Public-Transit Ridership on the Rise in Door County

Ridership is on the rise – “significantly,” said Pam Busch, director of the County of Door’s public-transit service, while giving her December report to the county’s Administrative Committee.

The service includes Door 2 Door Rides (D2D), a shared-ride taxi service for the whole county; and Door County Connect (DCC), which provides rides Monday-Friday throughout the City of Sturgeon Bay and an extended area. 

D2D provided 32,052 rides through October 2022, exceeding the 32,393 rides for the same time period in 2021. The number of DCC rides (3,359) through November was also higher than in 2021 (2,627), but they still hadn’t rebounded from the 2019 high of 6,100 trips before the pandemic hammered the transportation service. Of those who use DCC, 34.18% used it for employment.

“A number of our riders who use us for employment are younger employees who do not drive,” Busch said. 

Other uses for DCC were for medical services (21.23%), personal reasons and shopping (18.26%), and education (26.33%). The education number is up from 4.2% in January.

“We are partnering with the Boys & Girls Club and Sevastopol School to be a connection for youth from the Nightingale bus stop to the club

Monday-Thursday,” Busch explained about the education increase.