Public bus link planned for Lapwai, Kamiah
LEWISTON – Public bus service should soon provide a lift to commuters between Lapwai and Kamiah.
The Nez Perce Tribe hopes to have a daily link between the two cities within the next three months, part of a public transportation program that one tribal official says has long been in discussions.
Bus service between the two cities is scheduled to begin in about 120 days, said tribal transportation planner Della Cree. The tribe has already acquired four vehicles from the state of Idaho, and is advertising for drivers to operate them. The tribe is also meeting with Lewiston’s Valley Transit about tying in with that service.
“This has always been something the tribe has wanted to do,” Cree said. “We’re able to actually do it now.”
Cree said the motivation for the service came out of an inability for some residents to get to meetings and other events elsewhere on the reservation. Many tribal members also commute between the two cities each day, she said, and without a car, some have had to rely on friends and relatives. “It’s very difficult for our tribal members who live on the east end to get down here,” Cree said from her office in Lapwai. “Most of the time they wait for quarterly meetings in the Kamiah area.”
The service will be open to all riders. Schedules and costs for potential riders are still being determined, Cree said, but will be established once the system is running. An annual budget for the program is also being determined.
The tribe has acquired three buses and a van from the state through $196,547 in federal funding. All buses are compatible with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Cree said.
The van will be used as a service vehicle to provide tribal members rides to medical appointments on the reservation, she said. That service will require 48-hours notice.
Cree said there are plans to provide bus service from Lapwai to Moscow and Pullman in addition to the Kamiah-Lapwai route.
Valley Transit officials will meet with tribal representatives in the near future to iron out details of a relationship between the two organizations, said Valley Transit Executive Director Tom LaPointe.
“Our job is to assist in public transportation options, and I think it’s fantastic that the tribe is bringing transportation from the Kamiah area to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley,” LaPointe said.
The tribe is hiring drivers with valid commercial driver’s licenses to operate the buses. Cree said those interested in acquiring a CDL can do so through courses at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston.