ABOUT SHASTA ANGELL:
Shasta Angell serves as the Community Relations Coordinator at Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express (WAVE), where her passion for community engagement and strategic communication shines. With a keen understanding of the local landscape, Shasta fosters meaningful connections between WAVE and the communities it serves. Her role involves orchestrating initiatives that strengthen community ties and enhance the overall impact of WAVE's services. Shasta's dedication to building bridges and fostering collaboration makes her an invaluable asset, ensuring that WAVE remains a vital part of the fabric of Western Washtenaw County.
RESOURCES:
Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express (WAVE)
TRANSCRIPTION:
David Fair: This is 89 one WEMU, and welcome to our weekly exploration of equity and opportunity in our community. I'm David Fair, and this is Washtenaw United. And today, we're going to look at enhancing equity and opportunity through transportation assistance. Have you heard of WAVE? That stands for Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express. This is a service that provides and covers some of the county's most vulnerable and those with lesser access. We're going to learn more about WAVE today from Shasta Angell. She is WAVE's community relations coordinator. And I'm glad we could connect today, Shasta!
Shasta Angell: I am so glad, too! Thank you very much!
David Fair: Well, how do you define the mission of WAVE?
Shasta Angell: So, WAVE's mission is to provide all--for anybody in the western Washtenaw area, that's traveler's residence. And we take them anywhere in Washtenaw County. A big portion of our service is door-to-door. For that reason, we pick people up no matter where they are in the townships we cover, even on dirt roads and take them anywhere they need to go in the county.
David Fair: And the western portion of the county does tend to be more rural and more remote.
Shasta Angell: Yes, we cover a lot of rural areas, small villages, where we have had stops in some of them in the past, and the people that just could not get to them because the majority of the people do not live within the limits--the village limits.
David Fair: Primarily, WAVE is offering specialized transportation services to seniors and those with disabilities. We are, throughout the United States, an aging population, and that is certainly occurring right here in our community. Are you seeing more demand for transportation services?
Shasta Angell: We are. Our group--our organization--started in 1976 for seniors and people with disabilities and now provides rides to everybody. And across all people, the need for rides is going up. Teenagers are not driving now until their 20s. The senior population is supposed to, like, double within the next few years.
David Fair: Right.
Shasta Angell: So, all of these populations are growing, and they need the transportation.
David Fair: So, there are a lot of transportation options available in Washtenaw County, whether it's Uber, Lyft, taxis or the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, but it doesn't cover everywhere. So, how do you identify the underserved areas and populations and then tailor those services on an individual basis?
Shasta Angell: So, how it works is our rides are provided in the West Washtenaw area. We actually cover the area between JADA--Jackson Area Transportation Authority--and Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority. So, we are public transportation. We just cover the area in between that they don't. We even go slightly into Jackson County, Livingston, Lenawee and then the western Washtenaw area. And that's how we have found needs. People have come to us, like for Grass Lake, we just expanded into. People told us their needs. We did surveys. I was out there meeting with the residents getting surveys filled out. And we saw the need. We worked with Jackson, and that's why we're out there now. A lot of it is evaluations and people coming to us. But then, myself as the community relations coordinator, I go out in these communities and find the needs and see what people are looking for and then bring them back to our team.
David Fair: We are talking with Shasta Angell from the Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express, or WAVE, right here on 89 one WEMU's Washtenaw United. Now, in the people that you serve, I imagine some of the need is critical, be it medical services or medical appointments and such. Through the years, as you've been out in the community and identifying need, I imagine you've heard a number of stories that end happily, both for you, your staff and those you are serving. Do you have a story that stands out about why this is such a critical service?
Shasta Angell: Actually, yes. I was at the Manchester Farmer's Market this summer, and a woman came up to my table. And she said that we've saved her mother's life. And what happened was, years ago, her mother needed dialysis. Neither her or her siblings or anywhere around, they cannot find someone that could take her to her appointments for dialysis. WAVE was the only one that did. The doctors are saying she would only live months, and the woman lived for years.
David Fair: How gratifying that must be!
Shasta Angell: Yes, I mean, it is. I mean, every time I set up, I can tell you right now, every time I set up in communities to tell them about the bus, I almost cry every time. I have people who share stories. I have people that when I tell them about our service, literally, I had people who have ran up and hugged me and started crying in my table because the relief they had because now they can make it to work. They can make it to their medical appointments. They get the treatments they need. One woman, her license got taken away because she's older. She can't drive anymore. She never thought she'd see her brother, who lives in a senior home in Ann Arbor, and she just found out she still can go do her biweekly visits with them and still see her brother. And it's amazing!
David Fair: I think you were about to touch on it before I so rudely interrupted you. But you're not only preserving relationships for some family members, as you just mentioned, but you're seeing the creation of relationships between driver and those they're serving, right?
Shasta Angell: Yes. My first day at WAVE, I was riding the bus for half my shift for four hours, and it amazed me because I've used public transportation for years. I've lived in Ann Arbor, and I loved seeing the driver. The drivers can tell me stories about people they gave roads to years ago that may not even be here anymore. And that day, I watched how that driver knew everybody getting on. And even if she didn't, she always greeted them. And, yes, our drivers have relationships with the people that ride with us. They make sure they know their names when they pick them up. They can greet them and treat them as a person.
David Fair: How do those relationships and the service being provided--how does that work in concert to enhance access to equity and opportunity through the western portion of the county?
Shasta Angell: So, building relationships helps on many different levels. One, riders feel more comfortable using this service and use it more often like they use it when they need it because they do feel comfortable with the drivers and the relationships they build. But also, the riders will refer us to people. And people are more welcoming to have us in their area to help those that need the service because we do want to build relationships, and we do want to help people.
David Fair: WEMU's Washtenaw United conversation with Shasta Angell continues. Shasta is community relations coordinator for the Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express, or WAVE. For those you serve, Shasta, many are on fixed incomes or disability, how do you ensure that the service remains accessible with skyrocketing cost of living?
Shasta Angell: WAVE gets funding to state and federal through many grants, local municipalities like Chelsea Hospital, the Chelsea Retirement Community, the Willis Family Foundation, many local businesses, organizations and families do support this. WAVE has very low fares for the door-to-door. Anywhere in our coverage area is only a dollar to ride one way. And then, it's $5 to ride in the rest of Washtenaw County. But then, to help more, we give 50% discounts to seniors, people with disabilities, students K-12 and low-income. They all get 50% off. We charge one fare per group, so if there's six people at a home for door-to-door, they only pay one fare. They do not pay per person.
David Fair: Are those low fares going to be sustainable, given how grant funding works and how partnerships work? Are you set for the future and a growing population that you're serving?
Shasta Angell: Yes, we are constantly looking for new grants and new funding opportunities, so we can keep these fares where our riders need them, so they can get to all the services they need for their life. So, we do continue to find and look for more and more funding, but, at this time, they are covered.
David Fair: So, in 2024, as you explained, you expanded the territory you cover. You added 9000 additional rides. What will it take financially to allow for further expansion as the community continues to grow older and the need continues to grow further?
Shasta Angell: We need to continue to find other funding opportunities. It's a large amount at this point. But because the problems we are facing is the growing population, more people needing rides, more areas needing them, but also a reduction in funding. Our state funding goes down every year. They just reduced the funding more this year for us. So, some of the funding is going down. We need to find new funding sources for those reasons.
David Fair: And for those who have not taken advantage of the services available, and they want to access them, what is the best way to work out a relationship and a service agreement with WAVE?
Shasta Angell: So, booking a ride with WAVE is very easy. They can call our number: (734) 475-9494. They can email book.my.ride@wavebus.org. They just send the information, and our dispatchers will book them in and call them or email them back to let them know the ride is booked, or Ridepingo is our new app, which has really helped us with efficiency in the booking of the rides. And we also do rideshares, so we can get more rides at one time because our door-to-door is done with the vans and busses. So, any of those ways is how they can book. Our schedule--we do have three fixed routes that are in Chelsea, Dexter and Scio Township. Two of them meet up with AAATA bus number 30. Those schedules are posted throughout communities, but they are also on our website, ridethewavebus.org.
David Fair: So, there's a lot of options and a lot of accessibility. And again, this is a service that is going to grow over time. Thank you for what you're doing! And thank you for sharing the story today! I appreciate it!
Shasta Angell: Thank you very much for having us on the radio today!
David Fair: That is Shasta Angell. She is community relations coordinator for Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express or, as we've explained, better known as WAVE. For more information on WAVE, pay a visit to our website at wemu.org, and we'll get you connected everywhere you need to go. Washtenaw United is produced in partnership with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, and you hear it every Monday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89 one WEMU FM, Ypsilanti.
WEMU has partnered with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to explore the people, organizations, and institutions creating opportunity and equity in our area. And, as part of this ongoing series, you’ll also hear from the people benefiting and growing from the investments being made in the areas of our community where there are gaps in available services. It is a community voice. It is 'Washtenaw United.'
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
