Spokane7
35°
Let’s say you live in an isolated town of 130 souls, don’t have a
car and want to work 25 miles up 
the highway. Good luck with that –
unless you live in Tensed, Idaho, and covet a job in Coeur d’Alene. In
that case, you can relax. Just hop the free CityLink bus. The unusual service began in 2005 and has gathered impressive
momentum. Its origins were in the 2000 census, which designated
Kootenai County an urban area and thus in need of a public transit
system. This caused considerable consternation among political
officials, including Dixie Reid, who was a Coeur d’Alene council member
and chairwoman of the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization. She said at the time, “It just scared me to death, because I didn’t
think we could do it. I’m still just amazed that we pulled it off”/Spokesman-Review Editorial Board. More here.
Question: Have you ever ridden a CityLink bus? Or you satisified with the service?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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spokelooneh on September 26 at 8:22 p.m.
“Let’s say you live in an isolated town of 130 souls, don’t have a car and want to work 25 miles up the highway. Good luck with that – unless you live in Tensed, Idaho, and covet a job in Coeur d’Alene. In that case, you can relax. Just hop the free CityLink bus”
Excuse me? It’s nearly 50 miles from Tensed to CdA. Are there no editors/proofreaders anymore?
CityLink is a great system.
BTW, Gookin dissed on CityLink big time, back in the day. Something about free (loader) rides for elderly folks as I recall, and that the increased taxes necessary to pay for CityLink would force such elderly folks out of their homes.
LarrySpencer on September 26 at 10:18 p.m.
“It’s nearly 50 miles from Tensed to CdA.”
true, but that is not the point. The “work” spoken of is at the casino, 25 miles up the road.
The tribe isn’t stupid, they know how to use the government to their advantage.
And it isn’t free, Dave.
Bent on September 27 at 9:26 a.m.
Sorry Larry, the tribe was already funding its bus system to accommodate its workforce and to transport gamblers BEFORE CityLink came to fruition.
It is my understanding that because the Tribe was already spending it own money on the system, that money was used as a match to draw down federal funding to create CityLink…
Furthermore the tribe is still spending a great deal of its own money on this system — and as long as they continue to VOLUNTARILY spend at that level — there is no need to charge fares …
Hard to diss on that one.
Phaedrus on September 27 at 8:35 p.m.
Hard to diss on that one.
Not for LArrySpencer and Dan Gookin.
JohnA on September 28 at 12:21 p.m.
Thanks for the clarification, Bent. Here’s some additional info:
In 2005, on behalf of the Kootenai County Commissioners, I approached the Tribe about using their transit dollars as match for federal funds, and they enthusiastically agreed. This was despite the fact that federal law requires that everyone must be allowed access to a public transit system. This was a departure from the Tribe’s private bus system that was only for those over 21 and were headed to the casino.
Larry, please note that of the 40,000 rides provided free of charge in the month of August, over 26,000 never went near the casino. They utilized the routes serving only CDA, Post Falls and Hayden. And, the rural route that indeed runs 50 miles to CDA from DeSmet provided free rides to nearly 4,900 people, many of whom have no other mode of transportation.
Finally, CityLink remains the only free transit system in the country that partners a Tribe with a local government. That fact was noted by FTA in May when they awarded CityLink its National Ridership award, something everyone in Kootenai County should be proud of.