“C’mon and take a free ride!”
Anonymous donor pays for "Downtowner Route" rides
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HOUGHTON -- It’ a classic case of “Paying it Forward.” An anonymous donor is providing free rides on one of the more popular routes on the Houghton Public Transit System. At Wednesday’s City Council meeting, Houghton City Manager Eric Waara told the council, an individual, who wished to remain anonymous, has made a donation to the City which would pay for riders on the city’s “Downtowner” route for the next three years. The popular route, which runs every two hours, from 10 a.m. to noon Monday-Friday.
The Route begins at Copper Hills making stops at Arbor Green, Heritage Manor, the City Center, Douglass House, Marketplace Foods, Dollar Tree, Walmart, Aspirus Houghton Clinic and Walgreens.The regular fare for the route is $2 for adults and $1 for seniors and the disabled. Those fees have been waived for three years.
Speaking to the Gazette Thursday, Waara explained how the unique contribution came about. He said the person approached the city asking how much it would cost to provide free rides on the Downtowner route. “This is a popular route used by many senior citizens, particularly those who live in Heritage Manor and the Douglass House,” Waara Said. He and City Treasurer Gail Kotijarvi-Gerard got together and calculated what it would cost to pay for free rides on the Downtowner route. They met with the individual who then agreed to fund the rides for the next three years. “This is a genuinely good individual,” Waara stated. “They had invested well and at this stage of their life, wanted to do some good with what they had.”
Calling the move “Super Cool,” Waara said he would like to see others be inspired by this person’s generosity.”This sure does a lot to restore your faith in humanity,” Waara said. “There should be more people to step forward like this. To see a need and then do something. It’s very cool.”
While the downtowner route is popular among seniors, Waara said the free rides are available to everyone. The city’s on-demand pick-up, which runs from 7 a.m. – 5 p.m Monday-Friday, is not affected by the anonymous donation. For more information on the city’s transit service call 906-482-6092 or visit, cityofhoughton.com/transportation/