The announcement of the new Mountain Express Line schedule that rolled out
in October and was reported in The Mountain Times October issue has been
revamped.

Changes were made due to community input and complaints, according to
Teresa Christopherson, administrative services manager for Clackamas
County.

The original October schedule featured new MEL service to Skibowl and
Timberline, and the addition of three new buses donated by Rogue Valley
Transit to make the trek up the mountain. To accommodate this expanded
service other scheduling changes were required.

Two of these changes raised an alarm from a few local residents. In particular,
the stop in Rhododendron had been eliminated and the first westbound run to
Sandy had to be delayed.

“The reason for those changes was due to there being no park and ride
availability in Rhododendron,” Christopherson said. “And because of the return
time from Timberline, the Sandy arrival was pushed back.”

Bob Reeves, who has been at the forefront of MEL since its inception,
indicated that fixing these wrinkles were part of the process.

“We rolled it (the new schedule) out one month early to work out the bugs,”
Reeves said.

Christopherson and the county have responded to the main objections.
“We added the stop in Rhododendron, and created an earlier arrival in Sandy
at 7:50 a.m. instead of 8:20 a.m.,” she said.

The changes in schedules have been necessary due to the expansion of
service to the ski resorts and the ever-increasing pressure caused by funding
crises.

“What people don’t realize is that the bus service was scheduled to sunset last
June,” Christopherson said, citing the loss of the revenue stream from the
defunded business energy tax credit that provided 25 percent of the operating
costs for MEL. “Also, the fact that there is no transit district for the community
means there is no tax revenue available.”

Faced with the June 30 deadline, the county reached out to local businesses
for funding assistance.

“Timberline, Skibowl and The Resort came to the rescue,” Christopherson
said. “Also, The Resort cleared out its area around their sign at Welches Road
and Hwy. 26 to provide a park and ride stop for the bus service.”

Further community assistance was provided by Johnson RV which put a new
coat of paint on the three mountain buses loaned by Rogue Valley Transit.
Christopherson joined Reeves in agreeing they knew there would be changes
necessary after the first month of the new schedule.

“But we still want feedback,” she said. “We can still consider changes but at
some point, we’ll have to say ‘go with this,’”

Teresa Christopherson can be reached at teresachr@co.clackamas.or.us.