Safety of other passengers cited as reason for change
By HAYDEN SEDER
A recent change to the schedule of the Mountain Rides blue route in Ketchum didn’t go unnoticed by those who take the bus home after a late night. On Feb. 27, the blue route, which services downtown Ketchum, Warm Springs, Sun Valley and Elkhorn, initiated a service change ending service at 12:30 a.m. instead of the previous 2 a.m. The decision to limit late-night service of the bus was the direct result of inappropriate, raucous behavior by late-night riders.
“This has been an ongoing problem for many years,” said Jamie Canfield, director of transit operations, of issues with late-night riders which, over the years, have included incidents like riders sneaking liquor on board, starting fights, and vandalizing Mountain Rides property. The worst of all these incidents is vomiting, which requires an outside company to clean the buses to ensure they are cleaned to FDA standards, since vomit is considered a biohazard. “Since the beginning of the ski season this year, we have spent over $2,000 on the cleaning of the buses because of vomit,” said Canfield. Many don’t realize that once someone throws up on a bus, it must immediately be taken offline/out-of-service.
Canfield was the bus driver during a recent incident that was considered the impetus for limiting late-night service.
Canfield had pulled up to Wells Fargo on his last run into Sun Valley for the night while driving the late-night blue route bus. Mountain Rides buses are equipped to handle roughly 50 people, and that’s standing room only. When Canfield pulled up, there were more than 100 people waiting to catch the bus.
“I pulled up and told them I couldn’t get everyone on the bus but to be civilized—no pushing, shoving, raised voices. Out of the crowd of over 100, only 12 made it on the bus because they started pushing and shoving with no regard for each other; someone even ended up in my lap because they were pushing so hard. So, I closed the doors and drove off, which is what I told them would happen if they didn’t act with decorum.”
The day after the incident, a Mountain Rides board meeting was held to discuss whether to limit the late-night route. Ultimately, it’s the board’s decision on whether to change routes and how, and they handed down a verdict curtailing the 2 a.m. service.
In the weeks since the decision was made, Canfield says incidents have gone down to almost zero. “This was done basically for the safety of other passengers, for our drivers, and the safety of our equipment.”
Prioritizing the safety of their drivers was a major reason for Mountain Rides’ decision. “We don’t go out of our way to cut service,” said Canfield. “We’re here to take people from one place to another, but we have to do it safely. If there are people who make that ride unsafe, then we have to take that into consideration.”
Kim MacPherson, director of outreach and communications for Mountain Rides, emphasizes that Mountain Rides bus drivers are employees and the bus their workplace. “We don’t want this to become a hard job to hold and don’t want difficult riders to affect that,” MacPherson said. Retaining employees in the Wood River Valley these days is crucial when the available workforce is already limited.
While this decision is a blow to those who enjoy the late-night bar scene in Ketchum, MacPherson points out that this change has actually created more service. MacPherson explained, “We now run the service until 12:30 a.m. every night, including through slack, so we’re actually adding service instead of taking it away.” Usually after ski season ends in mid-April, Mountain Rides cuts back service to only go until 10 p.m.
As for whether the late-night route will be brought back in the future, MacPherson says it is up to their board. Annual service plan discussions begin in May or June this year and will likely include talks of whether to bring back the 2 a.m. bus. “The best thing would be for someone to write us a letter or come to our meeting,” said MacPherson of how citizens can show support for bringing back the late-night route.