Editor’s note: This is the sixth “Stop Requested,” OPB’s multi-part series about a journey to the corners of Oregon by public transit. You can read the first, second, third, fourth and fifth installments of the series.
For 14 days, and using more than 30 buses, OPB’s Lillian Karabaic and Prakruti Bhatt experienced the joys and difficulties of rural transit — and talked to many people along the way.
Monday, Sept. 23
Bus 20 : La Grande Transit Hub > Marketplace, La Grande
CCNO Yellow Line Loop, Free, 1.9 miles
We pulled into La Grande’s transit hub early in the morning and were met by their transportation manager Patrick Hemann, who gave us a tour of the agency. We had most of the day to wait before our next bus to Wallowa County at 2 p.m.
La Grande Transit Hub, run by Community Connection of Northeast Oregon, is a stop for transit connecting to Pendleton, Wallowa County, Baker City, Boise, Walla Walla and Portland.
Prakruti Bhatt / OPB
La Grande Transit Hub has a lot going on. It’s run by Community Connection of Northeast Oregon, a four-county nonprofit organization that has many services: public transit, hot meals, financial assistance for seniors, bingo, and more.
They’re the only transit operator on this entire trip that currently has enough drivers. Most other agencies — both rural and urban — are short-staffed for bus drivers, often leading to service reductions.
In addition to the long-distance connector shuttles between counties, they also run on-demand transit to nearby rural communities. And they have three unusual vehicles: a stretcher bus used to transport patients from the hospital to their homes for hospice, and two “showcase” buses for parades and community events, like the “Spooky Trolley.” They’re buses dressed up like vintage trolleys, down to the wooden seats with decorative iron feet.
The “showcase” bus at Community Connection of Northeast Oregon in La Grande is used for parades and community events, like the “Spooky Trolley.” They’re buses dressed up like vintage trolleys, down to the wooden seats with decorative iron feet.
Prakruti Bhatt / OPB
Community Connection also runs a Monday-through-Saturday bus through town. “We have two buses that go around the city,” said Hemann. “It’s on a deviated fixed route. They both leave every 45 minutes.”
A deviated fixed route, common in smaller transit systems, means they will pick riders up anywhere within three-quarters of a mile of the route, as long as you call 24 hours in advance. The fare-free bus goes in a loop, traveling to “every grocery store, medical place, low-income housing, basically the whole city,” according to Hemann.
The biggest peak in ridership is during the colder months. People are less confident driving in the snow and many people ride to stay warm. “We work with the warming shelter and we’ll deviate there for the first and last loop,” said Hemann. “It’s really for the community to try and help everybody.”
Community Connection also runs a Monday-through-Saturday bus through La Grande. They are deviated, fixed route buses. A deviated route, common in smaller transit systems, means drivers will pick riders up anywhere within three-quarters of a mile of the route, as long as you call 24 hours in advance. The fare-free bus goes in a loop traveling to essential services.
Prakruti Bhatt / OPB
Even though it was a sunny day, we hopped on the shuttle to go to downtown La Grande to grab lunch before our ride to Enterprise.
Bus 21: Marketplace, La Grande > La Grande Transit Hub
CCNO Yellow Route Loop, Free, 4.6 miles
While stopped for lunch in downtown La Grande, I ran into former Northeastern Oregon Transit Council member Jeff Poppe. He joined the council and started to ride buses regularly after becoming legally blind in 2019.
“The legal limit for blindness is 2/200, so I’m double that,” said Poppe. “So, that necessitated the use of the bus.”
Island City resident Jeff Poppe uses the bus after becoming legally blind in 2019. He holds a magnifier he uses to read close-up. Poppe said the bus does help him make his way around town — but he wished it came on time. “I wish the scheduling was tighter. Sometimes it’s 10 minutes late, sometimes 15. It’s never on time."
Lillian Karabaic / OPB
He loves living in Island City, about 2.5 miles from La Grande, but said not being able to drive has severely limited his ability to do daily errands independently.
“Your life is tightly constricted. You can no longer drive, and there are places you need to be,” said Poppe. “I get my mail at the post office, yet I live in Island City.”
Poppe said the bus does help him make his way around town, though he wished it came on time. “Sometimes it’s 10 minutes late, sometimes 15. It’s never on time. So you’re standing there, whether it’s snowing or raining,” he said.
He’s a horseman and the facilities for riding are limited in La Grande. That means he needs to get to Pendleton or Billings, Montana, often to go for horse auctions or training. And both of those trips are not easy on transit.
“The hardest part is the isolation. I’m used to, if I needed something from Pendleton, I would just drive over and get it,” he said. “Now, I can’t go.”
La Grande Transit Hub, run by Community Connection of Northeast Oregon, is a stop for transit connecting to Pendleton, Wallowa County, Baker City, Boise, Walla Walla and Portland.
Prakruti Bhatt / OPB
There is a free bus that goes from La Grande to Pendleton, run by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, but Poppe feels it is too difficult for him to coordinate riding it.
Despite the challenges of living in Union County with less than ideal transit options, Poppe isn’t going anywhere. “I know here,” he said. “I guess because I’m a fixture here.”
After lunch downtown, we waited at the Marketplace stop across from city hall for the yellow line to head back to the transit hub. And, as Poppe cautioned, it ran a bit late. But driver Sheryl Hubbard is friendly as we board and points out local places of interest. And Hubbard drove us back to the Transit Hub with plenty of time before our bus to Enterprise.
Bus 22: La Grande Transit Hub > Community Connections of Northeast Oregon, Enterprise
CCNO Wallowa Link, $8, 64.3 miles
La Grande Transit Hub is truly a transit hub for the entire region. It has daily FlixBus (formerly Greyhound) arrivals to Walla Walla, Portland and Boise, plus local transit connections operated by several different agencies to Baker City, Wallowa County and Pendleton.
The “bus” to Enterprise, Wallowa Link, is actually an eight-passenger van, also run by Community Connection. It goes from La Grande through Elgin and Imbler to Enterprise and Joseph on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. We’re joined by two regular riders headed to Elgin who let us have our choice of seats.
Bus driver and youth pastor David Hite drives the Wallowa Link shuttle between La Grande and Joseph for Community Connection of Northeast Oregon. Hite likes to joke with his passengers, with a sign on board offering "free air guitars." He also tracks Bigfoot sightings, a passion of his.
Prakruti Bhatt / OPB
The driver is David Hite who loves to tease riders. He’s a youth pastor in addition to a bus driver, and said his immature jokes are a hit with teens. He really tries to have fun, with a sign on board offering “free air guitars.”
After Elgin the conversation switched to Sasquatch, a passion of Hite’s. He tracks local Bigfoot sightings, and said he’s willing to lose his job over Bigfoot.
“If I see us a Bigfoot in the canyon, for example, whether I have riders or not, I’m going to pull over in a safe spot and give foot pursuit,” Hite said. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Bus 23: Community Connection of Northeast Oregon Enterprise > Wollowa Lake
Community Connection of Northeast Oregon Summer Shuttle, Free, 1.1 miles
From their transit hub, we caught the very last Summer Shuttle bus of the day, which went all the way to Wallowa Lake and Joseph.
Community Connection of Northeast Oregon in Enterprise operates transportation services including a summer shuttle and winter shuttle, medical transport, and the Wallowa Link shuttle between Wallowa and Union Counties. They also run a meal program, a food bank and bingo nights.
Prakruti Bhatt / OPB
Our driver Randy Zollman used to work at the Elgin paper mill and started driving for Community Connection after he retired in 2017. He stopped driving the bus after four years, but came back about a year later.
“I mainly started driving again because I like camping and I like fishing and that kind of stuff,” he said. “And couldn’t afford to do it just on retirement.” But it’s not just the extra income. “I miss the social part of it,” Zollman said.
The bus stop in downtown Enterprise for the summer shuttle that runs to Wallowa Lake from downtown Enterprise. According to our driver, it’s filled with tourists during the summer season but many locals don't know about it.
Prakruti Bhatt / OPB
The bus is filled with tourists, including international tourists, during the summer season. Many of the locals don’t seem to know the free service exists — including several people we talked to in the local pub, who have lived here all their life.
“It’s amazing as much as we do, there’s still people who don’t know,” Zollman said “It’s really a good service for such a small town.”
There is a free summer shuttle that runs to Wallowa Lake from downtown Enterprise. According to our driver, it’s filled with tourists during the summer season but many locals don't know about it.
Prakruti Bhatt
Next in the series: We finish our journey by racing to catch the once-a-week bus to John Day, driven by a former buffalo riding champion.
Do you have any questions about Stop Requested? Leave your questions, comments, or hot bus tips at 503-977-7768 or lkarabaic@opb.org and we’ll answer them on a future episode.
