The Killington Chamber of Commerce has cut
funding for the free shuttle on Killington Road, the Marble Valley
Regional Transit District confirmed Friday.
Marble Valley runs the shuttle service, which is funded by the chamber and was established to cut down on drunken driving on the road during the ski season. It carries passengers to the road’s various hotels and nightspots.
A call to the chamber was not returned Friday afternoon, and calls to various board members were not immediately returned Friday evening.
Reached late Friday afternoon, Marble Valley Executive Director Minga Dana said she had just learned of the move about a week earlier.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” she said. “We were just starting to put our season together and we haven’t spoken to Killington Resort or anyone else.”
Dana said the shuttle runs Saturday nights from Thanksgiving to Easter, with an additional night on holiday weekends like Martin Luther King Day and Presidents Day. She said it provided about 3,000 rides last season.
The shuttle connects to regional bus routes on Route 4.
“You can get back to the transit center,” Dana said. “It mostly facilitates somebody who wants to go bar-hopping and doesn’t want to drive.”
Dana said the shuttle costs $20,000 a year to operate, which Marble Valley receives entirely from the chamber, though she believed the chamber, in turn, got some of the funding through other sources.
The shuttles have operated for a number of years, funded by varying sources. In 2009, the resort and Long Trail Brewery teamed up to donate almost $90,000 to the shuttle.
@Tagline:gordon.dritschilo
@rutlandherald.com
Marble Valley runs the shuttle service, which is funded by the chamber and was established to cut down on drunken driving on the road during the ski season. It carries passengers to the road’s various hotels and nightspots.
A call to the chamber was not returned Friday afternoon, and calls to various board members were not immediately returned Friday evening.
Reached late Friday afternoon, Marble Valley Executive Director Minga Dana said she had just learned of the move about a week earlier.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” she said. “We were just starting to put our season together and we haven’t spoken to Killington Resort or anyone else.”
Dana said the shuttle runs Saturday nights from Thanksgiving to Easter, with an additional night on holiday weekends like Martin Luther King Day and Presidents Day. She said it provided about 3,000 rides last season.
The shuttle connects to regional bus routes on Route 4.
“You can get back to the transit center,” Dana said. “It mostly facilitates somebody who wants to go bar-hopping and doesn’t want to drive.”
Dana said the shuttle costs $20,000 a year to operate, which Marble Valley receives entirely from the chamber, though she believed the chamber, in turn, got some of the funding through other sources.
The shuttles have operated for a number of years, funded by varying sources. In 2009, the resort and Long Trail Brewery teamed up to donate almost $90,000 to the shuttle.
@Tagline:gordon.dritschilo
@rutlandherald.com
Comment: This is interesting news. Wonder if the business community is going to come with their hand out to the taxpayers. A certain businessman on the Killington road was rumoured to have made $48k per day during the Killington Classic. Wonder if he would deign to pay for the service or at least contribute.
The Chamber must be spending all it's money on Bill's Country Store.
I also hear a lot of businesses are not rejoining the Chamber because of the upcoming health insurance changes which will allow individuals to get competitive rates without having to be part of a larger group. Also some businesses just do not like the leadership (of lack of thereof) of the Chamber.
Vito
No comments:
Post a Comment