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Cascades East Transit to resume Saturday service May 1, remain fareless
Bend Dial-A-Ride also to be available on weekends
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) Starting May 1, Cascades East Transit will return to providing Saturday services for Bend Fixed Routes and major Community Connector Routes across Central Oregon, the agency announced Friday.
Also, Bend Dial-A-Ride will operate on both Saturdays and Sundays, starting on May 1. Each of those public transportation services is currently fareless.
CET and Commute Options will host outdoor social-distance tabling events on Saturday, May 1 from 12 to 2 pm at Hawthorne Station in Bend (334 NE Hawthorne Ave.) and at the Redmond Transit Hub (777 SW Kalama Ave.) from 2 to 4 pm to provide free schedules, route maps, public health and safety information, face masks, hand sanitizer, and LED safety lights to riders.
CET planning local expansion
Online survey asks about addition of Juniper Canyon service and other transit needs
Transit service in Crook County is on the verge of an upgrade, and Cascade East Transit leaders want locals to weigh in on potential changes.
The regional transit service is inviting people to participate in an online survey that covers a variety of topics. People will be asked how typically they travel by bus, what destinations they would like visit, what days of the week and times of day transit service is most needed, and what stop locations they might like to see. In addition, the survey asks about what services people would like to see in Juniper Canyon and what Central Oregon cities people would like to visit by bus.
Consolidation Background
In 2019, the Oregon State Legislature directed the transfer of $10.1 million July 1, 2019 from the Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund (STIF) to the Special Transportation Fund (STF). The transfer was designed to distribute funds to transit entities to support public transportation services benefiting seniors and persons with disabilities.
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) 2019-2021 Legislatively Adopted Budget (House Bill 5039) directed ODOT to merge STF and STIF into one public transit program. To guide a smooth transition, ODOT launched a Consolidation Advisory Committee (CAC) to consider and recommend changes needed to consolidate the two programs.
The CAC completed its work in October 2019. In November, the Oregon Transportation Commission endorsed the ODOT Public Transportation Division sSTF/STIF Consolidation Report and Plan. ODOT updated the Formula Allocation Comparison in December of 2019 to include the most recent STIF