LOCAL MOTION

MAT-SU — Jan Cureton spends about an hour a day with some newfound friends. They talk, share candy and have even started an informal book-sharing group.

The Palmer resident is one of many Valley commuters turning to public transportation as a solution to rising gasoline prices.

As a Valley Mover customer, Cureton rides the bus from the park-and-ride lot near Mat-Su Regional Medical Center to her job in Anchorage five days a week. Although it means she also has a four-mile walk to work when she gets there, Cureton said the savings on what she used to pay for gas is more than worth it.

“I ride it every day for $100 a month,” she said. “When I was driving, I’d spend about $120 a week on gas. I’m saving over $400 a month, and the wear and tear on my car.”

That savings is also what motivates Wasilla resident Michael Gilbert, who is one of dozens of Share-A-Ride customers in the Valley. Operated by the Municipality of Anchorage, Share-A-Ride has 53 of its 58 vans based in the Valley; catering primarily to commuters who live here and work in Anchorage. Although vanpooling is ecologically sound, it’s the savings on gas that prompts many to try it, Gilbert said.

“When I started doing this, I was filling up my tank twice a week,” he said. And like Cureton, who takes the Valley Mover bus, “I’m saving about $400 a month. That’s a lot of money. The savings was one of the main factors. There are other perks, too. Round-trip I get an extra hour of sleep, they maintain the trucks and everything, and I don’t have to worry about driving in bad weather.”

What does he do with that extra cash he saves on gas each month?

“Spend it on other things,” Gilbert said. “Well, my wife does.”

Stories like Cureton’s and Gilbert’s are typical, said Robbie Wuitschick, executive director for Valley Mover. Since opening a little more than a year ago, Valley Mover has built a strong ridership for its commuter service to and from Anchorage. Recently, however, as gas prices have topped $4 a gallon and continue to rise, “our phones are ringing off the hook,” Wuitschick said.

“The gas prices are terrible,” she said. “That’s the motivation for a lot of our commuters. We’ve seen an increase every month since we’ve started, but because of gas prices, our ridership is soaring.”

Valley Mover hauls close to 200 passengers on a heavy day, she said, and is working with Mat-Su Community Transit (MASCOT) to connect areas of Palmer and the Butte to its routes.

“Every single day, oh my gosh, our phone is ringing constantly right now,” she said. “People want to know if they can do a family pass or other passes.”

A monthly pass to ride Valley Mover is $100 for unlimited use, and a day pass is $10, Wuitschick said. For commuters who use the service daily, “that averages to only about $3 a day, and that’s unlimited rides.”

Share-A-Ride is also a considerable savings over driving every day, said Crissy Ditmore, project manager for VPSI Commuter Vanpools. On average, riders in the Valley pay about $140 a month, depending on mileage.

Compared to more than $400 to drive themselves, “It’s like winning the lottery on a daily basis,” Ditmore said. “We also have vans that go seven days a week. It’s flexible, because each group (using a van) determines what their schedule is.”

The state Department of Transportation is also recognizing the benefit of carpooling, vanpooling and public transportation, said David Post, regional planning manager for DOT’s Central Region. Nationally, about 18 cents of every dollar in a household is spent on transportation, which is second only to housing, which is about 30 cents, he said.

“That shows you there’s a huge amount of money folks spend getting around and a huge opportunity for people to save money,” he said.

For a family with two commuters, having one leave his or her car at home and vanpool or take the bus can save as much as $800 a month, the DOT reports.

In addition, Share-A-Ride “has been very effective in reducing the amount of traffic on the Glenn Highway,” Post said. He said DOT estimates about 4 percent of traffic during peak periods of travel are vanpool vehicles.

MASCOT expands

For those looking to get around within the Valley, Mat-Su Community Transit is expanding its services. On April 4, it began morning and evening express service from stops along Knik-Goose Bay Road to Wasilla, linking with its regular service in Wasilla and Palmer. In June, MASCOT will open another express route between Wasilla and Palmer that will accommodate regular work schedules and also connect with Valley Mover. Along with the new routes, MASCOT will operate circular service in Palmer and Wasilla.

The expansion is good news for an organization that nearly closed a couple of years ago, said Charles Parker, MASCOT board president. While high gas prices can pinch the budgets of Valley residents, they also bring more attention to alternatives like local public transportation.

“We haven’t seen any huge changes yet, but over time we definitely see trends going up pretty solid,” Parker said. “Once gas prices go up into this range we are now, we’ll see ridership pick up. Obviously, the folks who need us to get to work are going to ride. The big jump is in the folks who choose to ride. We see a lot more of the casual ridership.”

That wouldn’t have been the case in 2009, when MASCOT experienced a $400,000 budget shortfall and laid off nine employees, including all but one bus driver.

“We learned from that and had grown so fast we just couldn’t support where we were at,” Parker said. “When we got reduced funding, that’s when it showed. We’ve been very attuned to growing slowly … and that’s helped us grow smarter.”

It can take something drastic like expensive gasoline to get some people to change their habits, Parker said.

“Hey, we’re Alaskans,” he said. “We love our trucks and our SUVs. But as soon as you have to pay for that gas tank refill, all of the sudden the economy car looks a little better.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.