Glacier shuttle vehicles purchased

Glacier National Park's enhanced transportation plans have advanced with the purchase of 30 shuttle vehicles through a cooperative agreement with Flathead County and the state.

The park announced Friday that eight 23-passenger buses have been purchased, along with 22 12-passenger vans.

The vehicles will be used on Glacier's Going-to-the-Sun Road during summer months and by Flathead County's Eagle Transit and other Montana transit services the remainder of the year. That arrangement was made possible by an unprecedented agreement between the Montana Department of Transportation, Flathead County and the park.

The shuttle vehicles will be put to work in the park starting this summer as part of a plan aimed at offsetting the impacts of a Sun Road rehabilitation project that is expected to take several years. The aim is to enhance the park's transit system to reduce vehicle traffic on Sun Road and provide more convenience to park visitors in the face of expected construction delays.

While visitors can still drive their own vehicles on Sun Road, the shuttle buses will be available for free.

The new fleet cost $4 million, with $2.1 million coming from the National Park Service and $1.9 million from the Montana Department of Transportation. The park also is contributing $385,000 to Eagle Transit to operate the fleet.

Shuttle operations will be funded through a recent $5 park entrance fee increase.

Glacier Superintendent Mick Holm explained the advantages of the cooperative agreement with the state and Flathead County.

"This agreement allows for the sharing of limited resources for the common benefit of Glacier National Park visitors, the Montana cooperators and Montana in general … Rather than sit in storage, unused for much of the year, the buses will be used elsewhere in Montana to meet local transportation needs," he said. "One additional key advantage for such a cooperative agreement is that it provides the flexibility to change as construction and visitor needs evolve. This will be especially important in the first few seasons as the shuttle system gets up and running."

The 12-passenger Sprinters arrived at the park in January, fresh off a Dodge DaimlerChrysler assembly line in North Carolina.

More recently, an order was signed for the purchase of the eight larger buses, low-emission vehicles capable of running on biodiesel. They are being manufactured by Optima Bus of Wichita, Kan., with a late spring delivery target.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com