Idaho State University may soon end its 20-year practice of operating a commuter bus from Twin Falls to Pocatello, saying the service is losing money.

University officials say ridership has dwindled over the past four semesters - where 45 students once took the bus, only 28 now ride it on Tuesdays and 17 on Fridays.

Students pay to ride the ISU bus, but it ran up a $50,695 deficit in the fall and spring semesters as the cost for fuel jumped, according to an ISU budget document. The university now wants the service to be self-supporting.

ISU plans to advertise the bus to increase ridership in the fall, and will more than double the cost of a five-day pass for each semester that now runs $843 to $1,728.

And if at least 28 students don't sign up by Aug. 1 for the fall semester, the service will be cancelled.

ISU officials recently briefed the Twin Falls City Council on the issue but didn't ask for city help. Twin Falls Mayor Lance Clow said the bus was a valuable tool, but the City Council made no moves to help alleviate the system's strain.

"We set the Aug. 1 date to give us a chance to contact all potential riders," said Darrell Buffaloe, associate vice president of ISU Facilities Services. "That date will also allow us to give students who signed up for the bus time to make other transportation arrangements before school starts if the bus is cancelled."

Uncertain future

The university bus service operates five other commuter coaches that move students between Idaho Falls and the Pocatello campus. Those lines make money, Buffaloe said, and have been subsidizing the Twin Falls route.

That's not fair, said Buffaloe.

"The money to pay that (Twin Falls bus deficit) off came from Idaho Falls riders," Buffaloe said.

The ISU bus leaves from the Twin Falls Kmart parking lot at 5:20 a.m. Monday through Friday. The bus also picks riders up before dawn in the Burley area for a slightly reduced cost of $755 for a five-day semester pass.

But fees are going to balloon next year by at least 205 percent - assuming 28 people continue to ride from Burley and Twin Falls combined, said Andrew Taylor, ISU spokesman.

"Should the bus continue to operate and there is more ridership than expected, the bus pass costs will be reduced and refunds provided based on the number of paid riders," Buffaloe wrote in an April 30 letter to ISU Twin Falls commuters. "We are hopeful that the Twin Falls bus route can continue â€-"

As of April 30, only 15 students had signed up to ride, according to ISU.

ISU students on a recent bus commute said they'd be willing to foot a larger bill.

"I'd be willing to pay a higher price," said Stephanie Harris, 21, of Burley.

But Harris, a full-time student working on an education degree, said she probably wouldn't pay more than $1,600. She said $1,000 would be reasonable.

A sleepy ride to Pocatello

At the start of a 14-hour day of commuting and class, students pull their vehicles up quickly to the K-Mart parking lot, lock up, and rush up the stairs of a humming bus bound for Pocatello that illuminates the dark morning sky.

Their days begin at 5:20 a.m., when they board the bus Most sleep through the 117 -miles drive to Pocatello, where they dismount around 7:20 a.m.

Morning rides are as quiet as they are dark, with a heavy helping of pillows, blankets and sleep.

Groggy-eyed students tote their pillows, backpacks, lunch sacks and blankets onboard for the two-hour haul to Pocatello.

Then they snooze for most of the drive on a dark bus, which is driven two days out of the week by a student who gets an $8-an-hour stipend with free rides for his service.

After Amman Hopkins, the student driver, pulls the bus into the ISU lot and re-fuels it, he quickly changes his shoes from black boots to sneakers, and literally runs to make his 8 a.m. class.

Other students, however, have time to kill before class, which leaves time to study.

Views on the morning commute to Pocatello are camouflaged by the glare of dark windows. The limited scenery makes sleep enticing.

Students are more active on the way home. They're alert, awake and conversational on the bus ride back to Twin Falls.

Dry landscape is illuminated by sunshine on the ride home that leaves at about 5 p.m. Peppered by the natural beauty of the Raft River Plains and the curves of the Snake River, riders peer out their windows while conversing and studying.

There's a strong mix of men and women on the bus and most riders are students in their 20s.

Hopkins said he'll soon move to Pocatello, but was based in Twin Falls while his wife finished out a nursing program at the College of Southern Idaho.

"I think it's an asset for everyone," Amman said about the bus. "I think ISU could do a better job of letting everyone know it's there for them."

Harris, one of the few passengers with her overhead light on during the morning eastbound trip, read through a text book and used the early morning ride to study. She said riding the bus gives her ample time to prepare for school.

If the bus shuts down, Harris said she may look into going to another school. Driving isn't an option, nor is moving to Pocatello, she said. "I want to stay in the Magic Valley."

The remaining coursework Harris needs to get her degree isn't offered through ISU on the CSI campus in Twin Falls, she said.

Where did the riders go?

Students and ISU administrators said they don't know why fewer ISU students are taking the 48-seat bus from Twin Falls.

"For whatever reason, ridership has decreased," said Kent Tingey, ISU vice president for university advancement.

Buffaloe said he isn't sure when the bus started for Twin Falls commuters, but it was probably around 1985.

"We had enough students indicate they would ride the bus from Twin Falls that we decided to try it for a semester," Buffaloe said. "It was successful so it continued â€- Enough students supported it by riding that it paid for itself."

ISU officials considered replacing the large Twin Falls commuter bus with a smaller one as ridership fell, but determined it wouldn't save much money.

"The only real savings would be from the cost of fuel," Buffaloe said. Costs for replacement, maintenance and drivers would stay the same, he said.

University brass would like to see ridership grow, but they aren't saying whether they'd prefer students take ISU classes from the extension office at CSI, register to learn online, move to Pocatello or simply find another ride.

"We don't have an answer for that," said Tingey. "We want to provide education to people of Twin Falls County â€- Our plan is to continue to grow our enrollment."

Tingey said he doesn't know how many ISU students drive themselves to Pocatello from Twin Falls.

ISU students that listed Twin Falls County as their permanent address on applications reached a five-year high during the fall 2007 semester, with 473.

That number includes students taking online classes, commuting by bus, personal vehicle, or learning through the CSI extension office, said Tingey.

The number of ISU students learning from CSI also reached a five-year high in fall 2007, with 330 students, he said.

"Enrollment at the Twin Falls center has gone up quite rapidly," said Tingey.

Online learning through ISU is also expected to grow, he said.

For the fall 2007 semester, for example, 108 students were learning online. But that online number wasn't tracked until recently, said Tingey. "Twin Falls is very important to Idaho State University," he said.

Pulling the huge rig back into its parking place on the CSI campus is a relief after a long day of driving and school, at least for Hopkins, who is studying social work when he's not at the wheel of the bus.

"It's tiresome, but people can do hard things," he said. "I go home and want to sleep as late as I can, and my wife just wants to go play."

Andrea Jackson can be reached at 735-3380 or Andrea.Jackson@lee.net

The number of ISU students that list Twin Falls County as their permanent address on their university applications during fall semesters is at a five-year high. This includes students who could be taking online classes, commuting by bus, car or learning through ISU on the College of Southern Idaho campus, ISU officials said. 2003 365 2004 394 2005 434 2006 403 2007 473 The number of ISU students taking classes on the College of Southern Idaho campus in Twin Falls is also at a five-year high, ISU officials said. Here's a rundown over the years for fall semesters: 2003 227 2004 233 2005 242 2006 198 2007 330