[Nfbmt] FW: National Federation of the Blind of Montana Fourth Annual Convention: panel discussion on transportation issues in Montana -- Second Request

Tue Oct 25 19:20:01 UTC 2016

Here is a response I received from my inquiry about transportation options in
Montana and how to improve them.  Joy 

From: Sanders, Patrick [mailto:PSanders at mt.gov] 
Sent: Friday, October 21, 2016 10:30 AM
To: President, National Federation of the Blind of Montana 
Cc: Sanders, Patrick
Subject: RE: National Federation of the Blind of Montana Fourth Annual
Convention: panel discussion on transportation issues in Montana -- Second
Request

Joy, and Bruce

Good morning and sorry for the delay in responding to your first and other
emails.   

At all staff in Bozeman 2016 I visited with Bruce for a few minutes
explaining why I had not responded to your email.   However while waiting for
some response myself that I still have not received I thought I better send
you a response.

Here is my thoughts of why intercity transportation (greyhound) has changed
in Montana.

.        In the 80's intercity bus was still very popular in all areas of
Montana.   (Greyhound, Trailways, and others)

.        These providers covered a lot of areas in Montana currently not
receiving any regular intercity transit.

.        These providers also carried not just passengers but packages.  By
doing this made it feasible for them to provide intercity service

.        However with UPS and FED EX expanding and providing door to door
service for the customers.   The change started to happen.

.        Intercity bus service now was seeing a decline in package delivery
which was not really delivery but drop off at the bus station and the
customer would pick up.

.        So intercity bus started increasing the fares for passengers because
of the decrease of packages being shipped.

.        Greyhound and other providers were still providing service.

.        However the providers started scaling back on routes because of
ridership was decreasing.

.        So the providers saw it was not feasible to provide service for
example across the hi-line when a third of the bus was full which meant out
of 40 passenger bus there were only 13 riders.

.        Providers started changing routes and then scaled back to major
routes between urban communities.

.        Greyhound backed out of the State of Montana sometime in 2000-2006.
Greyhound only came into Montana to Missoula.

.        That is when Rimrock started providing more service 

.        Missoula to Billings two times a day

.        Missoula to Helena to Billings once a day

.        Great Falls to Butte and south on I-15 twice a day

.        They also provided service from Kalispell to Missoula twice a day.

.        Rimrock had studies done saying that this is what was needed.  They
also applied for a grant through MDT asking for operating and capital funds.

.        At this time MDT had other providers doing intercity service but
routes being ran was once a week or maybe twice a week.   The reason for
those types of intercity service was because the demand for service was not
high.

.        In 2013 Rimrock Stages was shut down by the Federal Motor Carriers.

.        MDT worked hard on trying to get agencies to start providing
intercity service where Rimrock had provided.

.        Jefferson Bus lines expanded service and provides two routes from
Missoula to North Dakota however they  don't travel through Helena on either
of the routes.  

.        Salt Lake express has expanded its service from Butte to Great
Falls.

.        No other providers stepped forward or wanted to do this.

.        Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribe (CSKT) started the Flathead
Transit and runs from Kalispell to Missoula to provide intercity service.

.        Other providers that provide transit in the communities still
provide some intercity service but not a regular daily scheduled service.

I do understand that when traveling a person wants to get from point A to
point B the fastest way.  However when using any train, airplane, and
intercity bus service there are delays on all transportation.   Which is very
frustrating but in my opinion we are very fortune to have what we have
currently.   We could have a lot less.    

Montana Department of Transportation Transit Section has worked very hard
with different providers trying to get them to provide more service.
However all grants money (Federal Transit dollars) that transit agencies
receive they have to match with local money.   Local agencies have hard time
trying to come up with match.   So then if the rider wanted to go from Great
Falls to Lewistown and it was in a small bus that ride might cost one person
$100.00 one way or even more.   IF visited with one agency and the cost to
run a bus is roughly $4.25 per mile.   Which means that ride to Great Fall to
Lewistown would be much more.

Hope this all made sense.   If you would like to visit please let me know.

Thanks

Patrick Sanders

Transportation Coordinator

Disability Employment and Transitions

Department of Public Health and Human Services

406-496-4933

Monday-Friday- Butte Office 700 Casey Street (Voc Rehab)

From: President, National Federation of the Blind of Montana
[mailto:breslauerj at gmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2016 4:36 AM
To: Pavao, John; Sanders, Patrick; Bushman, Kirk; Berg, Beverly; Marks, James
Cc: jka; jeff ; linda ; bruce&Joy; dan ; Julie Deden; nfbmt 
Subject: RE: National Federation of the Blind of Montana Fourth Annual
Convention: panel discussion on transportation issues in Montana -- Second
Request

Hello, everyone.

At our convention in Billings last week end, we approved the following
resolution.  It had been approved in prior years as well, so in that case it
is still in effect, but we brought it up to date for this year.

I am including it below, but I also want to know if there is a more
meaningful way in which we can facilitate the improvement of transportation
options for the blind in Montana.  Is there a task force that we can be a
member of, a discussion in which we can partake?  I don't want our concern to
languish in a drawer somewhere without any meaningful action being taken.  

Resolution 2016-01 Regarding Intercity Ground and Air Transportation in
Montana

WHEREAS The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) shut down
Rimrock Stages on March 22, 2013, leaving Montana intercity bus service in
shambles; and,

WHEREAS Blind citizens of Montana, along with other nondrivers, have long
relied on intercity bus transportation to travel the great distances between
Montana cities; and,

WHEREAS Jefferson Lines is currently providing intercity bus service, routing
passengers through Butte, Montana, with long layovers in Billings, Butte, and
Missoula, making convenient travel throughout the state virtually impossible;
and,

WHEREAS This lack of intercity bus service has a serious significant negative
economic impact on the citizens of and the visitors to our state; and,

WHEREAS Jefferson Lines monopolizes Montana's intercity bus transportation,
leaving the nondriver with only one choice for intercity travel: NOW,
THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Montana in
convention assembled this Ninth Day of October, 2016, in the city of
Billings, Montana, that this organization call upon Governor Steve Bullock to
bring the full resources of his office to bear on restoring safe, reliable,
and affordable intercity ground and air transportation to Montana.

From: Bruce&Joy Breslauer [mailto:breslauerj at gmail.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2016 2:40 AM
To: jpavao at mt.gov; psanders at mt.gov; kbushman at mt.gov
Cc: breslauerj at gmail.com
Subject: National Federation of the Blind of Montana Fourth Annual
Convention: panel discussion on transportation issues in Montana -- Second
Request

Hello.

My name is Joy Breslauer, and I am the President of the National Federation
of the Blind of Montana.

We are having our fourth annual Treasure State convention at the Billings
Hotel and Convention Center October 7-9, 2016.  If you are interested in
seeing the agenda, please go to www.nfbofmt.org and click on the 2016
Treasure State Convention Agenda link.

2016 TREASURE STATE CONVENTION AGENDA

On Saturday, October 8, we are having a panel discussion about transportation
options in Montana for the blind and visually impaired and other nondrivers,
and how good they are in some places and instances (Uber, city busses,
special transportation vans for the elderly or disabled), and how abysmal in
others (intercity bus or airline travel), and how changes might be made.  If
you would be interested in participating in this discussion, either in person
or off site, please let me know.  I would appreciate any input you can
provide.

On a personal note regarding transportation, I live in Great Falls and my
daughter, who lives in Billings and has an 18-year-old, a 16-year-old, and a
13-year-old, just had twins on September 23.  I would have loved to have been
there, but the decision to take the twins early was a sudden one, and I had
no way to get there in time.  The bus would have left Great Falls at
something like 2:50 P.M., I would have gone to Helena and then Butte, and had
an eight-hour layover in Butte, then caught a bus to Billings, arriving at
5:30 A.M.  I think the cost of a round trip bus ticket is close to two
hundred dollars.  The price is not so much the concern as is the
inconvenience of the scheduling.  

I realize times have changed, but I remember the days when Great Falls had a
bus that would leave in the evening for Missoula, and one that would leave in
the evening for Billings either fifteen minutes earlier or later.  I could
take a bus to Missoula after work on a Friday afternoon, be dropped off at
Clearwater Junction where I would meet a family member by prearrangement, and
drive the 18 miles to the family cabin, arriving at around nine in the
evening, and spend the week end, arriving in Great Falls on the return bus
around 6:30 in the evening.  A perfect week end.  Or I could take the bus to
Billings after work, arriving at 11:30 or so Friday evening, spend the week
end with family and friends, catch the bus at around 1:15 Sunday afternoon,
and arrive back in Great Falls around 9:30 or 10:00 in the evening.  Maybe
not as good, but still definitely doable.  

Another time when I had wanted to go to Billings, I checked out the airline
transportation just for fun.  I remember flying down to college in Billings
in the early 1970s for ten or fifteen dollars during the price wars.  I knew
I wouldn't find anything like that again, but what I did find is that I would
have had to catch an early morning plane out of Great Falls to Seattle, have
an almost all day layover there, and then fly to Billings, arriving there at
something like eleven in the evening, at a cost of over nine hundred dollars.
I could theoretically take Uber to Billings at a cost of over four hundred
dollars.  If I had lived in Havre, I could have caught a plane to Billings
that leaves twice a day for fifty dollars.  To me, this is totally
unacceptable, and directly impacts whether or how often I can see my daughter
and grandkids, or visit friends.  I may move down there some day, which will
reverse the situation for me, since I have a son and grandkids here in Great
Falls that I would then not see very often for the same reasons.     

I know we live in a large state with a relatively small population, and it is
not economically feasible to provide many transportation options for those of
us who do not drive.  We are in a minority and thus have a smaller voice that
may go unheard.  Can you suggest any realistic ways for us to advocate for
the improvement  of transportation options for us and other nondrivers in
Montana?  

Thank you for any thoughts you might have to contribute to our discussion of
transportation at our upcoming convention.  This is a real hot button for
those of us who do not drive.

Cordially,

Joy Breslauer, President

National Federation of the Blind of Montana 

Address: P.O. Box 1325, Great Falls, MT 59403 

Phone: (406) 454-3096

Email: president at nfbofmt.org

Web Site: http://www.nfbofmt.org <http://www.nfbofmt.org/> 

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