Editor’s note: This is the seventh and final “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, fifth and sixth 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.
Stop Requested is a journey by public transit to all the communities that OPB says on the radio every hour. This is a map of the route which took 14 days and 38 buses to complete.
Lillian Karabaic / OPB
Tuesday, Sept. 24
Bus 24: Community Connection of Northeast Oregon, Enterprise > La Grande Transit Hub
Wallowa Link, $5, 65.1 miles
Yesterday, we took an eight-passenger van into Enterprise with a sasquatch-enthusiast drive. Unfortunately, we can’t stay long in the beautiful Wallowa Mountains because we have to head out early the next morning to catch three buses before we reach our final stop.
If we miss the bus in Pendleton, we’re out of luck - the bus to our very last destination, John Day, only runs once a week.
Early on Tuesday morning, we’re back in the Wallowa Link van, which runs three days a week, with driver-and-youth-pastor David Hite. We’re joined by two locals who sing the praises of Wallowa County’s transit system.
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
Joseph resident Lisa Murphy says she uses the Wallowa Link for errands into La Grande, because it’s cheaper than gas in her own car. And the groceries are expensive in Enterprise.
“If we want to do a big shopping [trip], we do it in La Grande, because we have the most expensive Safeway in the state,” said Murphy.
Plus, she moved here from San Diego six years ago, and prefers having the bus drivers do the driving in the winter. “We have great bus drivers,” she said. “I feel that they are better equipped to drive in those circumstances: ice and snow.”
Fellow passenger Stephen Rogers has been riding this bus for more than 20 years. He said it’s a lot more affordable than driving the 120 miles round trip. “Even 10, 15 years ago, you started looking at the gas prices going up. This was the way to go for $10 round-trip,” Rogers said.
The price for the trip hasn’t gone up since Rogers has been riding it, thanks in-part to grants from the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund (STIF). STIF is a unique Oregon tax, passed by the legislature in 2017, which helps pay for transit where federal funding isn’t enough. Almost every bus we’ve taken on this trip receives funding from STIF.
Rogers, like Murphy, takes the bus for errands. “If you’ve been in Wallowa County, We don’t have a lot of shopping activities. So people come over here to Walmart, to Bi-Mart,” he said.
While Wallowa County does have a small hospital, most of the specialty doctors are located in La Grande or Pendleton. Rogers is a veteran and there’s a veteran’s outpatient clinic in La Grande, but for more complicated medical care, he’ll travel to Walla Walla or Boise. Community Connection sometimes drives him as part of his veteran’s benefits - they can even do overnights.
Bus 25: La Grande Transit Hub > Pendleton Walmart
Kayak 17 L Arrow, Free, 55.9 miles
Once we arrive at the La Grande Transit Hub, we have about an hour before we catch the KAYAK L Arrow, which runs to Pendleton. The KAYAK is a free and open-to-the-public transit system operated by the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation.
There’s only one other passenger on board for most of the ride to Pendleton: frequent rider Nathan Forsythe. He rides KAYAK buses to get out into nature and to satisfy his unique architectural interest. “I put my bike on the rack just to go ride out of the vicinity [and] go look at historic schoolhouses,” said Forsythe.
Today he’s taking the bus into Pendleton to celebrate his 44th birthday with a bike ride and a meal at one of his favorite restaurants.
Downtown Pendleton is served by transit services KAYAK, a free and open-to-the-public transit system operated by the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation. It's also served by Let’er Bus, the cleverly named transit operated by the City of Pendleton.
Prakruti Bhatt / OPB
Once we arrive in Pendleton and wish Forsythe a happy birthday, there’s just enough time to meet up with OPB’s Eastern Oregon reporter, Antonio Sierra, for lunch. Having lived in Pendleton for over a decade, he said it’s almost unbelievable how much better the transit is here than it used to be.
Between KAYAK and Let’er Bus, the cleverly named transit operated by the City of Pendleton, there’s several transit options.
Today, we’re taking a third transit agency that passes through Pendleton - the Grant County People Mover.
Bus 26: Pendleton Walmart > Downtown John Day
Grant County People Mover Walla Walla to John Day, Free, 125 miles
The joke is that it’s free to get into John Day but not to get out. That’s because of a partnership between Grant County People Mover and Umatilla County, which pays for rides that originate in Umatilla County.
Grant County People Mover is a small agency with several long bus routes going all the way from Walla Walla to the north to Burns in the South.
Prakruti Bhatt / OPB
Our fellow passenger today, Douglas Graetz, lives in Ukiah, which is at the edge of Umatilla County. Today he rode round-trip from Ukiah to Walla Walla for free, taking a short day trip to visit the thrift store.
Our 3-hour journey is free on the way in, but to take the thrice-weekly bus into Bend from John Day tomorrow, we’ll have to pay.
Our bus is driven by Douglas Boyer, 77 years old. He’s been driving for Grant County People Mover, a small transit agency, for 15 years. He moved to Grant County after falling in love with it when accidentally driving through on the way to California.
Boyer started driving for People Mover a month after he moved to Grant County, since he already had a commercial driver’s license from driving semis and school buses. Boyer has worn many hats, but one stands out: Buffalo-riding champion.
Bus driver Douglas Boyer, 77, has been driving for Grant County People Mover for 15 years. He drives the weekly all-day round-trip from John Day to Walla Walla. He was once an award-winning buffalo-rider.
Prakruti Bhatt / OPB
“That was my 10 minutes of fame,” says Boyer. “San Bernardino, California National Orange Show. Probably 50 years ago, in the seventies.”
He doesn’t ride buffalo anymore, but he does have three horses of his own which he keeps on a neighbor’s property in Prairie City. He tries to drive buses only two or three days a week so he has time for riding and playing music with the Oregon Old Time Fiddlers Association in John Day. Most of the other drivers for Grant County People Mover are also part-time, combining driving with retirement or other work.
There’s just one local grocery store in John Day, and while it’s well-stocked - it also has hunting and sewing supplies - it’s much more expensive than the chains in bigger cities. Boyer said he gets most of his groceries during his run down to Burns.
After we drop Graetz off at his house in Ukiah, we drive another 20 minutes down twisting vistas to our last pitstop before John Day.
Dale, Oregon has a business that does it all: hunting shop, post office, grocery store, gas station. And, they have postcards.
Lillian Karabaic / OPB
It’s the post office/hunting shop/general store in the extremely small community of Dale, Oregon. Population: less than 30 people.
I’m greeted by a giant taxidermied bear and two shopkeepers chatting.
A taxidermy bear watches over Dale, Oregon service station.
Lillian Karabaic / OPB
They know our driver well and catch up a bit while Prakruti Bhatt fills in a postcard to send to our coworkers. We arrive at our final stop, John Day, at sunset.
Downtown John Day seen at sunset on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024.
Prakruti Bhatt / OPB
Over the past 12 days, we’ve taken 26 buses, three trains, and one patrol car, run by 22 different transit agencies to travel 1,741 miles across Oregon.
A few common themes have emerged.
- Grocery costs are increasing everywhere, but even more so in remote communities.
- Transit matters not just to folks that can’t drive, but anyone who wants to save money on gas or avoid driving during extreme weather.
- Health care deserts are getting worse in rural areas. Medical transport provides a vital link for people that need to travel - often hours - for care.
- And perhaps most important: Bus riders know all the best local gossip.
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.
