IN-TOWN LOOPS: Alyeska will run the new two-vehicle system during its first year.
Thanks to federal money, those who live, work and play in Girdwood will soon have their own public transit system, a pair of mini-buses each traveling a one-hour loop several times a day, owned and run by the Alyeska resort.
The buses, with 15 seats each, should start transporting passengers sometime in the fall, said Jason Lott, a marketing official for Alyeska Resort, which will run the buses for at least the first year.
The Glacier Valley Stagecoach, as the transit system will be known, will replace the resort's three existing shuttle buses, Lott said.
It also will greatly expand the shuttle services to include a total of 19 stops, from the Alyeska Hotel up the valley to the gas station at the Seward Highway and back again, a three to four mile loop, said John Byrne, the resort's owner.
A fare of $1 to $2 will be charged most of the year, Byrne said Monday. The fare could be less or even free in summer.
"We're not looking to make money on this operation, so if we're in a position where the books are balancing and if there's a period where we're not charging a fare, that will be great," he said.
Total cost to run the Glacier Valley Stagecoach will be about $300,000 a year, according to Byrne. A federal grant of almost $224,000 will pay for most of the start-up costs. But the grant requires another $60,000 from local businesses. Alyeska Resort has underwritten half of that, said Byrne, along with the Double Musky and Chair 5, two well-known Girdwood restaurants, he said.
Alyeska Resort will make up any shortfall for now. But the community must support the transit system, said Byrne. The grant is likely to be renewed, at least for a few years, he said. But long term, the Glacier Valley Stagecoach will have to pay for itself.
"I don't need to own this forever," Byrne said. "I look forward to the day when someone takes over the actual operation of it. But in the meantime, we're better positioned to operate than anybody."
The residents of Girdwood, site of the most developed ski and snowboarding resort in Alaska and a major gateway to Chugach State Park, has long clamored for some public transit system to serve its residents, seasonal workers and tourists, said Julie Hasquet, a spokeswoman for Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.
Byrne envisioned that the modest Glacier Valley Stagecoach could some day be the link between the Alaska Railroad station at Girdwood -- bringing tourists from Stevens International Airport -- and the town's attractions.
Linked to other buses that would travel the Seward Highway, the Stagecoach also would allow Girdwood residents who work in Anchorage to make the daily commute without driving.
The Municipality, of which Girdwood is a part, sponsored the grant application, which was written by city employees including Girdwood resident Rosey Fletcher, said Hasquet.
The grant for the Girdwood buses is part of a $4.3 million package of public-transit grants issued by the Federal Transit Administration and approved and distributed by the transit coordinator of the Alaska Department of Transportation.
The beneficiaries and amounts are chosen according to a distribution formula, said Eric Taylor, manager of the statewide long-range transportation plan and the transit programs.
The ground work for the grants was laid by the 2005 Transportation Authorization bill shepherded through the Congress in part by Alaska Rep. Don Young, who was chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee at the time.
Among other Alaska public transit systems that will receive money in this latest installment of grants are those in Juneau ($1 million), Ketchikan ($769,000) and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough ($892,000).
Find Peter Porco online at adn.com/contact/pporco or call 257-4582.
