The irresistible force is piling on.

The Mountain Express Line, that runs from Sandy through the Hoodland community to Rhododendron, shattered ridership records for May.

And the newly added Saturday service keeps growing by the month.
“It’s amazing what a small group of people with an idea can do when they
don’t take no for an answer,” said Bob Reeves, chair of the Mountain Express
Steering Committee. “I feel strongly that the Mountain Express has proved the
need for transit in rural Clackamas County.”

MEL racked up 27,136 miles in June, hauled in more than $2,000 in fares and
provided transportation for nearly 2,000 riders. That number included 824
general riders, 138 elders, 119 disabled, 807 students and 43 free lifts.

“The support from the community has been tremendous both with rides and
people supporting the bus financially,” Reeves said. “Several organizations
also have supported us including Clackamas County.”

The Mt. Hood Chamber of Commerce and Hoodland Women’s Club go a long
way in supporting MEL, Reeves said.

“The committee members are the ones who do the work,” he said. “Also,
Joyce LeDoux who is the operation supervisor for the contractor and who
operates the bus.”

By August or September, MEL expects to have transported its 100,000th
rider.

There are plans to do something special to celebrate the event.

Despite MEL’s obvious success, at some point in the near future the
committee will need to explore stable funding to keep the bus operating.
“The business energy tax credits (state government) are being phased out,”
Reeves said. “Those are our operation funds and will need to be replaced. At
this time our committee has not explored all of the possibilities available.”