MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Marquette County Transit Authority (MarqTran) is asking for patience this winter, as its services continue to increase.
This fiscal year, local public transportation received a major decrease in state funding. Since 1998, operational coverage from the state has shifted from about 60 percent to now 38 percent. Reports from the authority show more than 600 daily riders on fixed routes throughout Marquette County, giving over 225,000 rides across the past year.
With the growing need for public transportation, and a limited amount of hands on deck, Rich Laurich, head of dispatch at MarqTran, says they will continue to do the best they can with the services they have available.
“We are inundated with people calling for door-to-door rides. As timely as we would like our route busses to be, some things are out of our control whether it be weather, high capacities, or a traffic incident,” he said. “We do not have the bussing available for the county size that we have, but we try to do the best we can with what we have.”
MarqTran also suggests requesting your rides as early as possible, even days in advance, to ensure an available service. That information can be found here.
