Valley Mover proposal an ambitious move, but a Valley need

You got to give Mokie Tew a lot of credit for his plan to provide mass transit in the Mat-Su. Routes are planned to go from Willow to Anchorage and several places in between.

Tew has already put some money where is mouth is by buying seven used buses from the People Mover transit in Anchorage. And, he hopes to make this a non-profit entity that can accept grants. So there’s nothing in it for him except to fill a void he sees in the Valley.

That void is something he has witnessed personally when employees at one of his many businesses sometimes have a hard time getting to work for a variety of reasons.

He also knows there are many people here who simply can’t drive where they need to be: seniors, handicapped, children, drivers with no points left.

So give the man kudos for having the moxy to try something new.

While we support this effort, there’s ample room to suspect it is doomed to fail.

This is a car/pickup kind of place filled with people who don’t like to wait for a ride somewhere.

Unlike Anchorage, the Valley is spread out, leaving a lot of time between stops in the snow and rain.

One look at MASCOT has to be an omen for Tew. Once a bus system that covered much of the Valley core, it has been reduced to minimal routes.

There are some positive points, though, that should encourage Tew.

First, is the number of cabs on the roads these days.

Obviously there’s a need. People do have to get around if they can’t drive.

And it’s not like this is Tew’s first rodeo. He has had success in other business ventures — you’ve seen the pink trucks — so it’s no wonder he might think he can pull this off as well.

And frankly, we hope he does. Everyone can agree traffic continues to get worse. If Tew is successful, there will be fewer people on the road and less fuel being burned.

He’s asking for input from Valley residents about routes and stops we want. We should give suggestions to him. Whether mass transit’s time has come for the Valley isn’t clear, but Tew thinks so and we should help find out. Here’s one way: send an email to janet@valleymover.com.