In 2023, more than 7 billion trips were taken on America’s public transit systems, in towns, cities, and rural areas across the country. Demand for transit is growing, as the cost of car ownership increases and fewer young people express interest in driving. Moreover, as America’s population ages, an increasing number of people will lose the desire or ability to drive. Transit provides an affordable option that allows everyone—including older adults, people with disabilities, youth, and people without cars—to continue participating in the economic and social life of their community.
To meet this demand, transit leaders are finding innovative ways to provide service. Too often, however, these agencies must make difficult trade-offs, shifting and even cutting services as resources are insufficient.
Small Cities, Big Moves focuses on transit in small cities—places with populations between 50,000 and 200,000, of which there are over 300 in the United States. Transit serves an essential role in these communities, yet they are rarely studied.
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho is the case study feature of this week’s quick takes—read on!
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, the county seat of Kootenai County, is a prominent city in the state’s northern region. Coeur d’Alene, in an urbanized area with a population of 121,831, has experienced notable growth in recent years, primarily due to its rise as an outdoor recreation destination, and has attracted many remote workers and retirees. Coeur d’Alene’s economy, mainly based on logging and mining in the past, is now driven by tourism and recreation, health care, retail, and construction.
Coeur d’Alene’s public transportation system, Citylink, is managed by Kootenai County Public Transportation. In 2000, Kootenai County was designated as an Urbanized Area, and in 2005, the county became the designated recipient of Federal Transit Administration funds, marking the beginning of public transportation services in the region. Initially, the county partnered with the Panhandle Area Council to manage transit services, with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe running operations. However, in 2011, the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners hired a consultant to evaluate public transportation services, and by 2012, the county took over the administration of the system.
Citylink operates three fixed routes connecting Coeur d’Alene and four surrounding communities, three routes that connect with tribal areas, paratransit service, and nonemergency medical transportation through a partnership with Kootenai Health. Fixed-route service runs Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., excluding major holidays. Most riders today rely on Citylink service to access work, grocery shopping, medical appointments, and school. Citylink North provides origin-to-destination Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complementary paratransit services within a ¾ mile radius of the regular routes, along with a supplemental “Ring-a-Ride” service for seniors aged 65 and older and individuals with disabilities in designated zones outside the paratransit service area.
The Coeur d’Alene Tribe, through a subrecipient agreement with the county, provides fixed-route transit services in Kootenai County, including driver staffing and maintenance of the fixed-route buses. Additionally, the Tribe offers deviated fixed-route and demand-response services to the communities of Worley, Plummer, Tensed, and DeSmet in the southern parts of Kootenai and Benewah Counties, using their own funding. Both the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and Kootenai County Public Transportation share the Citylink brand—Citylink North is overseen by Kootenai County Public Transportation, while the Tribe manages Citylink South. Kootenai County Public Transportation reimburses the Tribe for eligible expenses related to the operation of Citylink North, primarily covering driver costs and bus maintenance. Any portion of their eligible expenses not reimbursed by Kootenai County is considered a contribution to local match by the Tribe.
Among the many community members who use transit, it is particularly important for participants in Project SEARCH. This high school transition program provides education and training to young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A recent program graduate, Bryce, uses Citylink to get to his job at Les Schwab Tire Center in Hayden. Bryce says that the bus gives him his independence. He doesn’t have a car, and his only other way to get to work is to have his dad drive him. “My dad is not always going to be available. So, that means if I didn’t have access to the bus, I would be kind of stuck.” Durant, a current participant in Project SEARCH, and his family have had to get creative with their transportation plans since Citylink’s fixed-route service doesn’t serve the area where they live. Each morning, Durant’s mom drives him to the Kroc Center, a community center that opens at 5:00 a.m., on her way to work. Durant waits for the bus until 6:00 a.m. Then, he rides the bus to Project SEARCH for the day and returns to the Kroc Center in the evening. This plan works out well now, but the limited access to public transit may limit the jobs Durant can pursue after graduation. Durant worked as a summer intern at Shabby Fabrics, an online quilting shop. Shabby Fabrics recently relocated its headquarters from Coeur d’Alene to neighboring Post Falls to expand its warehouse space. The new warehouse is no longer served by Citylink, which has been a challenge for some employees and is a barrier to long-term employment for Durant. Shelly Enderud, city administrator for Post Falls, expressed that the city would like to be able to fund expanded transit service and bus rider amenities, but limited resources are already stretched thin. Enderud sees the value of transit in the community and knows many people rely on it to get to work and medical appointments—including her own mother, who uses the Ring-a-Ride program, a service for residents over the age of 65 who have a physical mobility challenge and/or live where public transportation is insufficient, unavailable, or inappropriate.
Citylink is in the process of developing a strategic service plan aimed at meeting the future transportation demands of Coeur d’Alene and surrounding communities with its limited resources. The state of Idaho doesn’t contribute any funds to Citylink. There are limited options for raising local dollars beyond soliciting local matches from communities within the service area each year, which Chad Ingle, program manager for Kootenai County Public Transit, described as a constant cycle of “trying to sell transit on a daily, weekly, monthly basis.”
David Waterhouse, who oversees fixed-route services for Kootenai County Public Transit, has gotten to know many riders over the years, including seniors and people with disabilities who rely on Citylink’s service, underscoring the value of the work he and his colleagues put in each day. “Some people feel that public transit isn’t for everyone—that it’s for others, not them. We’re trying to change that perception.”