A more comprehensive public transit system than the central Kenai Peninsula has ever seen is almost ready to roll out.
The new fixed-route bus system comes from the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, but will serve both tribal members and the general public. It will run between Nikiski and Sterling, and it’s called Kahtnu Area Transit; Kahtnu is the Dena’ina word for the Kenai River.
Van Le is a planner with R&M Consultants, an Alaska-based planning consulting firm working with Kenaitze on the project. She presented about the project at a Soldotna Chamber of Commerce luncheon Wednesday, and said details about the route, individual stops, bus fares and timing are still being decided, and may even change over time, as the project rolls out.
At the luncheon, she said the question of weekend and 24-hour service is still up in the air. CARTS, the central peninsula’s current public transit option, does not run on weekends, and is an on-demand service that requires riders to book in advance.
“Right now we don’t have an answer, because we don’t know how much it’s going to cost yet, or if there’s rider demand for the weekend or 24-hours. But we’re going to work through that,” she said.
Le said the number one limiting factor in bus service hours will be driver shortages, an issue other Alaska communities launching transit systems have faced.
During the luncheon, many chamber members suggested designing the system to connect riders to social services and medical services, and making the bus Medicare-voucher eligible.
Le said a long term-ambition of the project would be to have high-tech signage at bus stops, like the Anchorage People Mover.
“A lot of their stops are developed, they have shelters, they have changeable signs that tell you when the next bus is coming,” Le said. “Eventually, I think Kenaitze can get there, and that’s really important where we put the stops. We want to make sure it helps facilitate commerce, and local business.”
She said the consultants are planning to launch a survey soon to garner public comments on plans for the bus. And she said R&M will be back this coming fall with a plan for the route, and will host another meeting for public feedback. Then, Le said, the plan will be updated, and hopefully the bus will be up and running by December of this year.
