SMART Transit

City of Moscow in 2012. The winning name was submitted by Ron Crumley of Moscow; and was chosen from over 100 entries. The new name better fits the organization’s mission as a regional provider while including the name of its new corporate home in Moscow, Idaho. The old name referenced the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley and the company’s former home prior to its move to Moscow in December 2012. SMART Transit began providing public transportation services in Lewiston, Idaho when the company was founded in 1993. Back then, a demand response service was provided with just a few ambulatory vans and a couple of lift equipped vans transporting primarily seniors and individuals with disabilities. In 1998 a HUD grant was submitted as a joint effort between Asotin County Housing Authority, a branch of DSHS, in Clarkston, Washington, SMART Transit and several other partners in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley to operate a rudimentary fixed route service with 3 routes that spanned Lewiston, Clarkston and Asotin. Fixed route service began in 2003 and marked the return of fixed route bus service to the LC Valley after an absence that spanned from the 1960's. Soon after its founding in the 1990’s, SMART Transit expanded into Moscow, Idaho providing demand response service to the community. By 2004 the University of Idaho and the City of Moscow teamed up with SMART Transit to expand transit services to include two fixed routes connecting the east and west parts of Moscow to the downtown core and the U of I campus. This partnership spawned the first fixed route service in Moscow. SMART Transit's Moscow fixed routes had double digit growth in ridership every year through 2012 and reached its one millionth ride provided in 2013! After the 2000 census, the Lewiston, Clarkston, and Asotin area was re-designated from a rural area to a small urban area. This change left SMART Transit without the ability to obtain federal funding directly for this service area. By 2003, SMART Transit had contracted with the City of Lewiston to provide fixed route and demand response service. Soon after, a contract with Asotin County, and subsequently the Asotin County Public Transportation Benefit Area, was in place as well. The contracts with both the City of Lewiston and the Asotin County PTBA ended 2009. SMART Transit's current services are focused on demand response and fixed route transportation in Moscow, Idaho. In 2012, the City of Moscow, in partnership with the University of Idaho, completed the Intermodal Transit Center to be a centralized location for multiple modes of transportation within the city. The ITC converges Moscow’s fixed route and demand response services with the UI campus shuttle service, intercity bus service access, as well as bicycle and pedestrian access as it sits right alongside Paradise Path.