Mount Hood Express
{{Short description|Transit system in Clackamas County, Oregon}}
{{Infobox bus company
| name = Mount Hood Express
| logo = File:MHX_logo.jpg
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| parent = Clackamas County Social Services
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| commenced = {{ublist|2004 (Sandy–Rhododendron)|2013 (Sandy–Timberline)}}
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| defunct =
| headquarters =
| locale = Mount Hood Corridor, Clackamas County, Oregon
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| annual_ridership = 72,130 (2019){{cite news |last1=Allen |first1=Brittany |title=Mt. Hood Express expands services |url=https://pamplinmedia.com/sp/68-news/447101-362426-mt-hood-express-expands-services- |access-date=2021-06-24 |newspaper=The Sandy Post |date=December 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808033502/https://pamplinmedia.com/sp/68-news/447101-362426-mt-hood-express-expands-services- |archive-date=August 8, 2020|url-status=dead}}
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| operator = MV Transportation{{cite news |last1=Allen |first1=Brittany |title=Mount Hood, Sandy area transit services impacted by driver shortage |url=https://pamplinmedia.com/sp/68-news/538186-429870-mount-hood-sandy-area-transit-services-impacted-by-driver-shortage |access-date=2022-08-30 |newspaper=The Sandy Post |date=March 7, 2022}}
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| website = {{URL |http://www.mthoodexpress.com}}
}}
{{Routemap
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\vKBHFa-\~~Timberline Lodge
\vBHF-\~~Government Camp/Summit Chevron
\vBHF-\~~Government Camp Loop/Collins Lake
\vBHF-\~~Mount Hood Skibowl West
\mvBHF-KBHFa\~~Rhododendron
\mvBHF\~~Dorman Center / Salmon Road {{rint|parking}}
\mvBHF\~~Welches Road {{rint|parking}}
\mvBHF\~~Hoodland Senior Center {{rint|parking}}
\mvBHF\~~Kirkwood Road / Alder Creek Road
\mvSTR-BHF\~~Shorty's Corner / SE Firwood Road
HUBa@fq\mvBHF!~HUBq\KBHFa!~HUBeq~~ ~~Sandy Transit Center {{rint|bus}}
\mvKBHFe\CONTf~~ ~~ ~~Forestry Center / SE 362nd {{rint|parking}}
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STRq~~ ~~Mount Hood Express (All Days)
uSTRq~~ ~~Villages Shuttle (Monday-Friday)
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The Mount Hood Express (formerly Mountain Express Bus) is a transit system serving Mount Hood Corridor communities in Clackamas County, Oregon, U.S.
The Mount Hood Express travels along Highway 26 from Sandy east to Timberline Lodge, serving multiple ski resorts and the communities of Government Camp, Rhododendron, Zigzag, Welches, Wemme, and Brightwood.
Service
The Mount Hood Express operates seven days a week, providing five round trips daily between Sandy and Timberline, with an additional two-round trips during the winter recreation season, December 1 through March 31.{{cite web|title=Mountain Express expanding services to Government Camp|url=http://www.clackamas.us/socialservices/documents/MountainExpressFAQ_Aug%202013.pdf|website=www.clackamas.us|accessdate=August 12, 2014|date=August 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812203635/http://www.clackamas.us/socialservices/documents/MountainExpressFAQ_Aug%202013.pdf|archive-date=August 12, 2014|url-status=dead}}
The Mount Hood Express is supplemented by the Villages Shuttle, which provides an additional three local service round-trips from Sandy to Rhododendron, Monday-Friday only.
At the Sandy Transit Center the Mount Hood Express interchanges with the Sandy Area Metro bus system, which can be used to connect with the Portland region transit system TriMet.
Multiple park and ride locations are available at the base of the mountain, in hopes of alleviating parking shortages at the ski resorts and reducing traffic safety concerns on the steep, twisting mountain roads.
Funding
From 2004 to 2013, the Mountain Express provided transportation service along Highway 26 between Sandy and Rhododendron, funded through Oregon's business energy tax credits, a program which ended in 2013.{{cite web|title=Frequently Asked Questions - How is this service funded?|url=http://www.mthoodexpress.com/|website=www.mthoodexpress.com|accessdate=12 August 2014}}
In 2013, the newly-renamed Mount Hood Express formed a public-private partnership with Timberline Lodge, Mount Hood Skibowl, and The Resort at The Mountain, which provided matching funds for federal lands access program grants, enabling the system to expand bus service up the mountain to Government Camp and Timberline Lodge.{{cite press release | author=Aaron Abrams | title=New grant funding expands transportation on Mount Hood | publisher=Clackamas County | url=http://www.clackamas.us/pressreleases/pr20130729a.html | accessdate=13 August 2014 | date=29 July 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708005422/http://www.clackamas.us/pressreleases/pr20130729a.html | archive-date=8 July 2017 | url-status=dead }} Also in 2013, the system received funding from the Paul Sarbanes Transit In Parks grant program to purchase new vehicles featuring specialized equipment for transporting skis and snow boards, mountain bikes and other types of recreational equipment.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- Mount Hood Express [http://www.mthoodexpress.com/ website]
- [http://www.pamplinmedia.com/sp/68-news/205693-mt-hood-express-offers-worry-free-trip-up-mountain The Sandy Post, 26 Dec 2013:] Mt Hood Express Offers Worry Free Trip Up Mountain
- [https://www.ci.sandy.or.us/transit City of Sandy - Sandy Transit]
{{Portland Transit}}
Category:Bus transportation in Oregon