JACKSON, Wyo. — START Bus has announced new winter 2020/2021 protocols for START Bus passengers and drivers that may impact commuters this winter.
The town of Jackson and the Teton Village Association have created these protocols in order to maintain safety and distance for riders and passengers. However, with reduced capacity on each bus, there are concerns from community members that rely on the bus to commute to work. With only 30 people on each bus, commuters may have to wait longer for a bus that isn’t at capacity.
“For anybody at Stilson the bus is full at that point, I feel like a lot of people are going to be denied rides,” said Chris Eckerson, who uses the bus to commute to and from work every day. Eckerson supports the capacity limits but thinks that more buses need to be added. He experienced over-crowded buses this summer.
He also shared his concerns over the mask policy, “They’ve got to do a better job enforcing it, maybe 50% of people wear a mask in the morning. The bus driver tries to tell people to grab a mask but they just sit down and the lights go off and that’s that.”
START Bus and The Teton Village Association say more buses will be added, but the number remains to be seen. Melissa Turley, Teton Village Associate, Executive Director, stated, “we will be adding more shuttles during peak times to meet demand, recognizing the capacity per shuttle has been reduced.”
The START Board will meet virtually Nov. 12, at 11:30 a.m. Among other agenda items, they will discuss the reduced passenger capacity and consider outside contracting to increase the level of service.
