Scott Swanson
Demand for the Sweet Home Shopper bus service has risen to the point that Linn Shuttle is increasing service from four to six days a week.
Linn Shuttle Manager Ken Bronson said the bus will run Tuesdays and Thursdays starting Monday, June 19, and during the summer months the shuttle will run all the way to Lewis Creek Park, through the second week of September.
He said the service, which will be financed in part by the City of Sweet Home, is a response to the findings of the Livability Initiative, a study done two years ago by three representatives from the Conservation Fund, and the Federal Highway Administration. The study and resulting report identified needs in Sweet Home and proposed ways to address them.
“This goes right back to the Livability Initiative,” Bronson said. “The people of Sweet Home say they want to get people more active, outside. This is our part. Transportation.”
The shopper will run four times a day, with stops at various major shopping destinations such as Thriftway, Safeway, Bi-Mart and Hoy’s, and various other spots in the mid-town and Foster areas.
The route begins at the Senior Center and ends at Sunnyside County Park. Starting June 19, the bus will also stop at the new City Hall site, across from Cascade Timber Consulting.
Bronson said the new City Hall bus stop will eventually include a shelter, with covered seating.
The shopper service started two years ago, offering trips on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Saturday trips were added during the summer months.
“It’s been slowly building,” Bronson said of the ridership. He said ridership on the Sweet Home Dial-A-Bus shuttle, which picks up and returns riders at their homes, has been maxed out, which is one reason why the Shopper service was started.
“The Shopper has been growing. It’s up 15 percent over last year,” he said. “Dial-a-Bus is at capacity; we only have one van, so can only do so much.”
He said 70 percent of riders on Dial-A-Bus are elderly or disabled. Only 30 percent of riders on the Shopper fall into those categories, he said.
The Shopper will leave the Senior Center at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. It will reach Sunnyside roughly 40 minutes later, making a return trip via Lewis Creek Park and Edgewater RV Park before finishing at Thriftway an hour and 15 minutes after leaving the Senior Center.
A one-way ride is $1, with children under 12 riding free when accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Bronson said the city included $5,000 for the service in its 2017-18 budget, which enabled him to leverage an additional $11,000 in funding for a total of $16,000.
One of Linn Shuttle’s buses is being modified to replace some seats with more racks and hooks to hold grocery bags, he said.
“If you want to take your cooler to the lake, there’s a spot for it now.”
The increase in service is a response to demand, Bronson said.
“A lot of riders’ frustration was that it was only three days a week, he said of the current Shopper schedule.
“That’s what we’re trying to do. Get people out there.”
For information and schedules, visit http://www.linnshuttle.com/index.php/saturday-bus-to-foster-lake/ or call (541) 367-4775.