MINERAL COUNTY – Despite damage to the bus after a collision with a deer, the Mineral County Pioneer Club and Transportation Team bus service will not be delayed in performance of its usual routes.

The bus goes out to all the communities in the county to pick people up. Unless otherwise specified, it will always arrange to make the return trip as well. According to Sherrill Christensen, one of the drivers of the bus, the routes go to Missoula, Plains, Superior and into Idaho for shopping and recreation. The bus is expected to be out of commission for approximately the first two weeks of December. Christensen said the repair shop is waiting on parts for the bus.

“Barring any complications with getting parts in, the bus should be fixed in a couple weeks,” said Christensen.

However, this does not mean transportation will be unavailable to those who use the bus regularly. According to Christensen, she and the other drivers will continue to use personal vehicles to provide public transportation as regularly scheduled.

This does mean fewer people will be able to ride at once. Christensen said her car would likely only seat three people for the bus route. It would likely be even more cramped if people do a lot of shopping while in town. Until the bus is fixed, people with handicaps may encounter problems with the service. Christensen also said her car is not equipped for transporting wheel chairs and those clients may need to delay any plans or arrange alternate transportation.

“Our cars aren’t prepared to take a wheelchair, like the bus is,” Christensen said.

Due to the smaller capacity of the vehicles, Christensen said people may want to reschedule some trips until later. However, she said doctor’s appointments are a priority and always come first. Transportation will always be arranged to get people to the doctor’s office.

“We won’t let them do without that,” Christensen said. “If somebody wants to be somewhere at 10:00 just to mess around and someone has a 10:00 doctor’s appointment, the doctor’s appointment comes first.”

According to Christensen, with the exception of the smaller passenger sizes, the bus routes and schedules are unchanged. Everything will continue as it normally has until the bus is repaired.

Christensen said the accident occurred on Thursday, November 21, around the Lozeau/Quartz area. The bus was on its route when a deer came out and ran into the side of the vehicle. None of the passengers, nor the driver were harmed in the accident. After highway patrol had finished its investigation, Christensen was able to take anyone who still wanted to finish the trip to complete the route.

The group is under the Pioneer Council and mostly on its own for funds. Grants and funds are donated by various companies and some support comes from the Montana Department of Transportation as well as from other groups. The Pioneer Council and Transportation Team is a non-profit organization, which was formed with the goal to provide public transportation to Mineral County residents.

For more information on the routes, or to schedule a pick up, call Christensen at 678-4240 or 214-5093.

“All you have to do is call me,” said Christensen. “We’ll make sure you get there. Nobody’s going to be left out because the bus isn’t working.”