Easy riders

Commuters of all types make Eagle Transit part of their daily routine

Keola Adielia reads a book every two weeks as she rides an Eagle Transit bus each day from Kalispell to her job in Whitefish. But she enjoys another aspect of the ride even more.

Oh my gosh, it saves sooo much money, she said during her commute Tuesday morning.

Adielia takes advantage of the monthly pass that gives her unlimited rides for $25 a month.

On comparing notes with a friend who drives a truck about the same miles, he spends about $300 every month on gas on top of racking up miles on the trucks engine and wear on the tires.

Adielia couldnt be happier with the convenience of riding the Whitefish commuter route, which Eagle Transit initiated last February.

I get on at the library thats about five blocks from my house, she said.

The bus drops her off at the Mountain Mall each morning for her job at Rocky Mountain Images then picks her up after work. Adielia said the ride home typically has the most riders.

There are a lot of characters, she said with a laugh.

Adielia started riding six months ago. Thats about the same time Stephen Redgate decided to give public transportation a try.

A materials manager for North Valley Hospital, he boarded at a stop near Home Depot, just a few blocks from his home, last Tuesday.

Redgate opts for the bus over his car about four days a week.

It saves money, its environmentally friendly and its convenient, Redgate said. Its worked out fine.

The bus drops him off at the door of North Valley Hospital after a ride of about 15 minutes.

With a pickup that gets 15 miles per gallon, he said he would be money ahead even if he paid $1 each way, the price without the discount offered by his monthly pass. Redgate scores another benefit on his car insurance cost by limiting the miles he drives to work.

He gave kudos to Eagle Transit managements efficiency moves.

The new schedule is more convenient, Redgate said.

Thats music to the ears of David Polansky, program manager, and Bert Hauser, operations lead, for Flathead Countys Eagle Transit. Their numbers confirm the satisfaction their riders report.

With the new commuter routes to Whitefish and Columbia Falls, ridership on Eagle Transit jumped 25.6 percent in the last year.

Its been met with a great response, Polansky said.

But with the new routes excluded, ridership increased 14.6 percent on Eagle Transit buses in that period. Polansky, who was just hired, credits Hauser and former manager Cheryl Talley with overhauling the routes.

Hauser said their goal was to establish better, more frequent and reliable service.

This way its consistent, he said.

When Hauser was hired two years ago, he brought with him many years of experience in transportation, including about 12 years with a system in Vail, Colo. He drew on that experience and studied other systems in Montana as well as feedback from drivers and the public in making the changes.

The new schedule initiated Sept. 29 increased efficiency by having the city bus and commuter buses meet for transfers at The Summit. It avoided larger cuts in service in response to the jump in fuel prices earlier this year.

We ended up cutting a little in Whitefish in the afternoon and a loop was cut from Columbia Falls, Polansky said.

Due to low ridership, Evergreen service was eliminated in the interest of efficiency. He hopes to restore regular service sometime in the future.

Dial-a-Ride, a service of Eagle Transit, still provides low-cost transportation to qualified Evergreen residents and those in other areas of the county.

While some areas lost service, the recently compiled figures show the tweaks to the transit system have attracted more riders to the system as a whole.

We have college kids, teachers, county employees and city employees its all sorts of people, Polansky said.

He said the public has a misconception that Eagle Transit serves just the disabled and the elderly. While the system serves those groups, students, people going to work or shopping make up a growing proportion of its ridership.

The fleet includes six-passenger minivans and buses with capacities for 13, 17 and 22 passengers. They all have lifts or ramps to accommodate the handicapped.

Buses have cloth seats, reading lights, heating and air-conditioning and seat belts.

We also have bike racks, Polansky said.

Hauser points out that saving money is still the best incentive for riding the bus, even with recent drops in the price of a gallon of gas. He calculates that a passenger using the monthly pass pays about 62 cents to travel to Columbia Falls.

I cant drive a car for 62 cents to Columbia Falls, Hauser said.

Riders who dont use the bus often enough to benefit from the monthly pass may purchase $10, $20 and $40 punch cards for the convenience of avoiding carrying cash for fares.

With current trends, Hauser sees huge growth in the future as the Flathead Valley grows and traffic becomes an increasing hassle. In the year ending last June, the service provided about 47,000 rides.

Those numbers include people without direct service. According to Hauser, some people drive in from Somers, Lakeside or Bigfork to Rosauers and then pick up the bus to points north.

At the end of the day, they grab some groceries and drive home, he said. Its great.

Polansky and Hauser emphasize that anyone can use the service, which is supported by federal as well as county tax dollars.

On the recent run to Whitefish, bus driver Alan Gilbertson said he thinks many people havent tried public transportation out of fear of trying something new.

Once people try it, it becomes part of their comfort zone, he said. Education is the first thing then getting them to try it if only for a week.

He finds people are surprised at the comfort level they experience on the bus, where strangers soon become friends. During his tenure, Gilbertson has met all manner of people, including people from other countries such as Poland and Peru.

Everyone on the bus is real friendly, he said. They all talk to each other.

They also talk to their friends about Eagle Transit. Gilbertson said riders often tell him thats how they found out that the bus serves more than just the elderly and disabled in the valley.

One of his passengers on the Tuesday commuter trip from Whitefish said that was how she ended up riding. Stephani Hartigan said she wanted to avoid buying a car but needed a way to get to Whitefish two or three times a week for her public service work.

Polansky and Hauser often ride the bus themselves to get feedback from riders and get a first-hand view of the operation.

Our best advertising is our passengers. I hear that all the time, Hauser said.

The service runs Monday through Friday but not on holidays observed by the county. Call 758-2426 for information or pick up bus schedules from any driver or at the local Chambers of Commerce.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.