Merrill-Go-Round celebrates 50 years of innovative community transportation

The Merrill-Go-Round, the staple of public transportation in Merrill, celebrated its 50th anniversary on Monday, April 21, 2025, with Mayor Steve Hass and other local dignitaries boarding the bus for a commemorative ride along the original route.
“I want to thank everyone for coming,” said Mayor Hass prior to boarding the bus for the ride. “This is the day of the 50th anniversary of the Merrill-Go-Round in the city of Merrill. ... That’s a feat ... We’re doing door-to-door pickup five days a week.” He noted few cities offer that kind of service.
The celebration included Mike Ravn, who along with Joanne (Sazama) Andress, won the naming contest for the bus service back in 1975. While Andress was unable to attend, Ravn shared his thoughts on Merrill’s transportation legacy.

At the cutting edge of public transportation
“Merrill’s been at the cutting edge of transportation, this little city of Merrill,” said Ravn. “There was a little blurb that we were the second city in the state of Wisconsin that had trolley service. And I think we were one of the first, if not the second or third, that did this deviated bus route.”

Merrill has a long history of being an innovator in public transportation. In 1890, Merrill became the second city in Wisconsin, after Appleton, to offer trolley service to residents. At that time, service was provided via a system of steel rails embedded into the streets, with electricity supplied via an overhead wire that made contact with the trolley car by way of a long spring-loaded pole on the roof of the trolley (also called a streetcar) via a small wheel or slider, to conduct electricity into the motor of the trolley.
One of the first in the country and first in the state to innovate on rubber tires
But Merrill has been making headlines transporting residents via bus-like motor vehicles on wheels far longer than 50 years. In fact, in just a couple of weeks, Merrill will celebrate 112 years of providing residents with public transportation on rubber tires.
Merrill became even more famous for their public transportation innovation when the city made the leap to transportation on wheels—rubber tires, in fact—without necessity of a track or steel rail system in 1913.
On May 3, 1913, Merrill took delivery of their first trackless trolley car, featuring large rubber tires that prevented damage to city streets and did not require the expense of trolley rails. It was one of the first such trackless trolley cars in the United States and the very first in Wisconsin “or anywhere in the northwest.” [Source: May 8, 1913, The Merrill Daily Herald.]. Merton Carpenter, who formerly was a motorman for the Merrill Railway & Lighting company on the railcars, was hired as the first operator of the new trackless trolley car, according to the May 3, 1913, edition of The Merrill Daily Herald.
Service began on May 6, 1913, and ran from the “end of the western terminal of the regular car system, at the foot of Cottage avenue, and conveys passengers as far west as Emmerich & Staats store [the corner of Foster St. and W. Main St. today] in the Sixth ward, thus making an extension of about one-half mile,” another newspaper article confirmed. And while it still utilized overhead wires to provide electricity to the motor, it made Merrill and the Sixth Ward quite famous at that time, with Merrill’s trackless trolley being featured in “moving pictures” and magazines later in 1913 as one of the “oddities of Wisconsin.”

Merrill went completely off the rails
When the trolley barn burned down in 1925, the City went completely off the rails, switching to motorized bus service that did not require tracks, local historian and City of Merrill Alderperson Michael “Gus” Caylor said. Years later, the City even subsidized a taxi service to provide transportation for elderly and disabled residents.
The roots of today’s Merrill-Go-Round trace back to 1973, Caylor said, when Dolores Kelly, an advocate for the elderly, convinced the City to provide limited bus transportation for residents with special needs. The service, initially called Dial-A-Bus, began in April of that year with Dan Caylor as the first driver.
“The first Dial-A-Bus in ‘73 was operated for elderly and disabled,” said Caylor. “When they started the Merrill-Go-Round itself in ‘75, that’s when it got opened up” to the general public.

A growing need warrants a new name
As the need for transportation grew within the community, a battery-operated bus was planned, but it needed a name. That led to the contest that Ravn and Andress won with their “Merrill-Go-Round” submission.
Transit Coordinator Brandy Brandt noted the significant role the service plays in the community today.
“The Merrill-Go-Round is dedicated to serving Merrill residents with pride and commitment,” she said. “As a unique on-demand response transit system, we provide curb-to-curb service tailored to the needs of our community.”
“Annually, our system facilitates approximately 55,000 rides, serving clients ranging from pre-kindergarten students to senior citizens,” Brandt said.

During Monday’s commemorative ride, Brandt demonstrated features of the modern buses, including accessibility options for riders with wheelchairs or mobility challenges.
“With the old buses, you could only fit like three people down here,” said Brandt, explaining how the current fleet design has improved accessibility on its lower level in the middle of the bus. “A lot of the elderly couldn’t make the stairs, and now this opens up six more seats, having it on both sides.” She demonstrated how the seats raise and lower to accommodate wheelchairs and/or riders without wheelchairs.
The Merrill-Go-Round operates five days a week, a change from its initial schedule. Caylor noted that “When the bus started, it served seven days a week,” though with more limited hours than today’s service.
According to Caylor, currently the funding for the Merrill Transit system is primarily provided by the federal government, which contributed 82% of the budget in the most recent fiscal year.
Brandt emphasized that the service provides more than just transportation. “It is a vital public service that ensures access to education, healthcare, employment, and other essential resources,” she said.
“Being part of the Transit System is highly rewarding,” Brandt said. “Engaging with our residents is one of the most fulfilling aspects of my role.”
As the Merrill-Go-Round begins its second half-century of service, it remains a testament to the city’s long-standing commitment to accessible public transportation—continuing a tradition that has helped define Merrill as an innovator in public transportation for generations.