POST FALLS - More than a month after a local public transit service came to a screeching halt, transportation officials are still scrambling to find providers for the non-medical and rural routes.

Since the North Idaho Community Express (NICE) and Kootenai Area Transit System (KATS) shut down due to funding woes, restoring service for seniors, those with disabilities, students and others in Kootenai, Shoshone and Bonner counties has been challenging.

Kootenai County Commissioner Todd Tondee said Citylink, funded mostly by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, remains a possibility and the highest priority for the Coeur d'Alene-Post Falls-Hayden service because it's already approved through the Federal Transit Administration.

"We have some other options, but Citylink is still the best bet," Tondee said after Thursday's Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting. "There's not a lot of providers."

If FTA-approved provider isn't interested, the county must put the service out to bid, which would further delay the service.

Tondee said taking on the service may be a way for the Tribe to not spend as much as it is on its current routes. The Tribe spent $1.2 million on Citylink in 2010 and more than $1 million over its required match during the past two years to receive federal grants.

Marc Stewart, Tribe spokesman, said the Tribe is still awaiting ridership numbers and willing to consider taking on the door-to-door service formerly handled by NICE/KATS.

"At this point, based on the incomplete and inaccurate information from that was provided by NICE/KATS, it is extremely difficult to make the decision to take on that service with so many unknowns that still exist," Stewart said.

Tondee said the county, in collaboration with Kootenai Medical Center, which has agreed to take on the urban medical routes in the interim, is trying to pinpoint the number of paratransit riders in the urban area who would use the service.

So far, of a list of about 400 provided by NICE/KATS, only 28 qualify for the paratransit service. About 100 of the inquiries have been returned due to the person no longer living or living at the address.

Meanwhile, Clif Warren, regional mobility manager for the Community Transportation Association of Idaho, in charge finding a replacement provider for the rural routes formerly handled by NICE/KATS, said the Idaho Transportation Department is "very close" to an agreement with a provider on the Coeur d'Alene-to-Sandpoint route.

He declined to say which provider it is.

"It'll be a nice enhancement that's beneficial to Kootenai County, but I can't announce anything yet until it's signed on the dotted line," Warren told the KMPO board.

Warren said the lack of local matching funds to access federal grants on the rural routes remains a challenge.

"If you have some suggestions, I'd be glad to talk about them," Warren told board members.