missoula bike/walk/bus week

Get on The Bus

By Dylan Tucker, 4-24-06

Bike Walk Bus Week is an annual event in Missoula that focuses on alternative transportation and reducing emissions. Though I ride my bike daily and love to walk the downtown streets, I’ve never ridden Missoula’s public bus system, Mountain Line. Since Mountain Line is offering free rides all week long, I decided to give it a try. What I found were pleasant surprises around every turn.

My adventure began at the transfer station on the corner of Pine and Ryman in downtown Missoula. Inside the building, I found a little café, a comfortable waiting area and a wall map of Missoula, lined with colorful bus routes. Coffee was less than a buck, and after I studied the map and schedule, I was ready to hop on the Number One line and tour Missoula. The Number One takes commuters from downtown to the university, then down South Avenue to Community Medical Center before making its way back to the transfer station in just under an hour.

Recently, the Mountain Line was chosen to receive a sizable chunk of federal money to expand their facilities and increase the amount of buses in operation. General Manager Steve Earl said they are currently writing up the grant.

“If this works out, we are looking at getting more buses, increasing our storage in the garages and (expanding) our employment by 25 percent,” he said.

Earl wants everyone in Missoula to try out the bus system, and offers a free ride coupon on their Web site. I told him of my mission, and he welcomed the challenge.

“You’ll see Missoula in a whole new way,” he promised. “And we’ll get you where you’re going on time, too.”

It was a beautiful day to be outside in Missoula, so I took a seat and waited for my bus. Right on time, a sleek pink, yellow and green bus pulled up to the curb. Inside, I was greeted by the driver and found comfy seats and smiling faces. My fellow passengers were three students on their way to classes, and a pair of elderly women headed to visit a friend in the hospital. I took a seat in the back, and off we went.

In no time, we were at the University. A few minutes more, and we were crossing back over Higgins on the way to the hospital. And Steve was right. As a passenger, I was checking out the houses, watching people walking on the streets, and seeing parts of Missoula I would’ve flown by in my car.

On our return to the transfer station, I watched the clock closely. I was sure I’d be smugly proving Steve wrong, when we got off schedule when the driver pulled to the curb on Broadway to assist a man in a wheelchair. But in no time, the man was in the bus, strapped in and comfortable – and we were pulling into the station right on time.

The Mountain Line typically sees increases of 10 to 20 percent more passengers during Bike Walk Bus Week, Earl said. In addition to the free rides, passengers can get raffle tickets from drivers to be eligible to win a $25 gift certificate.

Mountain Line isn’t the only Missoula business offering discounts and deals to commuters. The Good Food Store features “non-polluter commuter deals” all week. Bernice’s Bakery will serve up "Bernice’s Deals for Alternative Wheels," taking 50 cents off of every $2 purchase all week. In all, there are more than 25 events, deals and specials as incentives for people to ditch their cars.

One of the highlights of Bike Walk Bus Week is always the Festival of Cycles, held in Bonner park only blocks from downtown and the University. This year’s 9th annual bike extravaganza is bound to be filled with fun, food and everything bicycle under the sun. A Bike rodeo, safety course, free bike tune-ups and more invite all of Missoula to pedal. Free Cycles Missoula will be on hand to show off their crazy cycle creations and to lend a hand. Last year, the Free Cycles volunteers let people try a four-person bike, a bike that stood over 6 feet tall, and a handful of other unique rides.

Jack Minnich, the local non-profit’s sole employee, promises that this year will top all others.

“We’re really excited,” Minnich says. “This is really our showcase, where we get to show people what it is we do, promote alternative transportation, and have a blast doing it.”

For more information on how to get involved, visit bikewalkbusmissoula.org.

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