BROOKINGS — The buses of the Brookings Area Transit Authority have been busily ferrying young and old around town for years — and now BATA has driven itself to new heights of excellence, being named South Dakota Transit Agency of the Year by the Dakota Transit Association.

“We won the big award, yeah — I mean, it’s a team effort,” Travis Bortnem, BATA executive director, said. “I don’t know — to me it’s a better feeling to see the drivers win something. I mean the agency itself is good. We’ve gone through a lot of changes over the last few years, so it’s good to get some recognition out of that, too.”

BATA has been honored in the past as Innovative Agency of the Year and has witnessed several employees receive Driver of the Year accolades. However, this is the first time BATA has been selected for the top honor — and it almost didn’t even submit an application.

“Our mobility manager Kristine Madsen was like, 'Hey these awards have to go in.' And I was like, 'Knock your socks off — you write it up, and we’ll submit it,'" Bortnem said. “The nomination was a lot about change and adapting to it. You know, we’ve had a change in leadership and change in facilities … and yet still providing the great service that we do. So it’s good that it’s not just words coming out of my mouth — it’s like my other managers feeling the same way as I do. That’s kind of what means the most to me.”

Bortnem started off as BATA’s resource development director. When previous executive director Brenda Schweitzer resigned in 2022 after 17 years steering the agency, he stepped into the lead role and has been guiding BATA through continued expansion.

“The biggest change is just facility-wise, we went from the old county highway department grounds — I mean we’re still there, but we’re basically using that as a place to wash buses. We’ve got the old Falcon Plastics building out on Western Avenue, but we’re trying to get that remodeled,” Bortnem said. “I want to say we started back in May probably, and we finally had some concrete coming in … so we’re getting there. It’ll just be nice to get our vehicles in house, under a roof instead of sitting out in the parking lot.”

They’ve been busy with more than just construction and remodeling. BATA now provides more rides than ever. Bortnem estimates BATA ridership for 2024 should total about 150,000. He said when he started at BATA 11 years ago, their total yearly ridership stood at roughly 118,000. 

Other transit agencies around the country haven’t been so lucky.

“In the big cities, they’re just struggling — because they don’t get the ridership that they used to, and they’re probably bleeding millions of dollars,” Bortnem said. “That comes with people working at home — you know, they don’t have that commute anymore. We’re pretty fortunate in Brookings in that we have a lot of youth that ride the bus, and we have … a pretty even mix in Brookings to keep us busy.”

BATA employs 40 people and fields a fleet of 29 buses. They also provide administrative services as the umbrella organization for agencies in Dell Rapids and Freeman; and they’re busily expanding in all three locations.

“I’ve got four buses coming December, January — and then I’ve got two more in February. We’ll be getting rid of a couple, but we are going to expand the fleet a bit just so we have some spares,” Bortnem said. “Dell Rapids is just — they’ve got like three weeks left on their bus garage, and they’ll have their place to call home instead of sitting outside the city shop. And then Freeman, we’re working on getting a building for them too — maybe this fall.”

He said receiving a trophy is great, but the real reward is knowing they’re helping local people find solutions to transportation needs.

“There’s a lot of people that just don’t have the options for transportation — you know, whether it’s an elderly person trying to get to a medical appointment or it’s a young kid going to school,” Bortnem said. “With parents, I’ve been in that position where my kids were home alone, getting up by themselves because my wife and I were working. They’d get up and walk to school on their own. We didn’t know BATA existed, and we didn’t have the option to leave — you’ve got to have the right job to be able to leave work and be able to take your kids to school. Not many people actually have that flexibility. So we get those kids to school safely every day. That’s probably 40 to 45,000 rides a year is just school kids getting to school and parents staying  actively employed and working. It’s good for the employers, it’s good for the employees, it’s good for the community.”

He wants BATA to continue doing just that — simply serving the community, providing rides where and when needed. 

“We don’t want to be a secret. And public transit doesn’t always work for everybody. We give up a little bit of time and a little bit of convenience for a low-cost transportation option,” Bortnem said. “You might ride with somebody else, and you might have to get picked up a half-hour before you need to really be somewhere … But it’s just a good safe option for everybody to be able to use. And we’re there for everybody — it’s not just for kids, it’s not just for the elderly or disabled, it’s for everybody.”

Email Jay Roe at jroe@brookingsregister.com.