Gorge Transit Summit promises peek into future, fun for bus lovers, and cookies

The Gorge Transit Summit is a great chance to plug into transit advocacy, and it comes at a crucial moment for the future of bus services in Oregon.

If you haven’t noticed yet, intercity and rural bus service in Oregon having a moment. Take the Columbia River Gorge as just one example: The Gorge Express service (operated by Columbia Area Transit or CAT), saw a 72% jump in ridership from 2022 to 2024. And the LINK service (operated by Mid-Columbia Economic Development District) that connects Hood River to The Dalles saw an 80% increase from 2022 to 2023.

Buses are so cool across Oregon right now that Oregon Public Broadcasting devoted an entire series to it. And with Oregon’s dedicated transit funding source (known as the Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund or STIF) going into its eighth year of investments, while lawmakers in Salem have heard loud and clear that Oregonians want more bus service, the future looks very bright.

But there are clouds on the horizon. Sources in Salem say the STIF — which is funded with a 0.1% payroll tax — is in bad shape. A combination of inflation, the drying up of Covid relief funding, and other factors, means more funding is needed to maintain what’s been built since 2017. As lawmakers polish up a major transportation funding package for release in the coming weeks, transit investments could be at risk.

I’ve digressed a big from what I sat down to write about, which is now is a great time to get involved in transit advocacy and attend the Gorge Transit Summit on Thursday April 10th in Hood River. “Join us for a day exploring transit in the Gorge from the breathtaking speed of growth over the past few years to the ways it is helping to solve some of the biggest issues in our region,” reads the event website. “Hear from our experts panel and from our riders game show. Join in a hands-on workshop to create your own route system. Be there for big reveals and explore the possibilities of how Gorge Transit can look in the future.”

Sounds fun, right? And the keynote speaker is none other than Jarrett Walker, a Portland-based transit guru and author of Human Transit!

So check out the full agenda, grab a shuttle bus out to Hood River, and connect with other folks who will write the next chapter of transit in the Gorge and beyond.