START Bus Five-Year Transit Development Plan Implementation (2026-2031)

A recent meeting document Teton County - START Board Regular Meeting Packet - 2026-05-28 indicates a future potential acquisition The Southern Teton Area Rapid Transit (START) Board has adopted a comprehensive Five-Year Transit Development Plan (TDP) to guide service improvements, capital investments, and fare policy changes for the Jackson Hole region through 2031. The plan, developed in partnership with Transportation Management Design (TMD) and informed by extensive public outreach, includes a major redesign of the transit network (the TS3/TV3 alternative), expansion of On-Demand service, new shared mobility programs (vanpool, car share, bike share), and a simplified fare structure. Key elements include: 1) Redesigning the Town Shuttle and Teton Village routes for improved coverage, frequency, and directness, including bidirectional service in East Jackson and expanded service along Pearl Avenue; 2) Launching a new South Park On-Demand zone and reallocating resources as ridership shifts; 3) Discontinuing the Teton Village South route and suspending the Airport Shuttle except for winter; 4) Implementing a vanpool program (funded and launching FY27), car share and guaranteed ride home programs (studies and pilots in FY27), and a potential relaunch of bike share (study in FY27, possible implementation FY29); 5) Capital improvements including bus fleet replacement/expansion (hybrid and ADA vehicles), expanded indoor bus storage, and technology upgrades (automatic passenger counters, fare system modernization); 6) Facility and pedestrian/bike access improvements at key mobility hubs and along major corridors; 7) A new fare policy with simplified pricing, free transfers, and expanded pass programs for employers, hotels, and social service agencies. The plan is phased: shared mobility pilots and capital projects in FY27, fixed-route network and fare policy changes by FY28, South Park On-Demand and bike share by FY29, and incremental service increases as funding and staffing allow. The plan is expected to increase ridership by 300,000 by 2031, improve operational efficiency, and support regional mobility goals. The TDP explicitly contemplates future procurements for consulting, technology, vehicle acquisition, facility construction/expansion, and shared mobility vendor partnerships.