Free Bend summer shuttle rolling out today
Ride Bend, a pilot, free summer shuttle for Bend’s greater downtown area, rolls out Friday and runs through Labor Day, city officials said.
The goal of the route is to provide transit service for visitors and residents to connect between downtown Bend and the Old Mill District, as well as other popular destinations in Bend’s core area.
The service is free to the public and is made possible by a joint partnership between the city of Bend, Visit Bend and the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council.
NewsChannel 21’s A.J. Kato is checking out the first day of the shuttle and will have a report on Fox @ 4 and KTVZ at 5, 6 and 7.
Riders can take Ride Bend between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m., seven days a week throughout the summer. Ride Bend will be offered free of charge and buses will run every 15 minutes, circulating in a clockwise loop between downtown Bend, the Old Mill District, the OSU-Cascades campus and Galveston Avenue.
Dial-A-Ride service will be provided for ADA riders who are unable to use the fixed-route service. All buses and bus stops are ADA accessible.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity to demonstrate the ease of using transit and the value it adds to our community,” said Mayor Pro Tem Sally Russell. “Ride Bend will be simple and convenient for visitors and locals who want to get around this great city’s core areas without getting in their cars this summer. It will also demonstrate how public transportation can help alleviate traffic and parking congestion, which our community has expressed concerns about as Bend grows.”
“We are honored to support Ride Bend. It gives us the opportunity to share tips from our Visit Like a Local campaign, encouraging visitors to the area to recreate responsibly and to make the most out of their visit while interacting with the Bend community,” said Kevney Dugan, Executive Director of Visit Bend.
“Most visitors know about the plethora of outdoor recreation opportunities, but we want to provide our guests with a way to be less automobile-dependent while enjoying all that this central area of Bend has to offer after a day of play,” Dugan added.
More information about Ride Bend will be available soon on cascadeseasttransit.com and visitbend.com .
Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council was designated a Council of Governments in 1972 under ORS 190. COIC provides service to the counties of Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson as well as to the cities of Bend, Culver, La Pine, Madras, Metolius, Prineville, Redmond and Sisters. Cascades East Transit, operated by COIC, runs a fixed-route service in Bend, community connector shuttles and general public Dial-A-Ride services in Redmond, La Pine, Prineville, Sisters and Madras.
