By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews.com
WALDPORT — Getting around the city without a car will get easier sometime (hopefully) soon with a planned new bus service that will run a loop within the city.
First, however, organizers need comments from local residents on where and when it should run — and the drivers to staff it.
Thanks to a $224,640 grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation, the new service will be run by Lincoln County Transit working with the city of Waldport.
Before a route and schedule are developed, though, potential passengers are urged to weigh in with their thoughts on a survey now being circulated.
“When will it start? We don’t know,” said Cynda Bruce, director of transit at Newport-based agency. “The consumer survey is the last piece we need to get a schedule and route finalized.”
The “Waldport Loop Bus Survey” is available online and through city utility bills.
It asks for preferred travel times, days and frequency, as well as specific stops that might be desired. The potential stops include Ray’s food market, the library, the Port of Alsea, Waldport High/Middle School, the Bayshore community, Crestview Golf Course and more. People who fill out the survey can also name additional stops they’d like to see. Bus fare is expected to be $1 to ride the entire loop.
Along with community input, Lincoln County Transit is seeking drivers to work the new route, which is expected to run Mondays through Saturdays for eight hours daily.
“I’ve had this funding for a while,” Bruce said, “but we’re struggling with our workforce. We could start in one month if we were under normal workforce conditions.”
Pandemic labor shortages have affected the county transit system, which runs buses up and down U.S. Highway as well as to the Willamette Valley, and intercity loops in Lincoln City and Newport.
People interested in working on the new route are urged to visit the Lincoln County career page website. Bruce noted that employees receive medical and dental benefits, as well as sick time and paid vacation.
“Waldport is eager for this new service to continue our efforts to increase mobility within town,” said City Manager Dann Cutter. “Combined with the upcoming sidewalk project along Crestline and potentially Range Drive, as well as efforts to create the new park, we look forward to an outcome where everything seems right out your front door.”
Waldport was chosen as the location for the new loop because “It was important for us to get south county better served” by public transportation, Bruce said. She noted that Newport and Lincoln City already have intracity bus service.
A new bus has been purchased, capable of carrying up to 22 passengers. It runs on gasoline instead of diesel fuel in deference to the residential neighborhoods through which it will travel.
So far, some 40 people have responded to the bus survey, according to Waldport City Planner Holly Hamilton.
“We have 2,100 people in our community. So far, those responding tend to be in their 60s and up,” she said, along with some students.
Bruce first contacted the city about the new service this past spring, and “We really started to dive in in August,” Hamilton said.
“We’re really excited to start this service,” said Bruce. “It’s been a long time coming.”
