By Jim Stanford on March 8, 2007
A bus that stops atop Teton Pass could reduce traffic and conflicts over parking.
Public bus service is set to begin next month between Jackson and Teton Valley, Idaho. And while the route is designed mainly for commuters, transportation officials are open to the idea of shuttling skiers to and from Teton Pass.
“It’s something that could be considered,” says Michael Wackerly, director of the START bus system in Jackson. “We’ll probably wait to see what the ridership level will be in winter to make that decision.”
Teton Pass is the area’s most popular winter trailhead, and limited parking at the 8,400-foot summit has created headaches for skiers and snowboarders wishing to access the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
The bus service is set to begin April 16, likely too late to attract much interest from skiers this season.
Initially, two buses are planned for morning service from Driggs and Victor to Jackson Hole. Two buses would return over the pass in the evening.
START will set its schedule for the routes April 1. The fare is projected to be $7 each way, or $125 for a monthly pass.
Within a year or two, Wackerly would like to add an additional midday bus heading across the pass and back, but the agency does not have enough funding for that yet. These buses could give the agency flexibility in offering skier service, Wackerly says.
Because seats are likely to be in demand on the long-awaited Teton Valley route, START would rather fill them with daily commuters, rather than occasional skiers, Wackerly says.
A proposal for a free skier shuttle created a buzz last winter, but the sponsor ultimately withdrew after delays in gaining approval from the U.S. Forest Service and Wyoming Department of Transportation.
Increasing traffic on Wyoming Highway 22, which crosses the pass, has been a problem. The steep, winding road is a lifeline for commuters who live in Idaho and work in Jackson, and up to 6,800 vehicles per day cross the pass.
As a result, traffic on Highway 22 rivals Interstate 80 near Rock Springs, and WyDOT plans to expand the roadway to four lanes between Wilson and Jackson. Current traffic levels are unsafe, the agency says. There have been a number of fatal accidents on the pass in recent years.
START has made admirable progress in gradually building a more comprehensive transit system in Jackson Hole, while operating on a shoestring budget. Public buses that stop in Wilson and atop the pass could reduce traffic significantly in winter.
The parking situation atop the pass appears to have worked itself out this winter, as WyDOT only is plowing the area it deems appropriate for parking. Massive snowbanks prevent a line of cars from stretching down the hill and encroaching on the roadway.
January’s drought also helped ease the situation, as demand for spaces was low.
Mike Geraci of the Jackson public relations firm Base Camp Communications proposed the free skier shuttle in December 2005, after WyDOT slashed the amount of space available for parking atop the pass. The Internet retailer Backcountry.com, one of his clients, offered to sponsor the service.
Geraci provided the following clarification on what happened with his plan:
I was the point person for the shuttle. I was developing the idea for Backcountry.com, they were to be the only “sponsor” of the shuttle. There wasn’t any “advertising” planned, that wasn’t the issue. The shuttle was scuttled because by the time we sorted through jurisdictions and whether a permit was required, and who would do what and when, it was February and Backcountry.com decided against doing it so late in the season.
The folks at the USFS were actually very helpful in giving us direction in how to operate the shuttle without needing a permit, by giving us guidelines as to the best places to pick people up and drop them off. The USFS has jurisdiction over the Old Pass road parking area and the Coal Creek trailhead parking area. The top of the pass is also a USFS trail head, and, has joint management agreements in place with the state.
It still amazes me that when I’m out at parties or even in restaurants, people still want to talk about the shuttle and is it going to happen.
In the beginning of the conversations about the shuttle, there was a fundamental disagreement between us and the USFS over whether we would need a USFS permit to operate the shuttle. our position was that we didn’t need a permit because our primary objective was not to generate income, which is one of the key determining factors under USFS guidelines for permitting. The USFS’s position was that it was a brand marketing vehicle and thus required permits, and our position was.in the end, the combination of enthusiastic community support and what everyone agreed upon was a very real need for a shuttle service convinced the USFS to work with us to find a way out of that gray area.
Once we navigated that issue, I was asked to run our plan by WYDOT and the Wyoming Highway Patrol. again, this was late February, and we decided to punt.
In retrospect, this might have been a one shot opportunity, with one company, Backcountry.com (client plug) willing to completely fund the operation. Any other party that wants to do it for profit will need a permit and when that happens you can enter into the always pleasant realm of an EA and the associated political pressures.
Posted under backcountry, national forest, skiing, town government
