Sisters inaugurates new transportation option

Sisters officials and local dignitaries last week celebrated the opening of Cascades East Transit service from Sisters to Bend and on into other Central Oregon communities.

Shuttle service now runs from Sisters to Bend at 10:15 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day, providing an alternate means of transport for Sisters-area citizens and workers. There is also demand-based service within a five-mile radius of Sisters City Hall.

The transportation program developed out of a partnership between city and county governments, the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC), civic organizations and private sector partners.

The largest private sector partner is Bank of the Cascades. Fran Willis, the Bank's Vice President for Community Outreach, spoke at the dedication ceremony at City Hall.

"In many ways, this is a profound step for Sisters," she said.

She noted that Bank of the Cascades supports and encourages its customers and employees in using the public transit system and she told the assembled group, "as individuals, I want to challenge you to ride this bus."

Judy Trego, Bend staffer for Congressman Greg Walden, said that it was not easy to pull all the various jurisdictions and interest groups together to create a system that would link communities from Madras to La Pine and from Sisters to Prineville.

She said that when citizens "blur political boundaries and set aside our differences, innovation comes into play. It's all about leverage. This is nothing the city could have done on it's own, the county would be able to do on its own, even COIC could do on its own."

It required bringing together a variety of groups and funding sources to make the project possible, she said, noting that the Community Action Team of Sisters was involved from the beginning.

For information on Cascades East Transit services, visit http://www.cascadeseasttransit.com. For reservations, call 385-8680.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 5415499941