Herald reporter discovers Diamond in the rough during early-morning bus ride to Eugene on 58

By DEAN REA/Correspondent/The Herald — At precisely 6:04 a.m. I stepped into a bus, deposited a $5 bill in a cash box and met Don Scott.

The 66-year-old former Canadian greeted me from behind a plexiglass shield on the Diamond Express bus near Ray’s Food Place in Oakridge.

We soon were en route to Eugene on one of three non-stop Monday-through-Friday runs patronized by folks who often have no other means of making the 44-mile trip.

In my case, I was interested in learning more about a bus line that operates between Oakridge and Eugene. The line was established in 2003 through a partnership. Lane Transportation District furnishes a couple of buses. Diamond transportation maintains the buses, furnishes the drivers and operates the system.

At one time, as many as 25 people bused to work, according to Brent Black, Diamond transportation manager in Redmond.

“That changed with covid,” Scott said. Occasionally, as many has four or five use the bus for that purpose, he said as the 18-passenger bus wove its way through Oakridge. Cascade operates a larger bus on the line, but it was in the shop for repairs.

One of three riders was headed for work in Eugene the morning I rode the bus. Another was looking for work in Eugene.

After clearing Oakridge, the bus left Highway 58 and traveled uphill toward Westfir. It turned around at the Hopkins Bridge and stopped at the Westridge Middle School where Don checked the tires and waited a few minutes before finishing the run to the Amtrak station in Eugene.

After Don and his wife Tammy, who is a high school counselor, moved to the area, he drove buses six years for the Oakridge School District, then began driving for Diamond three years ago.

“Today, I’m driving the morning run,” he said as the bus wheeled down the highway in the 55 mph range in the dark. “Some days I drive all three routes.” He noted, however, that he would only be responsible for the early-morning run today because a second driver was joining the team.

“Highway 58 is damned scary,” he said as the bus met strings of cars and trucks. “People pass on curves.” Although he hasn’t been involved in an accident, Scott said he has “come close.” He’s most concerned about approaching semi-trucks that cross the centerline.

It costs $2.50 to ride the Diamond Express one way, but most people spend $5 for a round-trip ticket that permits them to ride LTD buses while they are in Eugene.

Buses depart Oakridge at 6:01 a.m., 9:11 a.m. and 4:01 p.m. daily except on weekends and holidays.

The Diamond Express is financed using a combination of funds in partnership from the City of Oakridge, 5311(f) grant funds, STF and STIF grant funds and farebox revenues, said John Ahlen, Lane Transit District Accessible Services Program manager.

“I wouldn’t characterize that rural routes are operated at no cost to LTD,” he said. “However, LTD does work to leverage grants and partnerships to minimize the financial impacts for services provided outside of LTD’s boundaries.

“Operations and administration of the Diamond Express can cost between $500,000 to $1 million over a two-year period. The Diamond Express service is operated by a contractor selected through a public bidding process, which is currently Pacific Crest Bus Lines. We also operate a Dial-A-Ride service in conjunction with Senior and Disability Services for transportation to a meal site along Highway 58.”

The bus service has provided people in the Upper 58 a relatively low-cost method of traveling to Eugene for a variety of reasons.

Scottina Buoy, a lifelong Oakridge resident, was waiting to ride the bus home at the Willamette Street stop when I met her there several days after my trip. She had been shopping. She once drove to work in Eugene and has ridden the bus since 2006. “It’s nice not to drive,” she said.

Brendan Francisco, who was sporting a jacket with a yellow O emblazoned on it, was optimistic that the Ducks may be in the playoffs this season. Without a car, he took the bus to town for a dental appointment.

Nine passengers were on the bus when it pulled away from the curb and headed south on Willamette Street en route to Oakridge.

I returned to the Willamette Street bus stop a few days later and again met Brendan, who was in town for a follow-up dental appointment.

A man who wished to remain nameless readied his bicycle for a return trip to Oakridge. He said he occasionally travels to Eugene to shop and to ride streets and bike lanes in the area. As many as three bikes can be placed on a rack in front of a bus.

Rudy Vallejo and his dog Baby were en route to visit a friend in Oakridge.

“It’s nice to get away from the noise and to enjoy the peace and quiet of Oakridge,” he said. “And it’s cheaper for me to ride the bus than to drive my car.”

Rowan Steet of Oakridge was one of two students at the bus stop who attend schools in Eugene. Rowan is a Lane Community College student who plans to attend the University of Oregon and eventually to be an opera singer.

“This is my second year of riding the bus,” she said.

During my round-trip ride from Oakridge, I was concerned primarily about one thing: Is there a “pit stop” along the way?

“Yes,” my driver Don assured me. After the bus emptied its passengers in Eugene, it pulled into the Amtrak station where Don and I took off our masks. He got coffee from a machine in the station. I made my “stop.” We then stepped outside the station and chatted beside the Diamond Express bus.

It would be another hour or so before I returned to Oakridge on the bus and reclaimed my car parked at Ray’s Food Place. I would then take the “scary” trip back to Eugene alone.

Longtime Oregon journalist Dean Rea, widely known for his years as a University of Oregon journalism educator and editor at The Register-Guard in Eugene,  serves as a founding board member, correspondent and columnist for The Herald.