TWIN FALLS, Idaho — When the 2020 Census showed the city of Twin Falls population had surpassed 50,000 residents, a Federal mandate for a public transit system compelled the city to come up with a plan.
Following a study that showed the city had high need for transit, but low density, the city determined that a traditional fixed-route bus system with scheduled stops wouldn’t meet the needs of residents, and would be very costly to implement.
Following the lead of Idaho Falls, who had recently started a ride service that was closer to Uber or Lyft, Twin Falls Transit is an on-demand, door-to-door ride service.
Maxine Durand is the Transit Coordinator for the city of Twin Falls, and she said after three months of operation, the service has surpassed ridership expectations every step of the way.
“We’re far and away head of where we expected we were going to be,” Durand told Idaho News 6. “That means more riders, but that also means higher wait times … but if we’re able to add more vehicles and get those out on the road, I imagine those wait times will go down and we’ll be seeing more people using the service.”
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The service costs a flat fee of $3 to go anywhere within city limits. There is a$1 discounted rate for people over 60 or with federally recognized disabilities. The latter makes up almost half of the monthly ridership, and the top destinations are, consistently, grocery and medical services.
Durand said that demonstrates how much need there is in town for this service.
“We are bringing people back into the community who have not had a way to access it up until now,” Durand said. “I’ve had a lot of riders who’ve called in and said until we showed up, they weren’t able to leave their house.”
While taking my first ride on Twin Falls Transit, I ran into Hillary where she works on Blue Lakes Boulevard, and she told me she knows a lot of people whom the service has benefited.
“I have a lot of customers that my business uses that we give rides home to, they’ve been really appreciative,” Hillary told me. “I also have a family that flies in and out of town every three weeks, so we’re really excited that they go out to the airport now, too.”
The service operates Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and on Saturdays from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
A new addition to the service, by popular request, has been the addition of after-hours services. Beginning Nov. 4, Ride TFT will offer service until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights, at a $10 fare.
Connect with Twin Falls Transit on the city of Twin Falls website.
