PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The mayor of Warrenton and residents of Clatsop County are sounding the alarm after the area’s public transit suddenly suspended all bus services Saturday, leaving many without a means to commute.
Sunset Empire Transportation District served residents county-wide, but on Friday a notice was posted to its website alerting riders of an indefinite suspension and closure of all bus routes, services and offices starting the following day.
The Board of Commissioners that controls the county’s bus system voted last week to stop all bus services and furlough drivers. The commission said the decision was due to financial problems.
KOIN 6 News spoke to a woman in Seaside who relies on the bus and says she can’t drive because she’s legally blind.
“I rely on the bus to get us, to get myself to like appointments or to run errands or take my son to appointments and different things that we need to be at,” said Kindwyn Hoge. “Then there’s people that rely on it for their jobs, you know, they can’t go to their jobs because there’s no bus service to get them there.”
Warrenton Mayor Henry Balensifer claimed he was blindsided by the decision and said the “root causes” of the suspension are unclear to him.
The mayor called the sudden suspension a “five-alarm fire,” saying many seniors, people with disabilities and the young adult workforce have been the most impacted. Balensifer said there are organizations working to connect seniors and disabled individuals with transportation, so they can make doctor appointments, though he noted: “there’s always folks who fall between the cracks.”
In early April, The Astorian reported Sunset Empire Transportation District had experienced some shortages which Balensifer at the time believed were “perfunctory issues that would be addressed by dealing with a few bureaucratic signatures.” The mayor told KOIN 6 he has since learned the state failed to release funds without an audit leading to the indefinite suspension.
“In my mind, the riding public cannot wait for the audit to complete — they need the bus running now,” he said.
State Senator Suzanne Weber said she met with Gov. Kotek’s office on Monday to discuss using state funds to get busses back up and running.
KOIN 6 has reached out to the governor’s office but has yet to receive a response.