JACKSON, Wyo. — Representatives from the Jackson Hole Airport and START Bus convened at the airport Friday morning to share details and answer questions about the airport shuttle pilot program that will begin in December.
Service between downtown Jackson and the airport will be offered from Saturday, Dec. 16, through Sunday, April 14, 2024, running hourly from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. In town, the shuttle will stop at four locations: Miller Park, Antler Inn, Home Ranch Welcome Center and the intersection of Deloney and Willow Streets. One-way fare is $10 per adult.
The pilot program will serve as a data-gathering period for the airport and START teams, who hope to eventually implement a more permanent version of the shuttle.
“We’re over the moon about this opportunity to have a pilot program for a shuttle service from town to the airport,” Airport Board President Ed Liebzeit said at the press conference. “It’s something we’ve been thinking about for ages.”
“If we do this right, hopefully we can make it a permanent service,” Liebzeit added later.
START Transit Operations Director Bruce Abel explained that the viability of the pilot program would be measured through both participation and survey responses of riders and non-riders. The pilot will be considered a success if the shuttle serves an average of seven passengers per hour and if it reaches a farebox recovery ratio of 40% or more, Abel said.
The Transit app (where users can purchase shuttle tickets and see shuttle schedules/locations) will connect users to a survey about the shuttle.
“In the transit business, we can’t produce ridership,” Abel said. “What we produce is service.”
Also in attendance were Mayor Pro Tempore Arne Jorgensen, Vice-Chairwoman of the Teton County Board of County Commissioners Natalia Macker, START Board Chairperson Ty Hoath and Councilmembers Jim Rooks and Jonathan Schechter.
“When the community drives programs, I feel like they have a greater chance of success,” Macker said. “I’m really excited and confident that we’re onto something here. This is a really great blend of something that will serve our local community and our visitors.”
Every speaker emphasized the need for locals, including those in the room, to make use of the shuttle if they want to see it succeed.
“The only way it’s going to succeed is ridership,” Schechter said. “We need to do everything we can, not just ourselves, but encourage our family and friends to make this happen.”
“My wife and I are traveling a day or two after the service begins and I’m very much looking forward to using the shuttle,” Jorgensen said.
Publicizing the very existence of the shuttle is a top priority for both agencies, with the airport laying out a reported $90,000 in marketing funds “so folks can and should be aware that this option exists for them and hopefully it will work for their travel plans,” Rooks said.
Abel also noted that START has been investing into improving the Transit app, adding GPS tracking and electronic payment options to “take away some of the anxiety people have about using public transportation.”
Both teams say they have been in touch with key players in the town’s lodging sector, encouraging them to include the shuttle in their messaging to clients.
Another focal point in the conversation was positioning the shuttle as an eco-friendly transportation solution, with Liebzeit saying Grand Teton National Park (known as the airport’s “landlord”) is “very excited” about the program. “They’d love nothing more than to see fewer cars on the road.”
