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Pilot Transit Service Launched That Connects Florence To Yachats

Mark Brennan
/
Siuslaw News

A new public transit service links the coastal cities of Florence and Yachats.  It launched September 4th and will run on a pilot basis through June 30th of next year.

The route will consist of four daily round-trips between the two cities, with one stop at Carl G. Washburne State Park on Highway 101.

Credit GoogleMaps
/
GoogleMaps
The route between Florence and Yachats is 25 miles each way, with one scheduled stop at the Carl G. Washburne State Park.

ODOT provided a $290,000 grant towards the venture. Therese Lang of Lane Transit District says this route closes the last gap of public transit on the West Coast.

“There are other services that people who live in Florence or Yachats could take of course, basically private taxi companies," Lang tells KLCC. 

Credit Mark Brennan / Siuslaw News
/
Siuslaw News
Riders on the pilot transit service between Florence and Yachats, September 4th.

"But this is public transportation, this is a more cost effective way for people to get back and forth between the two cities. It also is much more efficient in terms of getting people there in an expeditious way.”

Transit coordinators will monitor the service to determine if it’s got both the ridership and financial stability to make it permanent.

Copyright 2018, KLCC.

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.