MISSOULA - Beginning on Saturday, September 13, you can catch a ride outside on the new Marshall Mountain Line.
Free shuttles will run from downtown Missoula to Marshall Mountain Park every weekend through October 26.
Mountain Line chief operating officer and general manager, Jordan Hess, said the shuttles will help drive more access to the outdoors.
“Missoula has high quality transit within the valley. It's easy to get around. But a lot of why we live in Montana is the ability to get out and recreate and get into nature,” Hess said. “This service will connect people in a way that really isn't possible just with our regular transit system.”
The shuttle is part of a pilot program. Mountain Line and partners from across the city and county have been working on it for months. They hope the service will make it easier for people with and without cars to enjoy Marshall Mountain.
“The goal of this pilot project is to provide an opportunity for people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to get up to Marshall Mountain and hike or go for a bike ride or go for a picnic or just have the opportunity to get out in the woods,” Hess said. “Marshall Mountain is popular, and so there's definitely some congestion up there. The idea is that if someone could ride the bus from in town, maybe put their bike on the bike trailer, it would give them an opportunity to get up there without driving and adding the emissions and the road.”
The shuttles will run hourly on Saturdays and Sundays from the Downtown Transfer Center between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., with additional stops at Missoula College and Sha-Ron Fishing Access. They can hold up to 16 people and 16 bikes per trip, with space for adaptive bicycles upon request.
Although the shuttle service has not started yet, Hess said community members have already been sharing their excitement with Mountain Line. As the buses start up, staff from Mountain Line and Missoula County will be on board collecting data and feedback for future rides.
“If it goes well, then we're going to try to figure out how to sustain this through support from the community, through support from other partners. If people want to go to a different area, we want to learn all of this. Is this service useful? Do people enjoy it?” Hess said. “We're approaching it with an open mind and we're excited to see what we learn.”
