Sun Valley Express will continue to provide north-south valley commuter bus service—at least for the next seven months.
The KART/PEAK board of directors approved a contract renewal during a meeting Wednesday, Sept. 20, with Director Beth Callister dissenting.
"This is a pretty big decision for you and us both," said board Chairman Bill Cassell.
The decision didn't come without wrangling at Wednesday's meeting and several others.
"I believe there should be a baseline of service for PEAK and KART both," said Jason Miller, executive director of Wood River Rideshare, which is contracting with KART/PEAK for marketing services. He cited clean, safe, on-time vehicles, courteous and well-trained drivers and adherence to schedules as important.
Miller, who cannot vote, said the service and maintenance gaps were too much to merit a continuation of the contract.
Callister, former director of Wood River Rideshare, has been outspoken about her displeasure with the company.
"We as a board are trying to create a service that is pretty fantastic to use," she said. "We are far from being there. We have a lot of work to do to bring this service up to a quality this community deserves. We need to do whatever it takes to get us there."
Sun Valley Express owner Rich Petersen offered responses to the allegations.
"Some (of the issues) are being overstated," he said. "All of (them) are being addressed."
He also said there was a double standard being applied to his company and KART.
"When a KART bus shows up 25 minutes late on the first run of the morning, no one says anything," Petersen said, adding, "Some complaints we get really are about KART."
KART/PEAK Manager Terry Crawford said Petersen was responsive about complaints. He also noted that it would be difficult to find enough buses and drivers for the upcoming winter season if the board didn't renew the contract.
Board members Joan Lamb and Peter Everett, who were not in attendance, were not in favor of renewing the contract. Several present board members, however, were swayed by Crawford's recommendation.
Ron Parsons, a Ketchum City Council member, said he very reluctantly would vote to renew.
"It seems a little too contentious to have a relationship like this," he said. "There's quite a few people that are just skeptical of the operation. I don't think we can have a long-term relationship if I continue to hear this every month."
Carol Waller, executive director of the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau, spoke in favor of Sun Valley Express, noting especially the Sun Valley-to-Boise service they offer.
"It's still a really important part of the transportation mix in the valley," she said.
Petersen said the route was a financial "loser."
"It has always been a loser," he said. "No one will come in and do that service."
Sun Valley Express is able to do it because of a Sun Valley Co. employee shuttle contract and the PEAK contract.
"If (the contract for PEAK) goes away, the future of that is tenuous," he said.
Petersen said he lowered his bid in the early days of PEAK, which helped keep the commuter bus service going.
"It's been a very thankless deal for what we've been through," he said.
The board tasked Crawford to draw up a set of standards to which Sun Valley Express, and he, will be held.
The contract includes a 30-day termination clause.
