December 14, 2006

The Mountain Ear

Valley shuttle bus service posed to begin
White Mountain Transit Authority aims to meet a need

by Etienne Vallée

NORTH CONWAY — A new project is taking shape in North Conway. The White Mountain Transit Authority is setting up a fixed network of shuttles to run from the North Conway Grand Hotel at Settlers’ Green north to the Scenic Vista, and covering the entire North Conway village, as well as Mount Cranmore.
Owned by partners Jonathan Bliss and Michael Curreri, this service is aimed at providing shuttle service to and from local attractions such as Settlers’ Green, Cranmore, shops and other businesses, and hotels and motels along a stretch of Route 16 centered on the village.
The WMTA seeks to reduce the amount of traffic in the area, provide more parking spots by removing vehicles from the village, decrease the environmental impact of many vehicles being used to access popular destinations, and give riders more flexibility in their travel needs.
“We figure the time is right to do this project,” said Bliss, with new businesses such as Lowes and Home Depot coming into the area, the near completion of road work on Route 16, and the beginning of traffic snarls and lack of parking in the village.
Bliss has been living in the Mt. Washington Valley for the last 15 years, and he is the owner of Cigar Emporium in North Conway.
Curreri is originally from Massachusetts, and has been coming up to the Valley for the last three years. A part-owner with his father and his brother of Entertainment Tours, a bus company in Boston, Curreri brings with him an intimate knowledge of transportation issues and fleet management which will be helpful in ensuring WMTA’s success.
Entertainment Tours has been in business for 15 years, and provides transportation services such as shuttles, charters, daily services between Boston and New York City, as well as contract services for the Good Will games in Lake Placid, N.Y., and the Olympics in Salt Lake City.
“We’ve handled transportation systems such as the one we’re building and bigger,” said Curreri.
WMTA will provide a service that is not currently available in Carroll County — public transportation. “Carroll County is the only county in New Hampshire which doesn’t have a semblance of public transportation,” said Bliss. “It will also employ all local people, with up to four shuttle drivers at first, and potentially eight drivers during the summer season.”
Opening Christmas week Opening day is currently planned for the Christmas week.

“We’ll be running two trolleys at the same time,” said Bliss, with a half-hour cycle, meaning that anyone waiting for the bus will not have to wait for more than 30 minutes.
“This service will enable families to do different activities at the same time, and not have to coordinate several pick up and drop off spots,” said Bliss.
“Also, for guest workers who reside in the village and need to get to Settlers’ Green and other places, this will be a great means of transportation for them,” added Bliss.
“It seems there is some need to get some transportation going for workers as well,” Curreri added, noting that many individuals residing in and around the village do not have vehicles.
At first, WMTA will operate only on the weekends, with service starting on Friday at 4 p.m. until 11 p.m., continuing on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., and ending on Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Weekender Shuttle serves both the shopping, skiing and lodging businesses during the day, and at nighttime activities such as restaurants and night skiing and tubing at Cranmore.
“For example,” said Bliss, “the shuttle will go from the Grand Hotel to Mt. Cranmore in 10 minutes.” Special loading and unloading areas will allow the shuttle to avoid the congestion.
“We’re considering this a soft opening,” said Bliss, “to get ready for the Christmas vacation.” The official opening is scheduled for the week of July 4th, 2007, to coincide with the rededication of Main Street in North Conway.
“We’re also trying to negotiate with local restaurants, telling them let us be your designated driver,” said Curreri.
“We’ve gotten a lot of positive responses and feedback,” continued Curreri, “which is helpful for us to achieve the goals of reducing congestion and parking problems.”
The shuttle service will employ Entertainment Tour shuttles, though they will clearly be labeled WMTA. At least one of the two vehicles will be compliant with regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, to enable individuals with disabilities to also partake of this service. The vehicles will run on bio-diesel, an increasingly popular alternative to regular fuel. “It costs a little more,” said Bliss, “but it fits nicely in our environmental strategy.”
Each shuttle will be a heavy duty vehicle, capable of transporting around 30 people. These vehicles will need to be small so they can negotiate the curves and turns on and off Route 16.
The time is right
“Other businesses have tried to do this before,” said Bliss, “and yet they haven’t succeeded.”
“They didn’t succeed because the area wasn’t ready for the service,” said Curreri. “We feel it’s the right time now,” he continued.
Both of them have attended a meeting with the Community Transportation Association, out of Washington D.C., which is spearheading a federal initiative to provide public transportation to areas in critical need.
“Our service will help establish a much needed route,” said Curreri. “Its time has come and we’re convinced it will be a success.”
“Even the approach with the affiliates is different,” said Mark Curreri, brother of Curreri and a partner in Entertainment Tours. He has been providing valuable input to this new venture.
“We feel we can pull this off, with Michael and Mark’s experience and expertise in actually running buses,” said Bliss.
“We’re really working together to make their establishments better by providing a transportation alternative to cars filling up their parking spots,” added Michael Curreri.
“Our affiliates are getting an added amenity for them, a transportation system,” concluded Bliss.
The WMTA currently has four affiliates, who are providing loading areas, publicity, and other support to the program. These affiliates are the Eastern Slope Inn, Settlers’ Green, the North Conway Grand Hotel, and Mount Cranmore. These affiliates are also regularly scheduled stops. We have pre-assigned stops in the center of whatever is going on,” said Curreri.
The shuttle route has been set where visitors and business owners alike have determined is the highest potential demand. Other stores and businesses interested in getting a stop near them are also encouraged to contact WMTA.
“Our affiliates have been very positive. They have been dealing with this issue of transportation for years, and they know what their customers want. They will get the word out about this service,” concluded Curreri.
“This will all happen as we go,” said Bliss, mentioning that this project is still working out kinks and strategies to improve the service. “We feel like we have enough information to go with now,” he added.
“Our guests have a lot of choices to meet their transportation needs,” said Curreri. WMTA will offer one-day passes, two-day passes, or single rides. A family pass is also under consideration. All of these can be used to travel anywhere on the system. A one-day pass is tentatively priced at $10, a two- day pass will cost $15, and a single ride will be $2. Passes will be available for purchase at participating hotels, at the Cigar Emporium, on WMTAs web site, www.wmtransit.com, and on the shuttle itself. Businesses are also encouraged to offer packages that include a shuttle pass.
Public parking at the Grand Hotel and at the Eastern Slope Inn will allow residents of the valley to park their cars and use this transit system. Visitors staying in hotels will be encouraged to leave their cars there and use WMTA instead.
“We’re looking to expand our number of affiliates and our routes,” said Curreri, “but these are our first original ones.” Eventually, WMTA would like to reach Attitash, Wildcat and Bretton Woods in the winter, and Story Land, First Bridge, Echo Lake, and Diana’s Bath in the summer.
“We’re hoping the town will grow up in an organic fashion around this project, added Bliss.
WMTA will run its weekend shuttle service in the fall, winter and spring, along with specific seasonal services during long weekends or vacation weeks. During the summer, the shuttle service is slated to expand to seven days a week.
Future plans include a Berlin-Gorham Express aimed at bringing workers from those two towns to North Conway, an asset for employers and employees alike. This express would be a coach bus, picking up in Berlin in the morning, and returning in the evening.
“It would stretch the tri-county community transportation up in Berlin,” said Curreri.
“We want to be very flexible,” said Bliss. “We’ll run our schedules, we’ll run the route, but if the demand is higher, we may expand hours or add a shuttle,” concurred Curreri. “We need to be flexible so we end up with what’s needed for the area.”
“If the people are there, we’ll be there too,” concluded Bliss. WMTA will post schedules and its service route at local stops, hotels, shopping areas, and Mt. Cranmore, as well as on its web site, www.wmtransit.com.