Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

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llholmes1948
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Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

Post by llholmes1948 »

Link to an article in the Flathead Beacon:

https://flatheadbeacon.com/2019/12/11/e ... e-service/
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Re: Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

Post by PeteE »

Kind of a bummer, but...
Another example of why nothing in life is "free", including the "free" shuttle service.

pete :wink:
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Re: Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

Post by llholmes1948 »

PeteE wrote:Kind of a bummer, but...
Another example of why nothing in life is "free", including the "free" shuttle service.

pete :wink:
Yes I don't think this is a positive sign. Acadia operates a popular free shuttle but the last I knew LLBean donated a good deal of the money for it. Maybe Glacier will have to take up a collection.

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Re: Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

Post by PeteE »

These two paragraphs summarize the problem.
1) Outmoded fleet(implying large new capital expenses), 2)underpaid drivers, 3) uncovered county maintenance costs

Flathead County taxpayers shouldn't be expected to subsidize a shuttle system which is used by people from literally the entire world.


"The uptick in use combined with an outmoded fleet of vehicles dating back to 2006-2009, a dearth of qualified drivers seeking competitive wages, and uncovered costs to Flathead County for managing the system led commissioners to make the decision, according to Commissioner Randy Brodehl."

“Since 2007 Flathead County has partnered in good faith with Glacier National Park to provide a valuable service that helps the Park manage visitor flow and helps visitors enjoy their experience in the Park, but the system as it stands is broken and county taxpayers have paid a high cost for little benefit to our communities,” Brodehl wrote in a statement."

And GNP's budget being stretched pretty thin right now, I suspect the shuttle system will wind up being a fee driven enterprise run by private parties.
If the park service doesn't figure something out , this summer's traffic will be a nightmare.
The Bob Marshall Complex is looking better all the time 8)
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

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Re: Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

Post by sperryKev »

I really recommend reading the county commissioners letter to the park. It leads off with a one page summary with four bullet points that reads like a response to the call for public comment on the Sun Road EA that came out this year.

I found the four bullet points fascinating.
  • Safety
  • Quality and scope of service
  • Where is the money coming from?
  • Glacier needs to be giving back to the community
In my personal response to the GttSREA I hit on three of the four. Most people I spoke to about the EA had comments that fit into one or more of the four points. I am curious if this remains true for you all? Did you comment on the EA? And did your comment speak to one or more of these points?

As I see it, Park just got their marching orders. The public comments are in, this last one summarizes nearly all concerns very nicely with two added bonuses. It comes from the elected leaders of a large population block that is impacted by Park decisions. And it has teeth.
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Re: Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

Post by mattB »

Is there any more news on the status of the free shuttle along Going to the Sun Road for 2020?
It would be good to know if there will or won't be a shuttle system when making plans...

Similarly with the Waterton passenger boat, and whether hikers will be able to dis-embarked at Goat Haunt?
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Re: Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

Post by teapot57 »

mattB wrote:Is there any more news on the status of the free shuttle along Going to the Sun Road for 2020?
It would be good to know if there will or won't be a shuttle system when making plans...

Similarly with the Waterton passenger boat, and whether hikers will be able to dis-embarked at Goat Haunt?
I don’t know about the shuttle, but Goat Haunt will be open and the boat will be an option.

https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/ ... ations.htm
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Re: Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

Post by llholmes1948 »

More shuttle news from the Inter Lake:

https://www.dailyinterlake.com/local_ne ... le_service
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Re: Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

Post by llholmes1948 »

More shuttle news from the Inter Lake:

https://www.dailyinterlake.com/local_ne ... le_service
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Re: Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

Post by llholmes1948 »

More shuttle news from the Inter Lake:

https://www.dailyinterlake.com/local_ne ... le_service
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Re: Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

Post by llholmes1948 »

More shuttle news from the Inter Lake:

https://www.dailyinterlake.com/local_ne ... le_service
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Re: Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

Post by llholmes1948 »

More shuttle news from the Inter Lake:

https://www.dailyinterlake.com/local_ne ... le_service
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Re: Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

Post by llholmes1948 »

More shuttle service news from the Inter Lake:

https://www.dailyinterlake.com/news/202 ... huttles-6/
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Re: Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

Post by PeteE »

Too bad they couldn't get the hours extended.
I know there are many hikers who'd use the shuttle if the hours were 0600-2000.
I know I would.

pete :wink:
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Re: Flathead County withdraws from Park Shuttle System

Post by zozeppelin »

Yellowstone might be onto something: link
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