By Rachel Drinkard
Turnagain Times Correspondent
Girdwood Shuttle, Tours and Transportation is exploring the feasibility of offering a new weekday commuter bus serving the Girdwood community beginning Nov. 1 and extending through the winter season with a tentative end date of May 31.
The bus would depart from the new Girdwood Park & Ride lot in the early morning and drop passengers off at the Carr’s on Huffman and the Dimond Center bus transfer station. It would pick up at the same locations in the evening.
“This service holds tremendous potential for a wide variety of people commuting to and from Girdwood,” said Girdwood Shuttle owner, Bill Connell.
Connell believes the biggest opportunity is for commuters currently driving into Anchorage on a regular weekday basis.
“This is a great chance for someone to cut down on vehicle wear and tear and fuel expenses and gain some extra time for sleeping or working between Girdwood and Anchorage,” Connell said. He hopes current commuters will take advantage of the chance to drive their car into town Monday morning and leave it in the parking area throughout the week for getting around Anchorage.
Connell also believes the commuter bus holds potential for those who were previously unable to make it into Anchorage for work, school, errands and events, as well as those in Anchorage wanting to take advantage of mid-week skiing in Girdwood, those needing an economical ride to or from the airport, and, possibly, a partial ride solution for Girdwood students wanting to participate in extracurricular activities in Anchorage.
“As a the owner of a successful business in Girdwood, I view this as a community service first and foremost,” said Connell “and as our opportunity to help the people that live here achieve a more environmentally friendly lifestyle while, hopefully, saving money on commuting costs.”
Connell also notes that this is Girdwood’s chance to take the initiative and make something happen for them in an area where DOT and other public transportation services may not be available for years to come. In order to achieve this, however, he emphasizes the need to meet the venture’s overhead costs, currently estimated to be up to $5,000 per month.
An ambitious pre-sale ticket program is being organized and local business owners are encouraged to become sponsors in order to ensure the continued operation of the bus throughout the winter season.
While Connell recognizes the bus will not be able to accommodate everyone’s schedule, he hopes to be able to meet the needs of the largest group of regular commuters possible and is seeking public input in order to accomplish that goal.
For more information and to offer your feedback, e-mail ridegirdwood@gmail.com or call (907) 227-3301.