Faulkton’s New Transit System Continues to Help Local Community with Transportation Needs

Faulkton’s new transit system has been providing affordable transportation for local residents for over three months now and is proving very popular with local citizens. On August 30, 2019, the city of Faulkton saw the implementation of a new transit system for local residents. The idea for a new transit system was created by the Quality of Life Committee a subcommittee of the Faulkton Economic Development Corporation and has since formed a transit-specific committee called the Faulk County Community Transit Authority. This committee will be in charge of all of the details of the transit system project moving forward.

The decision to create this transit system came from several people in the community, starting with a series of public meetings.  The Economic Development group also conducted a public survey and found that local Faulkton citizens, as well as other county members, were excited about a new transit system.

“This service has been  needed for years.” – Trevor Cramer (Faulkton Area Economic Development Director)

So far, the new transit system has helped the elderly get to critical medical appointments, do their shopping, and aids them in giving them transportation to and from recreational events. Children are also utilizing the transit system as a way to get to and from school and other places safely. Parents have already expressed their gratitude to the town because their children now have a safe way to travel around town that the parents feel secure about.

“People are really happy to have the transit and want to make sure it never goes away.” - Local Faulkton Citizen

The bus also makes runs to and from the 5 daycare centers located in Faulkton and takes young riders daily. The school has taken advantage of this new system to bring children to other buildings safely, the library, and on other field trips.

“Kids are very excited about the program and are a lot of fun to transport.” - Transit Driver

Future plans of the transit system include multiple buses that will be able to drop off and pick up residents throughout the county and serve all of its communities.  They also hope to expand its transit services to riders who are on Medicaid. This would provide Medicaid riders with financial assistance because Medicaid would pay 100% of the bill for qualified riders. 

The goal of the public transit system as a whole is always to provide the most efficient and safe form of transportation possible. There are a lot of rules and regulations that need to be followed in transit, but people need to know the rules are there for a reason. They are there for them. The vehicles will eventually have cameras, push-to-talk radios, and a computer on board. All of the devices are for the protection of the drivers and the transit riders and to assist with helping provide the safest, most efficient and affordable means of transportation.

The transit system runs Mondays through Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 6 o’clock p.m. and will take passengers anywhere in the town of Faulkton. Passengers who would like to be picked up by the bus need to call 605-228-7938 the day before they would like a ride. The bus will take passengers anywhere in the town of Faulkton for a $1.00 pick up fee. The bus only accepts tokens or punch cards, which can be purchased in advance from the bus drivers, the city office, or the school.

The town of Faulkton welcomes all residents to take advantage of this new transit system!