 18 fixed bus routes, meaning they begin and end at the same place. In addition, they operate multiple seasonal routes which typically only run a limited number of times daily to connect most of the AASD middle/high schools to the Appleton Transit Center. Valley Transit also operates a paratransit service, which shuttles elderly passengers from their homes to regular-route bus stops and functions much as a taxi service for disabled passengers. The company operates 16 buses between 5:45 AM to 6:45 pm on Weekdays, 15 buses from 7:45 AM to 1:45 PM on Saturdays, with no service on Sundays.| Number | Name | Notes | Map |
| 1 | Midway | — | |
| 2 | Prospect | — | |
| 3 | Mason | — | |
| 4 | Richmond | — | |
| 5 | North Oneida | — | |
| 6 | Meade | Saturdays | |
| 8 | Telulah | No Saturday Service | |
| 9 | The Link | ||
| 11 | East College/Buchanan | No Saturday Service | |
| 12 | Fox Valley Tech | — | |
| 15 | West College | — | |
| 16 | Northeast | No Saturday Service | |
| 19 | Southeast | Saturdays | |
| 20 | Heart of the Valley | — | |
| 30 | Neenah/Menasha | — | |
| 31 | East Neenah | — | |
| 32 | West Neenah | — | |
| 41 | West Fox Valley | — |
Facilities
Terminals
Appleton Transit Center - 100 E Washington St, Appleton, WI 54911 North Transfer Point - Located behind the Northland Ave. Piggly Wiggly Neenah Transit Center - Doty Avenue in front of Neenah City Hall. Routes 31, 32 start and end here, with connections to routes 30 and 41.Storage
Valley Transit Operations Facility - 801 S Whitman Ave, Appleton, WI 54914 is a bus garage and maintenance facility. Valley Transit holds their offices/operations center here.Fleet
As of the last transport development plan released in 2020, Valley Transit operated a total fleet of 33 buses:| Year | Bus type | Amount | Capacity |
| 1994 | Orion V | 2 | 44 |
| 2003 | Orion VII | 5 | 31 |
| 2004 | Orion VII | 15 | 31 |
| 2005 | Orion VII | 4 | 39 |
| 2011 | ARBOC Mobility | 2 | 30 |
| 2017 | ARBOC Mobility | 1 | 30 |
| 2017 | New Flyer Xcelsior | 3 | 58/67 |
| 2018 | New Flyer Xcelsior | 1 | 67 |
Announced in 2018, the older buses were planned be phased out as new buses are purchased, and as of late 2023, the Valley Transit fleet included at least one New Flyer Xcelsior Clean Diesel bus for each route.
The Connector
A shared-ride taxi service operates Monday through Saturday that connects public transit users with jobs. This service requires advance reservations but allows users in remote or newly developed areas of the Fox Cities get to and from work.| Service Mode | Weekday Hours | Saturday Hours |
| Full Trip Service | 4:00 AM – 6:00 AM | 4:00 AM – 8:00 AM |
| Bus Route Feeder Service | 6:00 AM – 6:00 PM | 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM |
| Full Trip Service | 6:00 PM – Midnight | 1:00 PM – Midnight |
Ridership
| Ridership | Change over previous year | |
| 2013 | 1,274,139 | n/a |
| 2014 | 1,271,282 | 0.22% |
| 2015 | 1,249,880 | 1.68% |
| 2016 | 1,191,766 | 4.65% |
| 2017 | 1,146,834 | 3.77% |
| 2018 | 1,159,526 | 1.11% |
| 2019 | 1,112,264 | 4.08% |
| 2020 | 640,194 | 42.44% |
| 2021 | 658,366 | 2.84% |
| 2022 | 737,910 | 12.08% |
| 2023 | 777,302 | 5.34% |