The City of Redmond is situated just about smack dab in the middle of Central Oregon towns, making it the ideal spot for the new Cascades East Transit (CET) connector hub.

The new transit station, which opened early July, is located on SW Kalama Avenue, behind Fred Meyer. It is the transfer point for routes connecting riders as far north as Warm Springs, west to Sisters, east to Prineville, and south to La Pine.

“This is a very important hub because, besides Hawthorne Station in Bend, it’s the opportunity for people to get where they want to go between the communities in Central Oregon,” said Michelle Rhoads, transportation manager for COIC/CET.

Before the new hub was complete, CET riders transferred buses in front of the Redmond library. The new station features 36 parking spaces, passenger shelters, real time arrival and departure signs, public restrooms, and public art.

“The project creates a permanent location to better serve transit riders and our growing regional transit system. The location will also improve the connection for our developing bicycle and pedestrian network,” said Chuck Arnold, City of Redmond economic development/urban renewal program manager.

Construction started last fall and its total cost was $1.7 million. Funds came from Regional Solutions, Oregon Community Foundation, Redmond Urban Renewal, a Connect Oregon grant through ODOT, and Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC).

According to Rhoads, community connector routes provide roughly 126,000 rides a year throughout Central Oregon.

There will be no immediate additions or changes to the current CET routes, other than the new location of the transfer hub, said Rhoads.

“However, we do anticipate, especially with all of the growth in Central Oregon including Redmond, that the need and demand for public transit will continue to grow. We do anticipate expansion of services, and future capacity was incorporated into the design of the new hub in order to meet that future demand,” she said.

Redmond in particular is poised to grow dramatically, said Rhoads, and it’s very likely that CET will offer a fixed route throughout the city in the near future. Currently, CET is a dial-a-ride service in all cities except Bend, which has fixed routes.

“What that does for people is increase and enhance their mobility, their access to the community, employment, education, social services, and health care. It also increases and enhances independence for people with disabilities because they will be able to transition successfully to the fixed route service. Dial-a-ride will still be available to those who need it,” said Rhoads.

COIC began public transportation services in 2004 with the Cascades East Ride Center. Initially it was a medical transportation brokerage, but in 2005 COIC began regional planning for a community-wide transit service. In 2007, COIC began a dial-a-ride program and in 2008 it officially became Cascades East Transit. CET merged with the Bend Area Transit in 2010 and opened the first regional hub at Hawthorne Station in Bend. The community connector services continued to grow from there.

“That’s why it’s truly the dawn of a new day for Central Oregon public transportation,” said Rhoads.

“Especially for rural areas. It’s a phenomenal opportunity for rural communities to use the connector services. CET is poised to serve today’s needs while also building the capacity for the future needs for public transit in the region,” she said.

All schedules and route maps are available online at CET’s website, cascadeseasttransit.com. •