Transportation co-op to serve greater Yellowstone

A Karst motorcoach.

_{By ELIZABETH LADEN}

ISLAND PARK — Area business and community leaders are building a public transportation system across the Yellowstone region. It’s called “Linx,” and it will provide seamless movement of people around Eastern Idaho, Southern Montana and Western Wyoming.

People who want to go from one town to another will go to the Linx Web site and type in their travel plan. The system will search for transportation providers, create a schedule, and sell the customer a ticket.

Linx is the brainstorm of the Yellowstone Business Partnership (YBP), which conducted studies that found that transportation is a challenge to many people in the region and lack of transportation options has a negative impact on economic development. YBP has offices in Idaho Falls and Bozeman, and its executive director is Jan Brown, a Pinehaven cabin owner.

YBP recently named Linx’s founding board of directors, who were selected from among the initial stockholders. Founding board representatives include Karst Stages from Bozeman, Wyoming Services for Independent Living in Lander, Grand Teton Lodge Company in Moran, Salt Lake Express from Rexburg, Partners for Prosperity in Blackfoot, and Targhee Regional Public Transit Authority from Idaho Falls.

Next, routes will be established, the Web site will be developed, and a test period will be launched.

“Our business sees Linx as an opportunity to increase our ridership by providing riders more convenient and affordable options for getting where they want to go” said Steve Coffman, Linx founding board director, and Business Development Director for Karst Stage.

“Coordination among public and private transportation providers in our region is a win-win for the public as well as these providers” said YBP Mobility Project Manager Jeff Osgood. “Linx is serving a social need for mobility apart from the individual automobile, as well as contributing to environmental sustainability and economic development.”

During the feasibility study phase, YBP involved a 50-person steering committee recruited from across the Greater Yellowstone region. The study, funded with rural transit stimulus funds through the Idaho Transportation Department, analyzed the legal and economic aspects of the cooperative business model to ensure it could effectively address the region’s transportation challenges.

Osgood said he expects large employers to take the lead as primary investors in the cooperative because they see the benefits of consistent transportation for their employees and customers. For example, Grand Targhee Resort in Alta, Wyoming, is one of Linx’s founding members.

A celebration of the new Linx system will take place on Monday, May 24 at Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park. This is the first day of the three-day annual Yellowstone Business Partnership's conference. This year's theme is, "Re-Envisioning Winter: Making the Most of Greater Yellowstone’s Longest Season." Author Gary Ferguson is the conference's keynote speaker, and other speakers include Rob Van Kirk and Ruth Shea on the importance of the Yellowstone winter to water resources and trumpeter swans. For registration information, contact 406.522.7809 ; 888.583.8283; info@yellowstonebusiness.org .

yellowstonebusiness.org is YBP's Web address.
 

This is part of the online edition of Henry's Fork Country.

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