STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Riders on the Valley Route will find themselves sitting on a brand spanking new roomier bus come Monday.

Mountain Rides’ New Flyer Xcelsior 35 Heavy Duty Low Floor bus rolled into Ketchum this past week, sporting just 2,300 miles that it had racked up on its drive from Alabama.

It will begin racking up 300-mile, 18-hour days seven days a week beginning Monday as Mountain Rides’ new flagship valley-wide commuter bus.

“It’s a little better designed, a little more open, a little more comfortable than the bus it’s replacing,” said Ben Varner, maintenance and facility manager for Mountain Rides. “There’s more space in between the seats.”

The bus, manufactured by New Flyer Industries in Minnesota, costs $413,000 brand new. Eighty percent of the tab was picked up by the Federal Transit Administration. The other 20 percent was funded with a local match provided by the cities of Bellevue, Ketchum, Sun Valley and Hailey, as well as Blaine County.

Buses typically last about eight years, Varner said. The bus being replaced will go on sale online this week.

“We’ll get a second bus for the same route in July,” said Ben Varner, maintenance and facility manager for Mountain Rides. “We’ll be set on that route for years.”

Mountain Rides gets about 530,000 rides a year between its free rides offered around Ketchum and Sun Valley and its paid commuter service from Bellevue to Ketchum. Ridership has increased several percentages each year for the past several years, Varner said.

The new bus is expected up to 200 riders up valley every day from Bellevue to the Wood River YMCA in Ketchum and Sun Valley Resort.

Varner said the increased ridership means Mountain Rides must replace a bus every 12 to 18 months to keep up with the demand.