Photo Courtesy of Dan Luedert, Nebraska Department of Transportation
Welcome to Open Plains Transit
Open Plains Transit (formerly known as Panhandle Trails Intercity Public Transit) provides intercity bus services and local demand response services in the Nebraska Panhandle and western Nebraska.. We are operated by Senior Services, Inc., which is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Alliance, Nebraska. We have over 50 years of experience in the public transportation industry. We are funded through Federal and State funds that are allocated through the Nebraska Department of Transportation and by local community support and private donations.
Reservations and prepayments are required for all travel. The Open Plains Transit Ticket Depot (Alliance, NE) is the first and only bus ticket depot west of Grand Island, Ne, almost 300 miles away, in which you you have the option of buying tickets in person. You may make your reservations over the phone and payments by debit or credit card by calling the Panhandle number listed, also. Reservations are required by noon, mountain time zone, Monday through Friday, at least one business day in advance of your travel. For any trip requiring a transfer, we request reservations by noon, a minimum of two business days in advance. While we will do our best to accommodate all reservations, including same-day requests, reservations are contingent on availability and may incur additional fees. As availability fills quickly, any additional advanced notice you provide, allows us to offer added travel options or to assist you in finding a service that might better fit your needs.
Click on any of the buttons below for more details about our services, our service schedules and our connections to other regional transportation providers. Give us a call at the numbers below to learn more about our services or to schedule a ride.
Nebraska Panhandle & Surrounding Area: 308-761-8747
Valentine & Cherry County, NE: 402-389-2975
Our Mission
To connect individuals with intercity transportation resources while providing safe, efficient and affordable passage to destinations throughout the Nebraska Panhandle.
Our Goal
To provide passengers the initial means to reach global destinations through the use of public transportation.
How You Can Help
Donating your time as an escort, "Bus Buddy", assists others in reaching critical appointments that they otherwise might not attend. Financial donations allow for additional services to those who can not afford to pay and to assist us in keeping our wheels rolling to serve the general public of all ages and mobility levels .
Our Service Area
The Nebraska Panhandle is two-thirds as broad as the rest of the state. Running approximately 100 miles east to west and 125 miles north to south, the Panhandle spans over 14,000 square miles, or just under 20% of the state’s land. Our intercity bus routes are concentrated in the Panhandle, traversing 9 of the 11 counties located in this region, though some of our services terminate to the east of the Panhandle, in Grant and Keith Counties, but extend to Cherry County, where Thomas, Logan and Lincoln Counties are connected from there. Altogether, 15 Nebraska counties receive some level of OPT services. Our intercity connections extend north to include the communities of Pine Ridge, Hot Springs and Rapid City in South Dakota and to the west, including the communities of LaGrange and Cheyenne, WY. As we grow our fleet, we intend to provide more frequent service across this area, as well as more consistent service in the event of severe weather or maintenance issues.
Our Services
We provide demand-response (point-to-point) transit service in the counties of Box Butte, Cherry, Sheridan, and Sioux, as shown in the darker gray areas in the map below. Additionally, we provide intercity bus service throughout most of the Panhandle, including our Blue Routes, Bronze Routes, Green Routes, Orange Routes, and Red Routes, also shown below.
Our Connections
Our bus schedules are aligned with other service providers in adjacent areas so that individuals can easily travel to various communities in the Panhandle region and western Nebraska and east and west, across the state (Kimball County Transit Services, Express Arrow, Jefferson Lines and Burlington Trailways). These services also provide access to the surrounding states of Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa and Colorado and extend to Illinois, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico and Texas. This in turn allows access to the rest of United States and indeed the rest of the world. We like to think of Open Plains Transit as “Greyhound”, albeit on a very small scale.
Services for All
We operate our programs and services without regard to race, color, or national origin in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.