[Nfbmt] Intercity Bus Schedules

[Bruce&Joy Breslauer]

I found this blog during a web search.  Joy 

 


Montana and North Dakota Intercity Bus Status
<http://mtndintercity.wordpress.com/> 


Reestablishing bus service


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Salt Lake Express cancels service between Butte and Great
<http://mtndintercity.wordpress.com/2013/08/07/salt-lake-express-cancels-ser
vice-between-butte-and-great-falls/>  Falls 


Salt Lake Express just announced that, effective August 21st, they will be
cancelling Route SLE0073 and SLE0074 from Great Falls, MT to Butte, MT on
I-15. 

Until someone steps in to fill the service, this means Helena and Great
Falls will have no intercity service. The only intercity service in Montana
will be on I-90 and I-94.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized
<http://mtndintercity.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/>  on August 7,
2013
<http://mtndintercity.wordpress.com/2013/08/07/salt-lake-express-cancels-ser
vice-between-butte-and-great-falls/>  by Lisa
<http://mtndintercity.wordpress.com/author/lballard/> . 


Intercity connections
<http://mtndintercity.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/intercity-connections-complet
ely-broken/> "completely broken" 


We got some bad news last week when Rimrock told the Montana Department of
Transportation they would not return to the intercity business. Couple this
with Salt Lake Express cutbacks in early July, and intercity travel in
Montana is pretty bad with no obvious path back to normal.

Bad Connections - loss of service has lead to broken connections. Layovers
in Butte are as follows:

.         Missoula to Helena-5 hr 40 min

.         Great Falls-Helena-Billings-7 hr 35 min

.         Salt Lake City-Idaho Falls-Dillon-Billings-10 hr 10 min in am, 8hr
40min  in pm.

Summary of services - The level of service in Montana today is about 50% to
60% what was available prior to Rimrock's March shutdown. Services are
listed below.

I-90 Missoula to Billings

.         Jefferson Lines (JLI) operates 2 round trips per day with stops in
Butte, Bozeman, and Livingston

.         Salt Lake Express (SLE) cancelled the third round trip, which went
through Helena

.         No on-call stops in Laurel, Columbus, Big Timber, Belgrade,
Livingston, Three Forks, Whitehall and Deer Lodge

I-15 Great Falls to Butte and Butte to Idaho Falls

.         SLE service between Great Falls, Helena, and Butte cut to one
round trip per day

.         Two round trips per day from Butte to points south

US 93 from Missoula to Whitefish

.         No interlined service

.         Confederated Salish Kootenai Transit has applied for an FMCSA
license and is investigating the feasibility of providing intercity service

Articles

Some of this has not yet been published in the newspapers. The most recent
article is available at the Billings Gazette

Rimrock Stages may not resume all of its routes
<http://http/billingsgazette.com/business/features/rimrock-stages-may-not-re
sume-all-its-montana-routes/article_50e96adb-367a-55b1-9f06-03e5b2f10f22.htm
l>  - Billings Gazette July 14, 2013

What's Next

My next step is to talk with the different players to look for ways around
the barriers. The loss of service is not due to lack of demand. Rather it's
the result of business decisions to focus on the most profitable routes, the
difficulty of serving a large remote geography, and the challenge of having
an adequate fleet and staff to meet federal regulations (FMCSA safety
requirements, Americans with Disabilities requirements for accessibility,
and federal procurement rules as administered by each state).

I hope that the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) and the private
and public carriers will find a way to restore service with help from the
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 5311(f) rural intercity bus program.
For this to happen the carriers will need to conclude that the
administrative expense and risk of working with another governmental entity
(MDT) is worth the benefit.  The carriers will also need to conclude that
serving a rural area far from home base is a good business decision when
they have higher revenue potential closer to home.

 

 

This entry was posted in Uncategorized
<http://mtndintercity.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/>  on July 30,
2013
<http://mtndintercity.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/intercity-connections-complet
ely-broken/>  by Lisa <http://mtndintercity.wordpress.com/author/lballard/>
. 


Early summer
<http://mtndintercity.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/early-summer-update/>  update



While Salt Lake Express and Jefferson Lines have been providing services to
Montanans, North Dakotans, and people traveling to or through these states,
Rimrock has been busy at work as well. Last week I heard that FMCSA has
granted a conditional rating change, and Rimrock is setting a plan to return
to operation. In summary, here is the latest publicly available information:

.         Pending FMCSA approval, Rimrock intends to reinstate their
services between Missoula and Billings, three round trips per day. Two of
those trips will go through Butte, one through Helena. These services are
currently operated by Salt Lake Express and Jefferson Lines.

.         Rimrock also hopes to re-establish their route on I-15 from Great
Falls to Butte. This is currently operated by Salt Lake Express, and will
take longer to return to Rimrock operation than the I-90 route.

.         There is an interested party for operating the intercity route
from Missoula to Kalispell, and they have started taking some steps in that
direction. I'm not sure where they stand on their decision making process.

.         Montana DOT Transit Section has grant funds available starting
with the new state fiscal year, July 1. They are using the Federal Transit
Administration's (FTA) 5311(f) rural intercity bus program, a program that
has been in place since 1991. This program can fund the net operating
deficit for intercity bus routes. Operators must meet the requirements of
FMCSA, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the 5311(f) program. This
program has the potential to build effective, coordinated connections
between Montana and North Dakota communities.