MISSOULA - On a hot summer's day in Missoula, the place to be is on the Clark Fork, and for the past few years, the University of Montana has made it easy to recreate on the river.
The ASUM Office of Transportation began its free river shuttle program in 2021 as a way to provide a sustainable, safe way to float down the river, and it has become a very popular summer activity.
In the ASUM Office of Transportation's report on the 2022 use of the river shuttle, they found that the number of participants increased by 283% since the previous year, for a total of 3,194 people.
University officials are happy that people are taking advantage of the service.
“First and foremost was just providing safety for people getting on and off the river," says Danny Gundlach with the ASUM Office of Transportation. "Trying to reduce congestion at the access sites and for us, our goal is to promote and provide sustainable transportation to students and the campus community, and a big missing piece is how do we get people out to recreation sites.”
Paige Kerwin has been a river shuttle driver since the program's inception and says beyond convenience, sustainability is a large factor in the shuttle's popularity.
"I think Missoula can really appreciate some recreation in general, and it's free and open to the public," Kerwin says. "I also think Missoula as a community and Montana, in general, have a care about the sustainability and keeping the lands clear"
The idea for the shuttle came from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), and was supported by the Three Rivers Collaborative, a group of organizations and companies that work towards river health in recreation.
The Missoula Downtown Association and the Clark Fork River Coalition are two of the many organizations that take part in the Three Rivers Collaborative.
FWP wanted to encourage river floaters to only enter the river at designated access points and saw a community shuttle as a way to do that.
“If our parking is full, people are still going to find a place to park and a way to access the river, and it may be the most convenient place, but it may also have some impact," says FWP regional recreation manager Loren Flynn.
Another goal of the river shuttle was to ensure the safety of folks engaging in river recreation.
“How to recreate responsibly, and this is part of it," Flynn says. "Especially if you’re going to get on the water and consume a bunch of alcohol, it’s just better if you’re not driving.”
The shuttle also reduces carbon footprint by limiting the number of cars driving up and down the river.
The cost of the shuttle is free to the public, so the University shoulders much of the funding. Last year it cost around $19,000 to run the shuttle.
“Part of this, a lot of this is finding funding to make sure this goes on," Flynn says. "Up until now the University has been funding this, and I don’t know that that’s sustainable.”
To make sure the shuttle program lasts into the future, UM and Three Rivers Collaborative are looking towards other forms of funding, whether that be sponsorships, grants or public donations.
Flynn hopes this shuttle will continue far into the future and set the precedent for other public transportation for recreational activities.
“And I think this is really the first step I’m hoping that Missoula is taking towards having some sort of a mass transportation, public transportation option to other recreation opportunities in the Missoula donut," he says. "Having that option for people, to cut down congestion, particularly parking congestion at places like trailheads and river access sites, that just in long term makes that activity much more sustainable.”
