COTTAGE GROVE – After grants expired and a bid was rejected, a shuttle service that has been serving Cottage Grove and surrounding rural areas for 43 years is being replaced, resulting in reduced services and changes to its operations.
Through grant funding, South Lane Wheels (SLW) has been offering transportation services at a rate as low as $1 in Cottage Grove, Creswell, Dorena, Culp Creek, Saginaw, Lorane, and London, five days a week, since 1982.
The services are primarily designed to take individuals to doctors’ appointments, shopping, restaurants, recreation, work, school, and special events. SLW officials latest reported it delivered over 20,000 one-way rides, and the wheelchair lift was used 250 times in 2023.
What SLW does
Riders request a bus using the more centralized SLW “Origin to Destination” service or through the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) “Metro Shuttle Service,” which operates on a similar appointment-based model but covers a larger area, providing rides from Cottage Grove and Creswell to the Eugene and Springfield areas, as well as to more distant destinations.
“A lot of people really come to rely on it to get to their appointments, particularly seniors,” said Dana Merryday, Cottage Grove city councilor.
How LTD is connected
The Lane Transit District (LTD) Connector, more commonly known locally as the Cottage Grove Connecter, is an on-demand mobility service provided by LTD and operated by SLW, which offers door-to-door service within city limits for only $1.
“These drivers know the people that they give rides to all the time,” said Tim Steck, SLW board president. “They know what they need. Some of them need help getting on the bus, or (they ask) ‘where can I go to get this?’ They (the drivers) live in Cottage Grove, so they know Cottage Grove,” he said.
SLW was contracted with the City of Cottage Grove and LTD. Grant funding through the state expired on June 30 for the LCOG Metro Shuttle and the Origins to Destination Service.
Earlier this year, LTD issued a Request for Proposal seeking “innovative approaches” for operating the LTD Connector and a new Rural Shuttle Pilot. It received five responses to the request, and an evaluation committee narrowed the proposals down to SLW and Direct Medical Transportation.
SLW lost the two-year contract to Direct Medical Transportation by a margin of nearly eight points.
“I have never heard a complaint or a hint of a complaint. … If it’s a driver issue, we can fix that. If it’s an employee or a dispatcher or something, but, man, the people love us,” Steck said.
The board meeting
The resolution was discussed and open to vote during the June LTD board meeting. Committee members explained how federal short-term investment funds (STIF) were used to support the program.
Board members such as Heather Murphy and Michelle Webber voiced concerns about unique considerations that might not have been considered during the selection process. “I feel strongly that the history that South Lane Wheels has with the community uniquely poises them in some ways,” said Murphy. She said she would vote no on the decision to enter a contract with Direct Medical Transportation.
“I actually share many of Heather’s concerns,” Webber agreed. Webber pointed out that there was no description for how points were allotted for each category during the rating process.
The resolution acknowledged a protest in response to Direct Medical receiving a higher score for the contract. Since the program is federally funded, LTD will go through the protest procedure in the procurement policy.
The board suggested moving the item to the August board meeting and working on a delay during the transition of programs, with SLW operating as usual. However, members raised concerns about the delay eating into STIF funds for Cottage Grove and rural area services, so instead, they voted on the item.
Three ayes and three nos made a tie vote until Gino Grimaldi said aye. The resolution passed.
Changes being made
SLW will continue to operate its existing Connector, Origin to Destination, and Metro Shuttle services until Aug. 1. The Metro shuttle and Origin to Destination services will end after that and changes will be made to the Connector service.
Starting August 4, riders will no longer be transported directly into Eugene and Springfield areas. Instead, they will be taken to either Walmart in Cottage Grove or LTD’s Park & Ride in Creswell where they can then transfer to LTD’s Route 98 bus to Eugene or use the Cottage Grove Connector.
Steck said future changes will negatively affect vulnerable citizens. With some riders being wheelchair users and limited in mobility, walking to a designated pickup point might not be feasible.
“If you’re at Magnolia Gardens, you want a senior to walk clear downtown to find a bus stop?” he said.
According to LTD’s website, the new Rural Shuttle Pilot that is taking the place of the CG Connector will provide two days of service in South Lane County, down from the current five. The pilot will operate in two separate rural communities during the other days of operation.
“Cottage Grove has received this really incredible public transportation for several years, and now we are taking a little bit of that to be able to go provide service to places close by in Lane County – our neighbors– that don’t have any service at all,” said Anni Katz, public information officer for LTD.
Highway 36 between Mapleton and Deadwood and Mohawk Valley are the other areas of service for this new pilot program. Community outreach by LTD determined that these areas have the greatest number of community members that will see improved access to transportation.
Direct Medical Transportation is based in Eugene with experience doing rural and medical transportation all over the state, according to Katz.
