Chelsea Weighs WAVE Service Costs

Chelsea City Council discussed the proposed budget for Washtenaw Area Value Express (WAVE) services in the city at the May 4 meeting, ultimately tabling a decision for the next regular council meeting. To continue providing transportation in the city at a slight reduction, the city would need to budget a total of $180,000 for services.

Budget Issues

According to Marie Gress, WAVE’s presenter at the May 4 meeting, the increased cost of services comes from a need for long-term sustainability.

“Part of the reason that our budget was balanced last fiscal year and this fiscal year was the amount of grants that we were able to bring in from outside,” she said. “And a lot of grant opportunities aren’t available to nonprofits year after year after year, right? Foundations don’t want to be the sustaining source.”

Possible Solutions

WAVE currently provides Door-to-Door service Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. In addition, WAVE operates two fixed routes in Chelsea: the Community Connector, which serves Chelsea, Dexter, and Scio Township, and the Chelsea Community Ride, which provides service throughout Chelsea. Both run 7 days a week. Weekend Late Night Service is separately sponsored by the Chelsea DDA and local businesses during the summer months and is scheduled to resume in June 2026. Data provided by WAVE at the meeting showed morning usage was significantly higher than evening usage.

“In the the seven to eight hour and eight to nine hour ridership day to day was in the dozens, maybe,” council member Felix Stump said. “I don’t have the right in front of me, but in the 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. hour, it was much higher, like several 100 for the week.”

One of the proposed options for reducing costs included changing Chelsea’s service hours to 7 a.m. – 7 p.m., however the exact hours could be up for negotiation. According to council member Jacquelyn Bullerman, these twelve hours make up over 90% of ridership during Monday through Friday.

Bullerman also proposed increasing fares for riders. According to Gress, the option is currently being discussed, but it is not an immediate solution for Chelsea’s services.

Council decided to discuss further funding and grant options before their next meeting on May 18.