Regional bus service continues to connect the towns of Taylor and Snowflake with the cities of Show Low and Holbrook, as the Town of Taylor approved an agreement for regional connector transit services at the council meeting on Oct. 4. Absent from the meeting were Councilmen Carl Cosper and Lynn DeWitt.
The City of Show Low Grants and Transit Manager Lisa Robertson gave a presentation and update on the White Mountain Connection (WMC), which has been in operation since 2009.
The WMC connects with the Four Seasons Connection (FSC), which has been servicing the communities of Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside since 1997, creating a commuter service that runs from Pinetop to Holbrook, with stops in Show Low, Taylor and Snowflake.
The WMC annual ridership for 2017 and 2018 was 13,867 boardings. “Most of the people who ride use the bus to get to work. But there was also access to medical, government and recreation centers throughout the area,” shared Robertson.
Currently, WMC transit partners include Taylor, Snowflake, Show Low, Pinetop-Lakeside, Northland Pioneer College (NPC) and Navajo County.
Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is the state agency that WMC contracts with and they pay a good percentage of the operating costs.
Greyhound is also a partner whose biggest contribution is the in-kind match that reduces operating costs directly to the partners. “This year Greyhound had been giving a 16 percent in-kind match, but next year it will be a 36 percent match,” noted Robertson. “I suspect this will reduce your match, definitely not increase it. As a town you are looking at $500 a month for this service.”
Mayor David Smith said, “We don’t see Holbrook up there on the list of towns.”
Robertson said, “There are some challenges going on in Holbrook. I was told we should have had this conversation earlier than we did with them. The City of Holbrook does need to be a partner. I have faith that they will become one.”
The big news this year is that a new bus will be delivered by early December complete with a bus branding that will show off the new WMC logo as well as the municipalities served. Robertson said that in the past they have tried to get advertising from local businesses but with no success.
“It is important that we have some identification that lets people know we have public transit in our community,” shared Robertson. “I can’t tell you the people that have lived here for 20 years and don’t realize we have transportation up here.”
Robertson told the council that Winslow was awarded an ADOT grant for public transportation effective as of Oct. 1 of this year. “We don’t know what that will be like yet,” said Robertson. “But we want to have commuter connection with Holbrook and Flagstaff. We are in negotiations with Greyhound for a stop in Winslow as well.”
For information on ticket prices, times and bus stops, visit: showlowaz.gov/271/White-Mountain-Connection.
