Daily News article 3/22-07
Nils Peterson
to keep Wheatland Express buses on the road
By Kate Baldwin, Daily News staff writer
Thursday, March 22, 2007 - Page Updated at 12:04:00 PM
The Wheatland Express commuter bus service should continue operating
for another year after local groups found a temporary solution.
Moscow Transportation Commission Chairman Walter Steed confirmed an
agreement has been reached within the past week that will keep the
service running between the universities in Moscow and Pullman.
"It hasn't been put in writing, but I wouldn't call it tentative. It's
going to happen," he said. "What it means, of course, is that Moscow
Valley Transit will continue as well."
Steed said the University of Idaho, the Associated Students of the
University of Idaho and the city of Moscow all will contribute to a
funding package for the service. Steed declined to comment on what
percentage each party would contribute until the final agreement is
signed.
The commuter service receives roughly $100,000 from each side of the
state border. While the Idaho portion of funding had been in the air,
Washington State University has been prepared to continue its portion
of funding throughout the debate.
The potential closure of the service surfaced in the fall of 2005 when
the UI announced plans to cease its annual funding after this year,
which would have terminated the service this August.
UI Vice President for Finance and Administration Lloyd Mues was
cautious to limit his comments, which he left in a voicemail message
with the Daily News. Mues said he is waiting to see the draft
memorandum of understanding before saying anything because he wants to
respect the people involved in the process.
"I can confirm that we have a tentative agreement on how we'll change
the funding mechanism for the bus which is exactly what we wanted to
do all along," he said.
"What I do not want to do is get folks stirred up at this late hour by
perhaps saying something that does not quite turn out that way," he
added. "But we have remained committed to this bus It will work. We
will get it done and that's what I've been committed to do."
Steed said he began working on the issue through the transportation
commission about nine months ago.
He organized the steering committee that began tackling the issue
about three months ago. The committee included representatives from
the city of Moscow, the UI, WSU, Wheatland Express, and Moscow Valley
Transit.
"It took a little while, but I'm glad we've got it done," Steed said.
Wheatland Express owner Peg Motley said her group is excited that the
service is going to continue. She said she learned the good news just
a few days ago when Steed e-mailed her with a brief notice saying that
the funding was going to be available for another year.
"It takes away a little bit of the limbo for a year," she said.
"Hopefully, in that time a more permanent solution can be found."
Motley said if the service had ended, her company would have lost
about five full-time employees. Meanwhile, community residents would
have lost an alternative method of transportation.
"It's a good service and a needed service for lots of different
reasons and for lots of different people," she said. "We're glad the
powers that be in the decision-making process recognized the need for
the service."
Motley said an estimate 80,000 riders use the Wheatland Express each
year. In addition to the Wheatland Express, the continued funding also
will support the continuation of Moscow Valley Transit.
The Moscow Valley Transit system provides free rides throughout the
city and functions off of federal grant money that comes through a
soft match that the $200,000 of the Wheatland Express funding
represents.
"Our thanks are out to those folks at the grass-roots level who
spearheaded the drive to keep it going," Motley said.
Moscow resident and WSU employee Nils Peterson was among those local
organizers. Peterson had been shuttling between the two campuses since
1993 when he heard about the potential end of the service. He decided
to launch the "saveourbus" Web site that jump-started the movement to
keep the service up and running.
"Is this secure funding or is this a one-year Band-Aid?" Peterson
asked upon hearing the news.
He also wanted to know if the committee was going to explore the
creation of a transportation district between the two states. Such a
district would allow any grant funding to be used on either side of
the border.
Despite his continuing concerns, Peterson enjoyed the small victory.
"I'm delighted because public transit is important on the Palouse," he
said.
Kate Baldwin can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 239, or by e-mail
at kbal...@dnews.com.