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Five programs win I-way leadership awards

I-way Leadership awards are offered on an annual basis to recognize leadership and innovation in the effective coordination of mobility options.

The Community Transportation Association of Idaho (CTAI) and ITD's Division of Public Transportation announce the five recipients of the 2010 I-way Leadership Awards. Awardees, listed in alphabetical order, include: Appaloosa Express Transit, Canyon Area Bus Service, Inc., CityLink, Linx, and North Idaho Benches.

Appaloosa Express Transit
Through local mobility planning and review processes, the Nez Perce Tribe recognized the lack of and need for public transportation and took the initiative to pursue Tribal Transit , ARRA, and matching funds to generate a regional system that offers public transportation to everyone living and working within the reservation. It is a fixed route system that provides services in three local mobility networks.

The system crosses ethnic boundaries, serves the elderly, as well as low income and people with disabilities. In addition, it provides student transportation and offers on-demand services to address special needs. The Appaloosa Express Transit now enables people to live in the home of their choice, and it connects with Lewiston Transit, Regional Public Transit, and Valley Transit.

The I-way Leadership Award recognizes Appaloosa Express Transit for its innovation, ability to secure effective connectivity, and for finding an economical and ecological way to address the transportation needs of the variety of potential users throughout the valley.

Appaloosa Express Transit will be presented with its formal I-way Leadership Award at the Idaho Transportation Board meeting in Lewiston on April 22-23, 2010.

Canyon Area Bus Service, Inc. (CABS)
Five years ago, Canyon Area Bus Service, Inc. (CABS) began as a grass-roots community project designed to provide on-demand response shuttle bus services to residents and visitors in areas of the Salmon River Canyon surrounding the City of Riggins. Through partnerships that featured the notable leadership and support of Treasure Valley Transit, the area's Horizon's Program, I-way's coordination initiatives, and persistent innovation and pursuit of funding, CABS currently runs routes five days a week with regular routes to Grangeville and McCall. The growth and future potential of this project are the direct result of the diligence of the project team and managers, as well as over 230 volunteers.

The I-way Leadership Award recognizes Canyon Area Bus Service, Inc. for its vision, innovation, strength of partnerships, and depth of volunteer commitment to provide meaningful fixed and on-demand services for this important north-south corridor.

CABS will be presented with its formal I-way Leadership Award at the Idaho Transportation Board meeting held in Boise on June 15-17.

CityLink
CityLink is the only transit system in the nation that features a financial partnership between a Tribe and local governments to offer free public transit. The Coeur d'Alene Tribe provides over $600,000 annually as match to the Federal Transit Administration funds awarded to Kootenai County and the Kootenai Area Transit System. This match, supplemented by other dollars provided by Cities throughout District 1, have generated a system which has increased from 80,000 riders per month in 2005 to an anticipated 550,000 monthly riders in 2010.

The I-way Leadership Award recognizes CityLink for its vision and commitment to leverage and maximize the mobility resources for the entire area, tribal and non-tribal, and for its instrumental role in ensuring that robust fixed and demand-response services are available to residents of the area.

CityLink will be presented with its formal I-way Leadership Award at the Idaho Transportation Board meeting held in Coeur d'Alene on Aug.18-19.

Linx (Greater Yellowstone Regional Transportation Cooperative, Inc.)
Linx is the result of a regional initiative to coordinate the transportation interests of riders, providers, business investors, and government agencies within the Greater Yellowstone Region. Its open co-op business model brings users, investors, and government agencies into the governance of the co-op, and riders are able to purchase a single ticket to get from point A to point B in the Greater Yellowstone Region through the cooperative arrangement. It reflects a meaningful partnership between social service and private business transportation services.

The I-way Leadership Award recognizes Linx for the innovative manner in which it is able to include and vest the private and public sector in its transportation system.

Linx will be presented with its formal I-way Leadership Award at the Idaho Transportation Board meeting held in Rigby on July 21-22, 2010.

North Idaho Benches
Accessibility plays a significant role in the effectiveness of any mobility option. In response to a photo in the Coeur d'Alene Press of a passenger waiting for a bus in a snowbank resulting from the incredible snowfall in the area during 2009, Craig Wilcox initiated a process, in cooperation with the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization's Public Transportation Roundtable, to wade through codes, accessibility issues, funding challenges, and more to create "Benches for Bus Stops." Local entities were invited to sponsor a bench, and at least eight have been secured and placed within the context of this solution.

The I-way Leadership Award recognizes the North Idaho Benches project and Craig Wilcox for his initiative in recognizing and addressing a significant and often overlooked barrier to an individual's mobility.

The North Idaho Benches project and Craig Wilcox will be presented with its formal I-way Leadership Award at the Idaho Transportation Board meeting held in Coeur d'Alene on Aug. 18-19.