RTA planning on expanding bus service in valley

Winter bus expansion, more CB South service, late night bus possible…

There will be more buses running up and down the valley this winter compared to last ski season through the Gunnison Valley Rural Transportation Authority (RTA). The winter schedule is expanding by 45 percent with 12 round trips scheduled every day. There were eight per day last season, with nine on the weekends.

Buses will start running from Mt. Crested Butte to Gunnison at 7 a.m. and from Gunnison to Mt. Crested Butte at 6:45 a.m. The winter schedule begins November 26.
There are four RTA buses in the fleet and the expanded service is making the board consider purchasing a new vehicle. It won’t be cheap. At their meeting on September 19, the RTA noted that a new bus that meets the needs of the commute up and down Highway 135 will cost about $450,000, according to both RTA executive director Scott Truex and Alpine Express owner Stewart Johnson.
A top of the line bus would cost closer to $750,000. The hope is to get a grant to help with the purchase cost.
Part of the winter schedule could also include an experiment with a late-night bus to help employees living in Gunnison return home after work. The idea would be to have a bus head up from Gunnison to Mt. Crested Butte at 10 p.m. and turn around and go down valley at 11:15 p.m.

Late-night bus service
Truex approached Mt. Crested Butte in August and received $20,000 in admission tax funds to help subsidize the service. For the winter another $17,500 is needed. Truex said local Crested Butte (Bacchanale) and Mt. Crested Butte (django’s) restaurant owner Chris Ladoulis has indicated he hoped to raise the remainder of the needed money to make the service work.
“I’m not sure how successful it will be,” said Truex. “I could see it working on Friday and Saturday nights but not sure how much it will be used on, say, Sundays and Mondays. But it is a valid experiment. It could go gangbusters.”
“I’m a proponent of the late-night bus,” said Crested Butte business owner Nancy Riemer. “In my retail shop we have employees living in Gunnison who would use it. We especially need help in the summer. I have employees hitching home after work at 10 at night. That’s not always the safest option. The employment situation was tight for everyone this past summer. I’m a strong supporter of the late-night bus, both summer and winter.”
When asked if the city of Gunnison might consider helping fund the service, RTA board members and Gunnison council members Carolyn Riggs and Richard Hagen said the city likely would not contribute money.
“It might be worth asking if Gunnison restaurants have similar issues,” said Riggs. “That $17,000 could probably be raised from the private sector.”
Crested Butte mayor and RTA board member Aaron Huckstep said he would approach the Town Council for possible support.
“It could go beyond workers,” added Riggs. “People wanting to eat and drink and then use the bus to get home could benefit.”
Jeff Moffett, speaking as a private citizen, said he felt Gunnison would benefit from the service since its citizens would use the bus to get back and forth to work. “It seems like it could be a shared endeavor,” he said.
“Both Gunnison and Crested Butte residents would enjoy the opportunity to go to a restaurant or bar at the other end of the valley, so it could work for them,” added Riemer.
“The late-night bus will be used,” said Phil Chamberland, a county commissioner. “It is worth pursuing. It’s an opportunity to help bridge the employee gap.”
Commissioner Jonathan Houck said the late-night bus need reflected the state of employee housing in the valley.
“It all works hand-in-hand together,” said Paula Swenson, commissioner and RTA chairperson. “Let’s get the update from Chris Ladoulis and discuss it again at the October meeting, but it seems everyone is on board with the idea.”

Summer expansion for the bus
Summer service will expand in 2015 to six round trips per day all summer. The increase will run longer as well. The six trips will go from Memorial Day to Labor Day, a total of 101 days versus this year’s 44 days.
Crested Butte South will get a stop on all of the trips as well.
This past summer, the bus went into Crested Butte South for six weeks and it didn’t deter ridership from Gunnison as some had feared.
Crested Butte South transportation committee spokesperson Bob Goettghe said the subdivision is very interested in getting the bus to have a regular stop there. “The schedule is slanted to get people from Gunnison to work in Crested Butte. What about addressing the other way too, so that perhaps those who live in Crested Butte South can get to work in Gunnison?” he suggested.
Truex said there was an early-morning Mt. Crested Butte to Gunnison bus scheduled for this coming winter. It would leave at 7 a.m. There will not be Crested Butte South service in the winter.
Crested Butte South resident Jenny DeFrates pointed out there was no bus service between 11:20 a.m. and 3:20 p.m. and asked if it was possible to get a mid-day stop in the subdivision next summer.
Truex said the RTA could run a 2 p.m. bus but it wouldn’t be expected to be used very much. “It’s just a matter of money,” he said. “We are trying to address the main times when people want to go up and down the valley. It’s a matter of priorities.”
Crested Butte South resident Kathy Norgard said she hoped for more service as well. “Ridership will increase with more buses. Cars are lined up every morning. This will help the environmental impact.”
In response to a question from Norgard, Truex said each trip into Crested Butte South cost $11.29.
“We’re worth it,” she said.
But there will not be Crested Butte South service in the winter. The buses are used heavily in the ski season by Gunnison residents going to work in Crested Butte and many times the buses are full before leaving Gunnison with workers, WSCU students and local residents.
However, once the ski area closes in April, the RTA buses will begin servicing Crested Butte South. That will start April 6 and run into November. The spring and fall service uses three round trips per day.
“With only four buses in the fleet, it just doesn’t work in the winter,” explained Truex.
Swenson said the board was considering asking voters for a tax increase and more bus service into Crested Butte South could be at the top of the list if more resources were available.

Senior transportation assistance
The RTA agreed to spend $25,000 to help expand the Gunnison senior transportation service. That will be matched by the city of Gunnison and expand senior ride service to four or five days a week from the current three days. It will also include Tuesdays, which is when seniors say medical specialists come to the valley.
The county pays for the current service through the Health Care Center, with assistance from a grant from Region 10.
“The demographics show that Gunnison has an aging population that is staying here,” said Houck. “This is becoming a more needed service.”
Swenson indicated that the RTA could help in that realm and it wouldn’t hurt if a tax increase were put before voters.