The public City of Moscow bus service, SMART Transit, has requested funds from the Idaho Department of Transportation (DOT) to create a new bus route to run through southeast Moscow.
SMART Transit currently operates on two routes: the East Route and West Route. The addition of a South Route would include pickup locations on Maybell Street, White Avenue, East Palouse River Drive and more. Robert Mitchell, Parking and Transportation information specialist, said the proposed new route would simplify the commutes of students who live in some neighborhoods which aren’t currently near a bus stop.
UI Paring and Transportation | Courtesy
“What will be cool for all the people living in apartments down there, like the Grove, is they’ll be one of the final stops and it’ll basically be a straight shot back up to the university,” Mitchell said. “It’ll be pretty convenient.”
The Idaho DOT will accept public feedback and input emailed to [email protected] on the proposed third Moscow bus route until March 4.
“Right now, the most important thing is for everyone to email the Idaho Department of Transportation and say, ‘Hi, I’m a student, staff or faculty of the University of Idaho. SMART Transit is a big help to us, and our community and this third route would be amazing,’” Mitchell said. “And if they want to give specific examples like, ‘I live in the Grove Apartments, and this would enable me to go to and from school without having to worry about parking,’ that would be even better.”
The Idaho DOT must choose from a packet of several project proposals around the state when it decides where to allocate funding. SMART administrators should know if they will receive DOT funding for this project come summer, likely by June or July, Mitchell said.
If the project gets approved, SMART administrators would like to have the new route in functioning by October.
The SMART transit system operates Monday through Friday from 6:40 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Sat. from 8:10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Ellen Dennis can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ellenldennis.
*This story has been corrected to reflect the correct headline.