BRATTLEBORO-The MicroMoo bus service is being discontinued by Southeast Vermont Transit (SEVT), which runs the Holstein-decorated MOOver buses, leaving many people unable to get to and from work during hours when regular buses do not operate.
The MicroMoo bus, launched as a pilot project in April 2024, was running weekdays from 5 to 11 p.m. as an on-demand service as opposed to a fixed route, so that riders could go directly from one point to another within the town.
Its last run is scheduled for June 13. None of the other, more traditional MOOver routes are affected by the decision.
The service did not attract the ridership it anticipated, SEVT Chief Executive Officer Randy Schoonmaker told The Commons in May.
On average, 18 riders used the service each day - 64% less than the projected number of 50, according to a SEVT presentation at a public hearing about the discontinuation in Brattleboro on May 12.
The total cost of running the service for a year was approximately $180,000, according to state Sen. Wendy Harrison, D-Windham, who has taken the issue under her wing.
Originally supported for its launch by the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation via a grant from the Northern Borders Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Dislocated Worker National Reserve Demonstration program, and later with funds from the Thompson Trust and the AOT, the service cost $54 per rider, exceeding the state's limit of $50.
Of that cost, $24,000 was contributed by the town's Human Services Committee, which made it clear at the time that the funding of the local match would be a one-year-only commitment.
But even so, the state Agency of Transportation (AOT, aka Vtrans), which uses federal funding for the buses, has been facing a $1.5 million shortfall and thus required the seven public transit companies that provide bus services to reduce their budgets.
In the end, the SEVT board voted to cut the Brattleboro MicroMoo in March.
"We've gone from an $18 million budget when I was here 15 years ago, to $53 million," Ross MacDonald, the AOT's public transit program manager, told The Commons in May. "We know that there's a lot of service gaps out there. Right now we're working with all the providers to try and find some level of cost savings so that we can make the 2026 budget work.
"We were hoping, when we put the numbers together last year, that the cost curve would be bending downward. But it actually came up a little bit," MacDonald said. "So we knew we'd have to make some cuts to make budget. We're hoping not to make any more cuts, but right now, the cuts that we've made are based on general performance and not entirely because of budget restraints."
Harrison was hoping the town might pick up the bill for the next two years, but this was a tight year for budgeting in Brattleboro and funding the MicroMoo was not high on anyone's list of priorities.
"It didn't have enough ridership right now," Harrison told The Commons. "But it usually takes two or three years for ridership to develop."
'And now it's going away'
For the riders who did use it, the service will be sorely missed.
At the public hearing, Micah Ranquist told SEVT leadership, state officials, and regional planners that he had been using "all the different bus system things" since approximately 2010.
"And this is the first glimmer of hope and a big change, and now it's going away," said Ranquist, who is blind and spoke of the potential of the MicroMoo to restore a degree of independence and dignity.
"I heard from one woman who works as a nighttime janitor who took the MicroMoo and now will have to walk miles just to get to work," Harrison told The Commons. "I talked to another person who cannot drive because she has epilepsy. She depended on the bus.
"For people who can't drive, not having public transportation in the evening essentially keeps them from going to a restaurant or a movie. And businesses benefit from their employees having transportation to night-shift jobs. We need to get the Moover board to support it again."
One rider, Marie-Claire Rose, circulated a petition to keep the MicroMoo van on the road. She garnered 411 signatures.
"I am frustrated that the amount of public interest you were able to show was not enough to make the change at this time," Harrison wrote to Rose after the final closing was announced. "I'll keep looking for ways to extend or resume the service."
Harrison chaired the public hearing on May 12, where Ranquist and other riders spoke about their need for the service. A video of the meeting is available on BCTV.
"There was a good turnout, and the riders explain how important it is in their own words," Harrison wrote to the Selectboard. "I also understand that the service is also used by kids staying after 5 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Club and by refugees residing at SIT."
Public transportation is limited in the Brattleboro area, and the loss of the MicroMoo puts many people at a disadvantage.
And those who developed and championed the service acknowledge that the service deserved more time to find its user base. Several users also voiced frustrations about hiccups and frustrations with the mobile app that the service required.
"Being in this situation reminds us why we need to avoid potentially starting up services that we cannot sustain," MacDonald told the participants at the public hearing.
"There is certainly a place for microtransit in Brattleboro," said Harrison, who sees the service as "beneficial to connect with Amtrak as well as the work rides and social connection that the existing service provides."
"I have not been able to find an alternative source of funding but will continue my pursuit," she said.
Additional reporting by Jeff Potter.
This News item by Joyce Marcel was written for The Commons.