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• "If it changes something, it's good. But if not, it's just been closed for several days," she said.
• Matthews said many of her family members already catch rides to Rapid City when they need to go shopping.
• Residents without transportation or family members may be the ones most affected by the closure, she said, although she noted that grocery stores in Whiteclay, Neb., are 2 miles away.
• "You can walk there. It takes maybe 15 minutes to walk there," she said.
• Copper Moss, who owns Whiteclay Grocery, said she had seen business increase "a whole lot" since Sioux Nation's closure on Friday.
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Oglala Sioux tribe looks to extend bus program
KRISTI EATON,Associated Press
• PINE RIDGE, S.D. (AP) -- For the people living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, traveling to Rapid City may soon be as simple as hopping on a bus.
• The Oglala Sioux Transit bus system is planning to expand its bus routes to include service to Rapid City as early as this summer, said Oglala Sioux Transit Coordinator Emma Featherman Sam.
• She said the primary goal of the expanded route would be for residents to be able to receive medical service in Rapid City, which is more than two hours away, but "if someone wants to jump on, they can."
• Fares will probably range from $10 to $20 for a one-way ticket.
• "It will be really helpful for our residents," said Oglala Sioux Vice President Tom Poor Bear.
• The Oglala Sioux Transit began offering bus service within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation three years ago. It gives many of the reservation's 47,000 residents a way to get around the reservation -- one of the country's largest -- without having to walk, hitchhike or ask friends or relatives for a ride.
• The bus system covers more than 1,400 miles daily across 16 of the main villages on the reservation, Featherman Sam said. There are 35 stops along six routes. The longest stretch extends from Wanblee in the far east of the reservation to the tribe's Prairie Wind Casino on the western side.
• One-way fares range from $1 to $5, while a roundtrip costs $2 to $8. The majority of funding comes from the Federal Transit Administration.
• More than 70,000 people used the service since it started in 2009, Featherman Sam said. The fleet includes three 22-passenger busses and five 16-passenger (Continued on page 50)
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