Daily News article 2/27-07
Nils Peterson
Express, Moscow Valley Transit services
Kate Baldwin, Daily News staff writer
Tuesday, February 27, 2007 - Page Updated at 11:50:35 AM
Rose Keller wants the University of Idaho and the Moscow community to
find a way to save the region's public transportation - and fast.
Both the Wheatland Express and Moscow Valley Transit services could be
lost when the UI stops providing its annual contribution of $100,000
this year.
Keller, a UI senior, said the bureaucratic processes behind the
efforts to save the commuter bus services are moving too slowly,
especially given the time constraints for finding a resolution.
"I felt there was a lot of misguided optimism by (UI Vice President of
Finance and Administration) Lloyd Mues when he says progress has been
made and a plan is in the works," she said.
Keller, 21, was one of more than 60 people who came to the 1912 Center
on Monday night for a forum on the services hosted by the Moscow Civic
Association. The MCA brought in six panelists who presented recent
ridership findings, discussed deeper background history, and tried to
answer questions from the audience.
However, the evening did not provide what Keller had hoped for.
"I thought it would have more interaction with the community," she
said.
She said she wanted to see riders have the chance to come forward with
their stories and experiences.
The Wheatland Express commuter bus provides free transportation to
students, staff and faculty between the UI's Moscow campus and the
Pullman campus of Washington State University. Meanwhile, Moscow
Valley Transit offers free services to the public throughout the city
of Moscow.
Since it began operating more than a decade ago, ridership of the
Wheatland Express jumped from just four riders on its opening day to
more than 80,000 riders per year.
The service has been funded through a joint partnership of the
universities, with each annually providing roughly $100,000 to create
a soft match that is used to gain access to enough federal grant money
to operate the Wheatland Express and fund the entire Moscow Valley
Transit system. The threat to these services surfaced in the fall of
2005, when the UI realized it could no longer fund its share.
Mues said the UI recognizes the importance of the services but can no
longer afford it among its priorities, especially when it needs to
address basic problems like millions of dollars needed for deferred
maintenance.
"Providing education is a little bit above providing transportation,"
he said.
While each panelist presented different information, UI professor
Michael Kyte unveiled the most recent findings on the services based
on a survey from the last week in January. The survey showed that 39
percent of Wheatland Express riders were UI students, 28 percent were
WSU faculty and staff, and 21 percent were WSU students.
It also demonstrated that the service mainly supported university-
related business because 32 percent of these riders were UI students
getting to class, 27 percent were WSU employees getting to work and 12
percent were WSU students getting to class.
Without the Wheatland Express, 45 percent of the riders would opt to
drive by themselves, thereby increasing traffic on the Pullman-Moscow
Highway. It also would require 85 additional parking spaces at the UI
and 119 additional spaces at WSU.
Without Moscow Valley Transit, 62 percent of riders would be forced to
walk to their destination.
While the survey revealed a number of important points, the night
didn't lead to any brainstorming or clear answers.
So far, the UI's student government has been the only organization to
put forward a direct line of funding. Its leaders have proposed
increasing student fees by $3 to support the service with $50,000 to
$52,000 annually. However, the student government said it must have
other stakeholders step forward with the remaining portion before
April, because the planned fee increase must be ready to present to
the State Board of Education for approval during its April 19 meeting
at the UI.
Keller, director of the UI's student-run sustainability center, said
she doesn't have a problem with a $3 per semester student-fee
increase, but that's a problem if it is the only solution.
Moscow City Supervisor Gary Riedner said the city is considering
increasing its funding for the service from $40,000 to $60,000, but
that development has not been guaranteed yet. Meanwhile, Moscow
Transportation Committee Chairman Walter Steed said New Saint Andrew's
College has come forward with an offer to contribute a percentage as
well.
Founder of the Save the Bus Web site Nils Peterson said the night's
conversation was too narrow because it only looked at one problem -
"how to find $100,000."
He said he hopes a dialogue begins to look for a broader solution like
creating a transportation district between both communities that would
allow grants and funding support to cross state borders.
"I was expecting pretty much what happened," he said. "I guess I
didn't expect any real resolution tonight."
Kate Baldwin can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 239, or by e-mail
at kbal...@dnews.com.