EDITORIAL: Don't mess with bus-shelter rules

In the world of local government, public-private partnerships are those proverbial win-win relationships. They are partnerships that allow counties and cities to provide services they might otherwise not be able to afford.

Flathead County’s bus shelter network for its Eagle Transit passengers is one such public-private venture that works very well. Chandler Communications, a private company, sells advertising on the shelters that allows the company to maintain the county’s 22 bus shelters. That means the county can offer the shelters but doesn’t have to dip into taxpayer money to afford the roughly $40,000 it takes per year to keep the shelter windows clean, the dust whisked away and the snow shoveled.

Now a proposed state rule change stands to upend this successful public-private partnership not only in Flathead County but also in other Montana counties and cities with public transit networks. The rule change would forbid advertisements on the exterior of shelters located in state highway right of way, which in turn would cut Chandler Communications’ revenue to the point where its owner says he’d have to close the business.

This seems like an overreach of state government and could spell the end of bus shelters altogether for Eagle Transit. Sixteen of Flathead’s 22 shelters are on state highway right of way. County Commissioner Gary Krueger aptly pointed out that if the county loses its shelters, ridership likely would decrease, which in turn could negatively affect the federal transit money the county receives.

State officials say they’re simply complying with a federal mandate for Montana to create its own set of rules regarding outdoor advertising in highway rights of way. Flathead County and transit officials contend there is nothing in federal law that prohibits the public-private partnerships that currently exist.

The Montana Transportation Commission will sort this all out on May 26 and is expected to take action on the proposed rule change. Let’s hope the commission will realize the benefits these bus shelters provide for riders who often are elderly or disabled, and will decide to leave well enough alone.