Dunn County Transit, in collaboration with the Dunn County Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC), in June is launching Rural Doorstop, a new monthly bus service connecting rural residents to Menomonie.
“We have received a lot of feedback from County Board supervisors and others that we need to expand our transit services in more rural parts of Dunn County, and we have been brainstorming how to do it,” said Austin Witt, Dunn County Transit Commision Manager.
That brainstorming resulted in Rural Doorstop, which begins in June 2025 and aims to improve transportation access for residents in rural Dunn County.
Rural Doorstop will operate on a rotating schedule, offering once-a-month Tuesday pick-up service in each of the county’s four zones that are defined by Highway 29 east and west, and Highway 25 north and south.
Zone 1 (Tainter to Sand Creek) will be picked up the first week of the month; Zone 2 (Elk Mound to Red Cedar) is picked up the second week of the month; Zone 3 (Irvington to Eau Galle) is picked up the third week of the month; and Zone 4 (Connorsville to Knapp) is picked up the fourth week of the month.
Riders will be picked up at their residence between 10 and 11 a.m., with return trips departing Menomonie between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. All buses are wheelchair accessible.
The bus fare is $15 per ride, but rides will be free throughout June and probably longer, Witt said. He explained that the ADRC had funding for its volunteer driver program, which has been unable to attract enough drivers to make it viable. That funding is being used to pay for the Rural Doorstop rides until the assistance runs out.
“We’re excited to bring this new service to our rural communities,” Witt said. “Rural Doorstop is about more than transportation—it’s about connection, independence and access to essential services.”
It isn’t economical to send big buses into the county on a regular schedule because there isn’t enough ridership, Witt said. The county currently operates a similar doorstop service, Demand Response Service, within the rural Menomonie area, but this doesn’t serve the county’s more rural areas like the Rural Doorstop service will.
Riders must call at least one day in advance to schedule their ride. To reserve a seat, contact Dunn County Transit at (715) 235-7433.
For more information, visit https://www.co.dunn.wi.us/transit.
While this is technically a pilot program, Witt said, “there is no reason” the service wouldn’t endure because “we won’t be burning through resources if there is low or no ridership versus the fixed route rural system that was in place a decade ago. If people don’t call, we don’t drive to the rural areas of Dunn County.”
