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.
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