SISTERS, OR -- Cascades East Transit will launch a new bus service between Bend and Sisters, next week. Judy Watts, with CET, says they worked for about a year to find ways to improve services, including conversations with the Sisters City Council. "We worked with them to identify how we can make that possible, identifying bus stops. And, there was enough of a contribution from the city of Sisters to be able to implement that new community connector route directly to Bend. It’s very exciting for CET and for the system." Beginning Monday, Route 29 will provide three round-trips a day between Bend’s Hawthorne Station and downtown Sisters, with stops at the Sisters library, West Main and Oak, and Ray’s Food Place.

"Sisters is this unique community; it’s very small but they have a lot of really interesting and cool festivals. They do have a lot more people visiting during certain times of the year. Anyone who’s ever driven through Sisters after five, can see the congestion in this small community," Watts tells KBND News. But, she says it will also benefit Bend tourists and those who live in one community and work in another, "This just provides another opportunity to get somewhere else from Sisters; it’s a direct route to Bend. I have heard from some of the other people we work with at Cascades East Transit that, particularly visitors in the summer, really need a connection into Sisters to do some hiking." Route 29 will be free, Monday through Friday next week, to celebrate the launch. 

Click HERE for more information on CET's Community Connector routes. CET is also adding more bus stops in Metolius, Culver, Madras and Warm Springs, starting next week.