Summer bus begins trips to Glacier, resort
The Glacier Park express runs during the summer and takes passengers from Whitefish to Glacier National Park and Whitefish Mountain Resort.
The Whitefish summer shuttle has returned again.
The service, which originally started in summer 2015, is once again making round-trips daily between downtown Whitefish, Whitefish Mountain Resort and Glacier National Park.
Buses for the Glacier Express began operating July 1 and will continue through Sept. 4.
The service is funded by the Big Mountain Commercial Association, the same group that backs the SNOW Bus during winter.
“We're excited about it,” said Rick Cunningham, with the Big Mountain Commercial Association. “We've had a number of people call about it. We hope people take advantage of it.”
The association committed to running the shuttle service for three summers.
The bus service averaged about three riders per day to Glacier Park in its first summer and last year saw about eight per day.
“The numbers are not great, but that is double the year before,” Cunningham said of last season. “We want people to use it.”
He said the association will evaluate the rider numbers again at the end of this summer to see if the bus can sustain itself.
“It's also important for us to get people to the mountain too,” he added. “We will continue to tweak the schedule and see what we can do.”
Tickets are $10 round-trip for adults and $5 for children to Glacier. Rides to the resort are free.
Bus riders are still required to purchase a Glacier Park pass or show proof of an annual pass.
Tickets are pre-purchase only and can be purchased online at www.bigmtncommercial.org or at Montana Coffee Traders downtown, Whitefish Chamber of Commerce, Sportsman Ski Haus in Whitefish, Whitefish Mountain Resort Base Lodge and the Glacier Conservancy Bookstore in the Apgar Visitor Center in Glacier Park.
Stops along the route include The Lodge at Whitefish Lake, the Good Medicine Lodge, the Whitefish Community Library, the Garden Wall Inn, the Pine Lodge, the Rocky mountain Lodge, Mountain Mall, Whitefish Mountain Resort Base Lodge and Resort Village, and the Apgar Visitor Center.
For more information, visit www.bigmtncommercial.org.