JACKSON, Wyo. — The eagerly anticipated airport shuttle pilot program launched on Dec. 16, 2023, just in time for the holidays. After a few weeks of service, representatives for both START and Jackson Hole Airport said they’re feeling good about the shuttle.
“I’m pleased,” START Transit Operations Director Bruce Abel told Buckrail.
Abel shared some of the statistical benchmarks START is looking for in the four-month pilot program, which will run through Sunday, April 14.
“Target ridership is 175 to 200 per day by the time we’ve completed the pilot,” Abel said. “We are looking to average about 120 per day throughout the four-month period. Right now, we’re seeing ridership in the 50 to 70 riders per day range. On one day, we had 101. For being two weeks in, those are nice numbers for such a new service. We also have to temper that with it’s probably the highest demand with folks coming in for the holidays.”
Abel anticipates additional high-volume periods surrounding Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents’ Day.
Megan Jenkins, the airport’s communications manager, also expressed optimism regarding the first few weeks of shuttle service.
“We are very supportive of the START initiative out here and we are doing our best to encourage as many people as we can to ride the bus so we can collect as much data as possible,” Jenkins told Buckrail.
Both Abel and Jenkins said that feedback regarding the shuttle has been positive thus far.
“People like that it runs from early in the morning to 10 at night,” Jenkins said. “People are really impressed with that.”
