Latest news with #MountainLine
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mountain Line Transit Authority temporarily cuts down customer service hours
MORGANTOWN, (WBOY) — The Mountain Line Transit Authority is temporarily scaling back its customer service hours as of Tuesday, May 27, amid staffing shortages, according to officials. CEO Maria Smith told 12 News that the reason for this change is the fact that the Morgantown facility currently has one full-time employee, as opposed to two like they usually have. Prior to this change, the transit authority had customer service availability seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Moving forward, Mountain Line Transit Authority will offer customer service to its customers from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. 'So we're cutting back the hours in order to you know, not burn them out,' said Smith. 'We do expect this to be a temporary problem [and] that we'll be back to full staff soon.' According to Smith, Mountain Line typically keeps a part-time employee on their staff who would fill in during times when it was facing a shortage. However, it's currently having trouble filling that position, which has resulted in them getting temporary help from somebody with a temp agency. 'They've carried us through a little bit up until now, but they were no longer able to continue,' Smith added, regarding the temp worker. Therefore, the facility is looking to hire temps and/or a part-time employee to help spread out some of the work, so that they can return to normal hours of operation for the customer service center. Cheeseman to return as Doddridge County Superintendent This part-time worker would typically cover on Wednesdays, but Smith stated that they should be prepared to cover whenever either of the other two employees are out sick or on vacation. Some of the job responsibilities include updating the mobile app and answering phone calls for all riders, which includes letting them know where buses are and what time they're arriving if there's some sort of delay. In the interim, Mountain Line Transit Authority will have staff members available from 3-5 p.m. to answer some questions via phone call. Anytime after that window, riders are encouraged to download the mobile app and make sure to be at their bus stop at least five minutes prior to their bus's scheduled arrival time. 'All services are running as […] normal,' said Smith. 'Currently, there's a lot of construction in the area, so some routes are running a little bit late, but everything is still running.' Anybody interested in applying should call the Mountain Line Transit Authority at (304) 296-3680. Smith also told 12 News that all of Mountain Line's local routes are running as usual, including their Grey Line. The Pifer Terminal will still be open to the public as well, including access to the restrooms and waiting area. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘It's been 50 years': Bill to update public transit law awaits governor's signature
Mountain Line, Missoula's community bus service, provides zero-fare fixed-route bus and Paratransit service in and around Missoula and the University of Montana. (Courtesy photo) Right now, the City of Billings MET Transit buses can't serve nearby Lockwood because of a 1973 law. Legislation awaiting a decision by Gov. Greg Gianforte would change that, as well as an issue regarding transportation districts highlighted during the past few years in Bozeman. If signed, House Bill 764 would make changes to Montana's urban transportation districts and bus systems. Under current law, transit systems owned by a municipality can't serve communities outside the city limits. Legislators also used the bill as an opportunity to revisit laws surrounding urban transportation districts. The new law would open up cities with larger transportation systems — like Billings — to expand their reach outside town. Rusty Logan, an assistant director with the City of Billings who leads MET Transit, said the legislation could potentially lead to new routes. 'It allows the city to more openly negotiate inter-local agreements to provide regional transit service,' said Logan, who is also the president of the Montana Transit Association. 'As far as the urban transportation districts goes, the intention of the bill was to make it easier to establish an urban transportation district; and in saying 'easier,' just easier to get the vote on the ballot so that the voters could decide.' Currently, municipal bus routes can't go further than eight miles from city limits. The bill adds language allowing municipalities to exceed that mileage if funded by another state, federal or non-profit source. The bill was brought by Rep. Brian Close, a Bozeman Democrat, whose community was part of the reason the legislation was brought in the first place. 'It's been 50 years since you looked at these statutes,' Close said during a House hearing on the bill on March 4. 'And I think the statutes need just a small amount of reform.' The 2020 census put the Bozeman population at more than 50,000 people, an important milestone as they were now federally required to create a Metropolitan Planning Organization. It also opens up the city for increased federal funding, including for transportation. While the Bozeman area already had some transit services run by a non-profit, a new funding structure had to be created in order to continue receiving federal funding. Gallatin Valley Urban Transportation District was formed in the wake of the changes to Bozeman's population. Creation of the district required 20% of all registered voters in the boundaries of the proposed district to sign a petition to get it on the ballot. It was a drawn out process, said Sunshine Ross, who is the transit director at Gallatin Valley Urban Transportation District. 'A lot of effort, a lot of time, but it really did pay off,' Ross said. Gallatin County voters approved the district, with 79% voting yes. HB 764 will simplify the process by allowing a county commission to put creation of a transportation district directly on the ballot. 'It eliminates this really onerous threshold,' said Jordan Hess, who is the CEO of Mountain Line and a former city council member in Missoula. Gallatin Valley was the fifth transportation district in the state, which includes larger cities like Missoula and smaller ones like Glendive, which is served by Dawson Urban Transit. The bill also gave a clear definition of 'direct transportation service,' saying it was 1.5 miles from the nearest route used by 'a vehicle that provides general or special service to the public on a regular and continuing basis.' Clarity was needed in cases where a property owner wanted to get out of the boundaries of the transportation district, which can be used to generate funding through taxes. 'Our board has had to essentially define the term in statute by policy, since it is not defined in statute,' Hess said. 'We're happy to be in a situation. We're happy to be in an environment where that's clarified and we're not having to interpret unclear statutes.'
