Tuesday is final day for TRPTA buses

The Targhee Regional Public Transportation Authority (TRPTA), which operates public transportation in about 10 area cities, is shutting down three months earlier than expected.

“It’s public transportation,” said Michael Pressler, operation manager for TRPTA. “And, you know, you want the community who pays for it to have the rides they need and now there’s not going to be any rides.”

TRPTA employees knew they were going to be out of a job soon, but not this soon. A meeting was held last Monday where the board decided to close the company in about 90 days due to financial issues. Now, Tuesday is the last day.

“At the point that was said, we thought we were going to get the quarterly share from the city of Idaho Falls, and that didn’t happen,” said Amanda Ely, TRPTA general manager. “And so once we looked at expenses and what it takes for us to operate weekly, we realized quickly that we wouldn’t be able to cover any expenses past, you know, another day or two.”

The public transportation service operates in cities from Idaho Falls and Shelly up to Driggs and Victor. It was one of the only transportation services that was wheelchair friendly. The drivers have built relationships with their riders and are now worried about how they will get around.

“Some of them are going to be stuck,” Pressler said. “We’ve got people calling in saying, ‘What am I supposed to do? My daughter, my grandchild can’t go anywhere because no one has the bus big enough or we don’t have a vehicle big enough to transport them.’ I feel real bad for them.”

A rapid response meeting was held Monday night for the drivers to get information about unemployment benefits and help getting new jobs. Some of these drivers have worked for TRPTA for 10 plus years. Pressler said he is shocked by the news, but not surprised.

“Not going to point fingers, it’s too late for that,” he said. “But it’s definitely not the driver’s fault. The drivers have done everything that they could to help these people get around. I appreciate all my drivers. That’s why I love my job. It’s people I get to work with.”

TRPTA buses will no longer run after Tuesday.