© Tim Young/NPCA |
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By Kim A. O'Connell
In the old days, boarding a bus at Yellowstone National Park was the first step in a grand adventure. When the park's fleet of yellow buses was unveiled in the 1930s, their classic shape and fascinating roll-top roofs hinted at the exotic natural wonders to be observed in the park's interior. Bears and bison, rivers and ravines, the amazing Old Faithful-all could be seen from the comfort and safety of a yellow bus, giving visitors an experience not to be forgotten.
But today, visitors to Yellowstone are more likely to be stuck behind the wheel of their cars, with one eye on the park map and the other on the road. With nearly 300 million people visiting the national parks each year, traffic congestion, air pollution, and throngs of crowds at popular overlooks pose major problems at many national parks. And Yellowstone is in danger of becoming one of them, with nearly three million visits each year.
To counteract this trend, a public-private partnership is bringing the yellow bus back to Yellowstone. This time, however, the bus is powered by alternative fuel, providing a more environmentally sound alternative for visitors looking to explore even more of the park's incredible size and diversity. The buses are the centerpiece of a proposed regional tour district, still being researched and developed, that will connect both Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks and the surrounding gateway communities. By offering an alternative to automobiles, the bus will improve the transportation choices available to those visiting the Yellowstone region.
The bus is the product of a four-year collaboration among the National Park Service, the Greater Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities Coalition, the Idaho National Engineering and Environ-mental Laboratory (INEEL), Heart International, Ruby Mountain, Inc. (a private consulting firm), and NPCA to develop a clean-fuel vehicle to serve visitors during busy winter and summer seasons. The vehicles are able to run on several alternative fuels, including propane and bio-diesel, and they can be converted to snow coaches to provide greater access to parklands in winter months. By the fall, six of the new buses will be operating in the park, and Congress has already approved funding for vital infrastructure improvements to support these vehicles, such as garages and fuel tanks.
The advantages of the yellow buses were clear to park officials, but public transportation systems are often greeted enthusiastically by those who propose them. The key is making sure potential passengers embrace the idea.
"A main question [we considered] was, 'Why would someone want to get out of their car and into a shuttle bus?'" says Kerry Klingler, an INEEL engineer and project manager for the yellow bus program. "We concluded in a hurry that we had to develop a vehicle that had a unique look and gave people an experience they couldn't get anywhere else."
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