 - The Wind River Transportation Authority has received a $244,000 grant from the state to help support public transportation operations in Fremont County this year.){kind=link}
(Riverton, WY) – The Wind River Transportation Authority has received a $244,000 grant from the state to help support public transportation operations in Fremont County this year.
The funding came from Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon’s Infrastructure Matching Funds program, and it will help “unlock” almost $978,000 in federal transit funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act/Federal Transit Administration Section 5311 Rural Public Transit Program, WRTA Director Tim Nichols said last month.
“To put this in perspective, WRTA’s total local match requirement for just its Operating grant (5311) is $439,024,” Nichols said. “The Governor’s award is a critical piece (one we are incredibly thankful for), covering just over half of that need.”
Nichols also expressed gratitude to the City of Riverton for committing $42,000 toward the WRTA’s local match requirement this year – but he pointed out that, “even with these contributions, we still have a gap to fill,” amounting to almost $153,000 for fiscal year 2026.
“We’re going to be continuing to put some irons in the fire to see if we can’t fill that (gap) through other means, rather than any additional local government subsidization,” Nichols said.
Long-term sustainability
The WRTA team has done “incredible work” this year, turning over every single rock” to find funding to replace the revenues the agency lost when Fremont County’s half percent sales tax for economic development failed last year, Nichols said – but despite their efforts, “ongoing local support remains essential to keep services stable.”
It’s too soon to know what that local support might look like, he noted, but WRTA has been working with the Community Transportation Association of America to explore “as many different funding opportunities as we can.”
“Soon … we should be engaging in a pretty comprehensive study where WRTA is going to be used as kind of a model (to) evaluate different sustainability options,” he said.
In addition, the Fremont County Association of Governments recently formed a local committee to explore funding options to support “key” local services, including public transportation – but that group has focused its attention on the local ambulance system for now.
Senior center
Nichols said it’s “worth mentioning” that WRTA’s new partnership with the Riverton Senior Center was a “key factor” in obtaining the recent grant award from the state.
“That collaboration was central to the grant’s strength and will be critical to the successful implementation of an integrated service model for the community,” he said. “I see this award as an indication of strong support for that kind of cooperative approach, one that makes more efficient use of federal dollars and delivers better service as a result.
“As we look to the future, this is a prime example of how we are stronger together than separate.”
For more information, call (307) 856-WRTA.