ODOT is helping a new bird take flight in Klamath County. It’s the new Quail Trail bus operated by the Klamath Tribes. It’s a free service and anyone who needs to can hop aboard.
 

The quail is the Klamath totem. That’s why it was chosen as the name for the bus service.

 

ODOT contributed $85,000

 

ODOT provided the “heavy lifting” for the new service by contributing $85,000 for a new 22-passenger bus that, beginning in late May, now operates regularly scheduled service between the tribal headquarters in Chiloquin and Klamath Falls on a daily basis. Five times a day, the bus makes its round trip, helping anyone get from the northern part of the county to employment and service centers in Klamath Falls.

 

That’s a big change from the former every-other-weekday service, and it means that the people who depend on public transit in the area can get more consistent service.

 

Don Gentry, chairman of the Klamath Tribes put it this way: “Transportation is such a need for our community. We happen to be in one of the poorest communities in the state of Oregon so it’s vital to have this service in this community to access jobs, medical care and other needs…just getting groceries…it’s a wonderful opportunity, wonderful to increase this service.”

 

Outstanding partnership with ODOT, Klamath Tribes

 

ODOT’s Rail & Public Transit Division Administrator Hal Gard helped cut the ribbon on the new service. “This is an outstanding partnership between ODOT and the Klamath Tribes to expand service between Chiloquin and Klamath Falls. It’s a way to connect communities,” he said. “It’s a way to bring new opportunities to folks who did not have it. This is the reason I get up every morning and come to work.”

 

The tribes have high hopes that this transit service will be a success. It is even making plans to purchase a second vehicle so that there is an adequately-sized vehicle for rotating into service while the other is out for maintenance; everyone involved wants to keep the Quail flying safely and smoothly up and down U.S. 97.