By Ann McCreary
The newly hired manager of Okanogan County Transit Authority (OCTA) will visit the Methow Valley this week to find out what kind of public transportation valley residents need.
Kelly Scalf, who was hired last month as the first manager of OCTA, will be at the Methow Valley Senior Center on Friday (Nov. 7) from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., and at the Methow Valley Community Center from 1 – 3 p.m. to discuss transportation needs.
“I want to visit all the communities we’ll be serving,” Scalf said. “Every community is different.”
OCTA was created just a year ago when county voters approved a sales tax increase of up to four-tenths of 1 percent to fund a new countywide bus system.
As manager, Scalf is “trying to lay the infrastructure in place” to phase in bus service throughout the county.
The system will involve a combination of fixed routes and demand-response services, which meet individual needs, she said.
“Fixed routes made a lot of sense for people commuting to work or school. When it comes to things like doctors appointments or shopping, those are more demand-response,” she said.
OCTA is currently contracting with the Okanogan County Transportation and Nutrition (OCTN) services (sometimes called the senior bus), to provide door-to-door service on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 – 11:30 a.m. and 1 – 4:30 p.m. in the Methow Valley.
OCTN also provides trips from the valley to Wenatchee on Tuesdays and to Omak on Wednesdays, Scalf said.
Buses coming
In December, OCTA expects to receive three buses that were purchased primarily through a federal Department of Transportation grant, with about $92,000 matched by OCTA.
The buses can carry 12 passengers and two wheelchairs, and will likely operate under contract with OCTN until the OCTA is ready to hire and train its own drivers, Scalf said.
The new transit authority is also hoping to acquire four more buses in January, purchased by OCTA with sales tax revenues. The buses have been used by a bus company in trade shows, and so are available at a discounted price, Scalf said.
Each will cost about $80,000 after they are fully equipped, she said.
Those will be larger buses and better suited to longer routes, Scalf said.
“If we get them, the first place to use them is the Methow Valley,” she said. Those buses would also likely operate under contract with OCTN initially, she said.
In addition to working toward establishing employment policies and hiring drivers, OCTA is developing plans for the infrastructure needed to support the bus system.
“We’re looking at things that make bus riding easy,” Scalf said. “Where is the stop, is there a shelter, is there a park-and-ride?”
The transit authority will also need to acquire software and computer terminals for buses that allow drivers to communicate with dispatch and passengers to enable buses to run more efficiently, Scalf said.
Scalf said she has been talking with Okanogan County Emergency Services regarding communications and dispatch to determine if resources can be combined.
When she visits the Methow Valley on Friday, Scalf will bring surveys for residents to complete to help determine transportation priorities for the county.
She invites people to contact her directly if they can’t arrange to meet with her during her visit. She can be reached by phone at (509) 557-6177, or by email at scalf@okanogantransit.com.
