Effective Thursday, December 1, 2022, the city’s shared-ride taxi service will be shut down indefinitely.
Today will be the last day Black River Falls Public transit operates until further notice. The shared ride taxi service will not be available beginning Thursday, December 1, 2022.
The City of Black River Falls had been verbally notified by the company that operates the Black River Falls Public Transit share-ride taxi service, Mobility Transformation, Inc. (MTI), that they would be ceasing all operations and the company would be completely dissolved as of December 31, 2022. While the City of Black River Falls has not received any communications or official notifications that would indicate plans to stop operations before the end of the year, MTI has notified their Black River Falls staff that they will be ceasing operations in Black River Falls effective December 1, 2022.
Following the verbal notification from MTI on November 15, 2022, City officials immediately reached out to the company that operated the taxi service previously, FDS Enterprises, to solicit their assistance in operating Black River Falls Public Transit at least until the City could navigate through the federal procurement process to secure a new vendor. FDS Enterprises agreed to negotiate with MTI to purchase the company in an effort to continue uninterrupted taxi service to the community. FDS Enterprises advised the city that a tentative agreement had been reached, but unfortunately they have not received a written agreement from MTI.
In light of this situation, the Black River Falls Common Council will be discussing the sustainability of a shared ride taxi service going forward. The next Common Council meeting will be on Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at 6:00pm at City Hall located at 101 S. Second Street. All interested parties are urged to attend.
In addition, a public hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday, December 21, 2022 to consider increasing all fares and mileage fees for the shared-ride taxi service. The public hearing will begin at 6:00pm at City Hall located at 101 S. Second Street. All interested parties are urged to attend.
The closing of the city’s shared-ride taxi service will undoubtedly cause inconveniences for many residents and create additional pressure on others that provide transportation services. The city appreciates county and local organizations that will bear this burden and for their tireless efforts to meet the transportation needs in our community.