- City and county leaders met Friday morning to discuss a new shuttle transportation system for the NFL Draft in Green Bay.
- The shuttle system features 40 15-passenger vans.
- Vans will operate on six different routes from April 23-27.
- Services will run through 3 a.m. each day.
The NFL Draft is expected to bring in around 250,000 visitors to the area, more than doubling the city's population virtually overnight.
City leaders say more visitors means safety and transportation become a bigger priority.
One solution? A new shuttle system is now in place for next April.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
"We have to do something," Tera Hansen, Brown County Tavern League president, said.
With hundreds of thousands expected to journey to Titletown for April's NFL Draft, the city of Green Bay and Brown County Tavern League are launching a new, temporary shuttle service.
"Free transportation in the greater Green Bay area in an effort to prevent drunk driving and reduce traffic congestion in our community," Don Mjelde, Tavern League of Wisconsin Eastern District vice president, said.
He says the new initiative will support more than 75,000 travelers.
"When I heard about the NFL Draft, (that is) when I decided we have to do something to come up with a solution for rides," Hansen said.
Hansen says she has seen the challenges other draft-host cities have faced in finding rideshare options.
"In some of these other cities, we were hearing that it was six hours to wait for a meal or three hours to wait for a drink. We don't want that," Hansen said.
The shuttle system features 40, 15-passenger vans on six different routes from April 23-27.
All rides will travel from restaurants and retail spots to nearly 40 area hotels.
"We look forward to giving back and making sure that our roads and that our patrons are safe for the Draft," Mjelde said.
Funding for the program will come mainly through the state's Safe Ride program, which provides nearly 4,000 rides home in Brown County annually. Next spring, they'll be much busier.
"We want to have our locals and our visitors enjoy what we have to offer but we want to do it safely," Hansen said.
Officials said they are also looking for drivers. Pay is expected to begin at $20 per hour.
The road maps of each route will be finalized in the coming months.
