Scott Swanson
Ridership on Linn Shuttle buses is at an all-time high, thanks to expanded routes and more buses, according to Manager Ken Bronson.
Thanks to a two-year $105,650 grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation, approved last month as part of an intergovernmental agreement by the County Commission, the system has nearly tripled its stops between Albany and Sweet Home and has synched with the Linn-Benton Loop buses, which connect Corvallis and Albany. Participants in the agreement, which extends through 2015, include the Sweet Home Senior Center, which runs the Linn Shuttle service, Benton County and Albany.
Linn Shuttle is also funded by state Cigarette Tax funds and Small Cities and Rural Transportation Funds from the Department of Transportation.
Most of the new stops were added last September, though the Express buses in January began stopping at Linn-Benton Community College’s Alternative Transportation Training Center in Lebanon. Bronson also eliminated travel along Highway 20 between Lebanon and Albany in September, which has resulted in a more efficient and safe system, he said.
“People can commute to Corvallis better by us redesigning the route,” he said.
Ridership increases have exceeded the added service, he said, rising 21 percent, from 14,803 between October and December of 2012 to 18,748 over the same period in 2013. Buses traveled 35,300 miles in 2012 and 42,906 in 2013, an 18 percent increase. Rides cost $1 one way between any points in the system.
“We’re pleased to see that by changing the service, hours and miles, ridership has exceeded that,” Bronson said. “It goes to show how much that service is needed.”
Kachina Morales, 37, a Foster resident who rides the bus frequently, said the service is “a lot better” than when she moved to Sweet Home three years ago.
“Before, it only took you to Foster at certain times. Now, every trip goes to Foster,” she said recently as she waited for the bus next to the Genealogical Society Library at 13th and Kalmia.
Bronson said the shuttle service now offers more trips a day, beginning earlier, at 6:17 a.m. in Foster, and returning later, as late as 8 p.m. if riders need to travel to Foster.
Morales said the extended hours allow students more flexibility.
“For the students, with the longer hours, we don’t have to worry about catching the last bus at 5:05 when your class doesn’t get out until 5:50,” she said.
She said she thinks most residents do not realize the extent of travel capabilities via the shuttle buses.
“Some people don’t even know that it goes all those places in Albany,” she said, adding that she and a friend take the bus to Heritage Mall.
She said she particularly appreciates the elimination of Highway 20 on the Albany-Lebanon route.
“I hated to ride that bus on Highway 20. It’s faster now.”
The Senior Center also operates the Dial-a-Bus service and transportation services for developmentally disabled county residents.
Bronson said Dial-a-Bus is “maxed out,” and demand has grown for the disabled transportation services as well.
“Last year we did almost 85,000 rides on all three systems,” he said. “It’s increasing this year. I don’t know how far it’s going to go.”