During the pandemic, a number of transit systems in the country went fare-free, and a few eventually returned to collecting fares. Now Central Oregon’s Cascades East Transit is doing the same, while discounting certain services.

Cascades East Transit is bringing back fares in January, according to transit director Bob Townsend. The transit system moved over 600,000 people last year from Warm Springs to La Pine with fixed-route buses, intercity connectors and on-demand rides for elderly and disabled people.

Most fares will be $2, rides from Bend to the Redmond Municipal Airport will cost $15 and Dial-A-Ride will cost $4. The first 10 rides per month for Bend Dial-A-Ride users will cost the same as a regular bus ride. There won’t be any discounts for the on-demand transit service in Redmond or in rural areas.

Townsend said the return to fares is about rider accountability and creating a sense of community investment.

“It creates a sense in the community that you’re paying for a service, that service should have a certain level,” Townsend said.

The projected fare revenue will help balance this year’s budget and next year’s, and hopefully will allow CET to expand service, Townsend said.

The move comes at a time of political jockeying over transportation funding nationally and in the Oregon Legislature. A transportation funding package made it through to Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk during a special legislative session but is waiting to be signed, and Republican lawmakers are looking to challenge the Democrat-backed bill. The fracas in Salem has caused some uncertainty for the Central Oregon transit system, Townsend said.

Last year CET’s ridership was the highest it has been in the past six years, according to data Townsend shared with OPB. And financially, the transit system’s total revenue has grown about sevenfold over the past 13 years according to CET data.

Townsend, 48, has been in the role for about a year and said when he came on board there were already discussions about resuming fares collections. The decision was finalized in an August meeting of the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council. The intergovernmental council operates CET according to the “Cascades East Transit (CET) 2040 Transit Development Plan.”

CET projects that fareboxes will bring in $1.5 million in annual revenue.

Townsend said that bringing back fares might affect ridership, which could drop by as much as 15%, but he hopes that fares will also encourage people from different class strata to use the service.

“It’s hard to get new riders because of what they think transit serves,” Townsend said. At any given time, about 500 to 1,000 are banned from using the bus system for seriously transgressive behavior, but he said riding CET is safe.

CET is planning to implement a new fare collection system for all eight of its routes and for services like Dial-A-Ride, Townsend said.

People will generally pay using a smartphone app or a transit card, but cash will still be accepted in certain situations. For Dial-A-Ride, people will still be able to call for rides, but they’ll also be able to use an app or book online.

Riders have had mixed views about the return of fares.

Shearon Fay Newsom, 69, doesn’t have a car at the moment, so she uses Dial-A-Ride to get around. She’s also disabled.

Fay Newsom said she likes using the ride service and doesn’t mind that CET will start charging. She said her mom taught her to save money for public transit, “She always said put back change for your bus.”

But Kristina Romer, 72, said she is worried about the cost of trips adding up, especially with no maximum daily rate, monthly pass or annual pass for Dial-A-Ride users.

About 75% of CET’s riders will qualify for some type of discount, Townsend said. Riders who qualify, for example, can receive discounts on fixed-route services, buses between towns and rural and flexible routes.

Transportation costs are one of the biggest challenges for seniors at the Council on Aging, alongside housing, said Emma Fried-Cassorla, spokesperson for the group. The organization provides free services to seniors in Central Oregon.

“The Council on Aging is concerned about anything that makes accessing transportation more challenging for older adults in Central Oregon,” said Fried-Cassorla, 43.

She’s not “trying to throw CET under the bus,” she said, adding that the the Council on Aging worries about any challenges that are put in place without others being eliminated.

“With how challenging transportation already is, we really just hope that they find other ways to make the system easier for a senior and anyone who’s trying to navigate it,” Fried-Cassorla said.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/24/cascades-east-transit-fares/