Idaho Bus Co. Ends Montana Route

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A bus company is ending its Great Falls-to-Butte route later this month, leaving those cities without a direct bus connection. The Billings Gazette reports Salt Lake Express will end the service on Aug. 21.

The Rexburg, Idaho, company says it made the decision after it couldn't fill its smaller 17-seat buses during peak tourism season. Spokesman Jacob Price says in a memo announcing the decision the company can't run a route that cannot sustain its costs. Company officials did not immediately return a call for comment Tuesday.

The company has already stopped driving some routes between Billings and Missoula and between Great Falls and Helena. Salt Lake Express moved into Montana in April 2011 after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shut down Billings-based Rimrock Stages for safety violations.