The Federal Transit Administration has granted the Ninilchik Tribal Council the $300,000 grant the organization applied for earlier this year to fund a peninsula wide fixed route bus transportation system.
Resource & Environment Department Director Darrel Williams with the Council says they will now review any stipulations that come with the federal funding.
Williams: “For example, to be able to put the buses into service we need to get the buses and a lot of federal agencies have different kinds of oversight when you purchase vehicles and such. So we need to actually work on those details next. Then we can actually acquire the infrastructure to be able to put it to work and then we’re shooting to be able to start the service in mid-June, maybe the end of June.”
He says during that process the Council will be able to determine the costs that passengers will be charged for the transportation services.
Williams: “We’re still hoping to be able to make a ride like $5 or somewhere in that kind of a range to meet that low-income capacity and still be able to provide a [sustainable] service.”
Williams says the plan is to initially offer two fixed route services from their Ninilchik office: one south, between Ninilchik and Homer; and one north, between Ninilchik, Kenai, and Soldotna
The aim of the services is to help people who cannot or do not want to drive to be able to engage in commerce, access healthcare and take care of errands.
The central hub in Ninilchik already hosts a 4,000 square foot transit building that has area to maintain and store the 15 passenger buses the council plans to buy, as well as a waiting area for customers.