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START seeks operational flexibility, vanpool pilot and extra Village Express service amid summer staffing and demand concerns
Summary
At the May 13 joint meeting, START (local transit) asked for flexibility to adjust service during summer staffing fluctuations and proposed reinstating peak summer service to Teton Village and a vanpool pilot; staff and the START board identified those two items as highest priorities if funds are added back to the recommended budget.
START, the region’s public transit operator, told the joint Jackson Hole–Teton County budget meeting on May 13 it faces summer staffing constraints and peak‑hour overcrowding that warrant targeted service adjustments and new pilot programs.
Staff and the START board identified two proposed restorations as the highest priorities: additional peak‑hour service to Teton Village during summer afternoon peaks (the “Village Express” PM run) and a Vanpool program that would subsidize employer/employee‑driven vanpools. START staff asked elected officials to allow operational flexibility—adjusting frequencies and reallocating hours as staffing levels permit—so the system can respond in real time to hiring and seasonal demand.
Director Bruce Abel and transit staff said last summer the afternoon peak running from Teton Village to town sometimes required a second bus or schedule backups to avoid stranded riders. START proposed adding peak summer service and said that, separately, a Vanpool pilot could provide a lower‑cost, scalable option for employer‑sponsored commutes and nonstandard work hours.
START estimated the one‑year public share of a Vanpool pilot at about $54,400 (the model assumes a three‑way cost split between employers, employees and the public agency). Staff said the vanpool pilot would be scalable and could be stood up with partner employers; it is unlikely to be fully operational this summer at large scale but could begin as a small pilot and grow.
On the Village Express peak service, staff said the immediate need is to address overcrowding on afternoon runs; the morning peak was less acute. START requested flexibility in its operations plan so it could move hours between routes or change frequencies without a formal amendment if staffing availability changes.
Elected officials expressed support for both priorities in a staff straw poll and said they would each take the matters back to their respective adoption processes. START will return to the town and county in early June with details if either body requests formal inclusion in its municipal budget.
The board also discussed other START requests (capital items and signal‑priority work) that staff recommended be deferred or scheduled for future budget cycles because of fiscal timing and grant timing issues.
