Mountain Line is a public transit system providing service to the community of

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

and the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

. The legal name of Mountain Line is the Missoula Urban Transportation District, which is governed by a board whose members are appointed by the City of Missoula and

Missoula County Missoula County is located in the State of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 117,922, making it Montana's third-most populous county. Its county seat and largest city is Missoula. The county was founded in 1860. Missoula Coun ...

. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .

History

The Missoula Urban Transportation District (MUTD) was established via a ballot measure in June 1976. The MUTD formed the Mountain Line and began operating buses in December 1977. On January 5, 2015, the Mountain Line began a three-year demonstration project that provided free bus service to all passengers. The project costs $460,000 annually and is funded by the city of Missoula, the

, and 12 other community partners. By the end of the year, the service saw a 38 percent increase in ridership, with 300,000 additional passengers.

Services

Mountain Line operates 13 fixed routes on weekdays, 11 of which also operate on Saturdays. There is no service on Sundays or most major holidays. 15-minute frequent transit service is available on the Bolt! Route while most other routes operate on 30- or 60-minute schedules. During the Saturdays in the summer, Mountain Line also operates a trolley to two farmers' markets and a craft market in downtown Missoula. Additionally, Mountain Line operates a trolley to "Out to Lunch," an outdoor concert series on Wednesdays during the summer. Paratransit service is provided for people with disabilities who are unable to ride fixed-route buses.

Route list

*Bolt! 1 Downtown / University / Community Hospital *Bolt! 2 Target Plaza / Southgate Mall *Route 3 Northside *Route 4 East Broadway Park and Ride / East Missoula / Bonner *Route 5 Rattlesnake *Route 6 Higgins / Dornblaser / Opportunity Resources / Southgate Mall *Route 7 Downtown / Southgate Mall *Route 8 Adams Center / 5th / 6th / Southgate Mall *Route 9 Good Food Store / Target Range / Community Hospital *Route 11 N Reserve St / Expressway / Airport *Route 12 Downtown / University / Dornblaser / South Hills *Route 14 Broadway / Russell

Facilities

Head office

:Address: 1221 Shakespeare Street, Missoula :Coordinates: :Facilities: Head office, administration, bus storage and maintenance :Opened: 1980

Transfer center

:Address: 200 West Pine Street, Missoula :Coordinates: :Facilities: Transfer point, waiting area, restrooms :Opened: 2000

Park-and-ride lots

;Lewis and Clark (Route 12) :Coordinates: ;Dornblaser (Routes 1, 6, 12) :Coordinates:

References

External links

MountainLine.com – official websiteMissoula Urban Transportation District Board of Directors
{{Montana transit Bus transportation in Montana Paratransit services in the United States Transportation in Missoula County, Montana 1976 establishments in Montana