First public buses hit the road

WASILLA - Getting around has been a challenge for the poor, the elderly and the disabled of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Until now.

A few dozen Mat-Su residents, mayors and local dignitaries gathered Friday morning beneath gray, drizzly skies at the Wasilla Senior Center to officially launch Mat-Su Community Transit (MASCOT), the Valleys first public transportation service.

The dreary weather belied the upbeat mood of people in the crowd as they visited with one another, explored the buses and rode up and down on the vehicles wheelchair lifts.

At 11 a.m., the crowd trooped inside the senior center for a brief ceremony and to thank the scores of people and organizations who had a hand in putting MASCOT on the road.

The need for public transportation has been addressed in borough strategic plans for 20 years now, said Stacie Stigar, executive director of United Way of Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

But they havent addressed it, or attempted to address it, she said.

Public transit systems, Stigar said, are not moneymakers. The borough just could not afford to launch a system on its own.

Thanks to the efforts and funding of a broad range of private and government support, however, public transit now exists in the Valley.

Comprised of five bus-like vans, the service is the result of more than four years of work. Volunteers from the Wasilla and Palmer senior centers, United Way, Life Quest, Wasilla Head Start, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and other organizations pulled together all the information needed to organize MASCOTs transit service plan.

With money from sources such as the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, MASCOT is finally on the road. Much of the funding stems from gasoline-tax revenues and government support of various kinds, Stiger said.

Keeping it there is a matter of $600,000 per year. Fares will only cover about 14 percent of the costs, she said.