ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Starting this weekend, people who live in Anchorage’s Fairview neighborhood will be able to take a free shuttle to midtown so they can access grocery stores and pharmacies.
Funding for the shuttle was approved by the Anchorage Assembly at the direction of Mayor Suzanne LaFrance after the Carrs store on Gambell shut down in May, leaving the community without a nearby grocery store.
NeighborWorks Alaska received the $75,000 grant to provide weekend shuttle service through October, which will be free to riders. Lindsey Hajduk with NeighborWorks, said many people who live in the neighborhood don’t have a car.
“In the Fairview Community itself, about one in five households don’t have a private vehicle,” Hajduk said. “And that means in order to get to the nearest grocery stores, which are now in midtown, you have to deal with the highway connection. And that’s not a safe or easy way to walk or bike or roll to get your groceries and carry them back a mile or a mile and a half.”
The free shuttle will run Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. According to the posted schedule, the shuttle will make several stops in the neighborhood and bring riders to Northern Lights and Benson Boulevard, where both a Carrs and Fred Meyer grocery stores are located.
Hajduk said while the shuttle will stop at several People Mover bus stops, the shuttle itself is not a People Mover bus, instead, it’s a large van operated by BAC Transportation.
Anchorage Public Transportation Director Bart Rudolph said the shuttle is a temporary, short-term solution to give people access to basic services. Rudolph said the department is currently working on a plan to realign People Mover’s Route 11, which serves Fairview and the Anchorage Senior Center to improve access to grocery stores. Rudolph said regular fares will apply for people who ride the bus.
See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com
Copyright 2025 KTUU. All rights reserved.
Dining and Cooking