JACKSON, Wyo. — The START On Demand South Park pilot program did not receive funding for the FY24 budget and will be discontinued on July 1.
The South Park On Demand program launched in December 2022 and offered rides from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. to connect South Park, Rafter J and Melody Ranch neighborhoods to the bus stop at Smith’s, where riders can connect to the Town Shuttle and Teton Village South routes.
Ridership and the START Board’s need to pair down budget requests—at the request of the Town and County, were cited as the reasons for the discontinuation of the program after seven months. START is funded jointly by the Town and County.
A number of community members who said they rely on the service on a daily basis submitted public comments asking to continue the program. One person offered suggestions to only run the program in the mornings and evenings when riders need it the most to get to and from work. Others pointed out that the program included little public outreach and marketing.
“The low ridership is certainly due to no one knowing about it and relying on word of mouth seems to only set this up to fail,” a Melody Ranch resident who identified themselves as a local teacher wrote.
In an email to one community member who said she is blind and has used the service since December, Transit Director Bruce Abel explained that the goal of the program was to have at least three riders per hour of service and that the on-Demand service in East Jackson averaged nearly 10 riders per hour.
“Through the first six months of the South Park pilot project, the per-rider cost of the service was approximately $33,” Abel wrote. “This cost can be compared to a cost of approximately $6.50 per rider on the East Jackson On Demand service.”
According to START’s Ridership Report for May 2023, 648 passengers used the service at an average of 1.9 riders per hour. May was the second busiest month of the program, lagging only slightly behind the 652 riders in March.
“While it was our initial intent and desire to continue to operate the South Park START On Demand pilot project through the summer and fall and evaluate it after one full year of operation, the budgetary realities facing our funders resulted in the current recommendation to eliminate the service effective July 1,” Abel wrote.
The East Jackson On Demand service launched in November 2021, and according to the Ridership Report, the program is most popular in the winter months with above 12 riders per hour, December through March. Ridership has also continued to increase over time, with 2023 ridership outpacing 2022 ridership every month.
For both On Demand services, the highest demand on weekdays is during the evening hours from 4 to 6 p.m., and the morning hours, from 7 to 9 a.m.
The Town Council approved its budget on June 5 and during the meeting, Councilmember Jessica Sell Chambers tried without success to reignite the conversation about funding the South Park On Demand service. Sell Chambers explained that she began relying on the service after an injury left her unable to drive.
“START On Demand has changed my life for these past five weeks,” Sell Chamber said. “I think we are letting people down that need this.”
While the other council members shared the sentiment, they said the revenue and funding issues ultimately guided their decision.
“This is a hard one,” Vice Mayor Arne Jorgensen said. “I have sat through almost all the START Board meetings in the run-up to the pilot. I would have loved to give the South Park pilot another year…from a sustainability standpoint, it wasn’t there.”
“For me, the bottom line is it was like one person per hour and maybe 20 people total per week,” Councilmember Jim Rooks said. “I was frustrated too but I just couldn’t rationalize any more funding.”
The START Board will meet this afternoon, June 22 at 3:30 p.m. The Teton County Board of County Commissioners will meet June 26 to discuss its budget; approval will occur at the June 27 meeting.
