Citylink partnership is essential to service
Citylink is an important piece of transportation for many in North Idaho and we strongly encourage Kootenai County, cities and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe to continue their partnership to fund it.
While we appreciate the desires of county commissioners to save money and steer clear of being involved with providing public transportation, we don’t think this is an area to cut costs or one that should be discontinued. The free Citylink buses allow those without private vehicles to get around, get to work and get home, which is especially critical at this time of year when weather conditions are cold and wet.
As reported by The Press on Sunday, Federal Transit Authority and Idaho Transportation Department grants primarily fund the transit system. The program receives matching funds from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and Kootenai Health, as well as contributions from participating cities. The city of Coeur d’Alene contributes the lion’s share of the municipal funds, about $104,000 this fiscal year, followed by Post Falls, which provides $41,000.
In fiscal year 2024, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe spent about $700,000 on operations for Citylink’s urban route, Citylink North, and received a reimbursement of about $276,000 from the county.
Kootenai County is responsible for the oversight and management of Citylink. The county budgeted about $64,000 for public transit for fiscal year 2025, though that figure may not reflect the county’s full contributions.
Citylink serves Coeur d’Alene, Dalton Gardens, Hayden, Huetter and Post Falls, with three routes and 81 stops. The program also provides paratransit services for people with ADA-eligible functional limitations who cannot use fixed-route buses.
According to the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization, Citylink ridership averaged more than 7,000 a month through the first half of 2024 and since 2021, ridership has increased about 15%. A lot of people who can’t afford to call an Uber each time they need to get somewhere rely on Citylink.
We note that the Coeur d’Alene Tribe provides a substantial amount of funding for Citylink and it isn’t questioning the value of the service or whether it should be involved. It does so as it knows there are many who don’t have an alternate form of transportation, other than two feet.
Public transit is not some handout that people are taking advantage of. No one is trying get benefits to which they are not entitled. People are not trying to cheat the system. They are just riding the bus. Yes, it’s free, and we can let them have that without talking about taking it away.
Citylink is an essential service and a basic one. We applaud the partnership that funds Citylink now and urge all parties involved to stay the course.