As the Great Recession swept over the nation in 2008, Washington State University and the University of Idaho were forced to make sacrifices. These sacrifices included the decision to end funding for the Pullman-Moscow transit system.

Seven years later, members from both communities are advocating for the return of the bus, which will provide a more affordable and convenient mode of transportation between the two cities.

“There’s a rising amount of people who don’t have cars. That’s a challenge for people in Moscow and Pullman who want to get to either city … It’s disappointing that the cities are 8 miles apart and we don’t have (a transit system),” Pullman City Council member Nathan Weller said.

The issue reached wide attention through WSU student Andrew Stephenson’s Facebook page, “Return the Pullman-Moscow Bus.” Stephenson was inspired to create the page after former student Lori Emery created a petition for the return of the bus as part of a required class project. What started as a class project has turned into a local political movement with more than 1,000 supporters liking the Facebook page.

“I created the Facebook page and got the 400 people who signed the petition to like the page. The Facebook engine makes the spread quicker,” said Andrew Stephenson, senior civil engineering major.

Stephenson said his personal link to the situation derives from his time living in a bustling Japanese city where he relied heavily on public transit to carry out his daily life.

“My entire life was devoted to walking to the subway. Everything involved public transit,” Stephenson said.

For the past few years Stephenson has observed and experienced the struggles that students, professors and community members are facing to get resources from one city to the other.

“Our joint program between the University of Idaho and Washington State University requires transportation for students, staff and faculty to attend classes, meetings, labs and events at both campuses,” said WSU School of Food Science professor and Interim Director Barbara Rasco. “Our students, particularly international and exchange students, don’t have an affordable, consistent option for transportation. Getting the bus back would help us and other programs across both universities tremendously.”

Due to the Facebook group’s large support, Weller contacted Stephenson last October to discuss the possibility of bringing back the Pullman-Moscow bus.

“Andrew (Stephenson) has been the real reason this is coming to attention. The Facebook group gives a sense of how many people want the bus,” Weller said. “There’s no reason we shouldn’t get a bus between Pullman and Moscow.”

The current goal is to get coach buses for the Pullman-Moscow routes with a regular hourly service from dawn till dusk and an additional late night bus.

Everyone is invited to attend a general meeting held by the Developing Sustainable Communities (DSC) club in ELB 102 at 4 p.m. April 28. The Pullman-Moscow petition will be addressed and more members will be recruited. In the following year, DSC will work on the Pullman-Moscow Bus petition.

“I am ecstatic to see us pushing for a unique and impacting cause here in Pullman with the bus petition,” said Bailee DePhelps, junior mechanical engineering major and DSC president. “We are excited to see sustainability come forth in many lights such as the BioCement project, Children’s Art Studio Renovation, and the Moscow-Pullman bus petition.”

To learn more about the return of the Pullman-Moscow Bus, students can find the page on Facebook at http://facebook.com/pullmanmoscowbus.