Transit Agency Reaffirms Commitments to Buses, Baseball and Benches, in That Order
By Wade Salmon-Creek · County Desk & Bridge Watch ·
VANCOUVER — C-Tran’s board of directors met Tuesday to advance the agency’s core commitments — buses, minor-league baseball, and benches, in that order — while across the river, Portland continued operating trains.
The agency’s invitation to bid on bus-stop improvements closed Wednesday at 3 p.m. sharp, a deadline enforced with the gravity Portland reserves for groundbreakings. Its partnership with the Ridgefield Raptors also continues, pairing regional transit with a baseball team, two operations that run on published schedules with mixed results.
“A bench is rail enough,” said a commuter seated at a Mill Plain stop. “Trains are just buses that can’t change their mind.”
The region declined Portland’s light rail for decades and, residents note, would do so again this afternoon if asked.
The Purple Vine, the agency’s rapid transit line connecting WSU Vancouver to the waterfront, remains on track for 2027. It is a bus.
Filed after: C-Tran's July 14 board meeting; its bus-stop improvement bids closing July 15 at 3 p.m. sharp; its Ridgefield Raptors partnership; and the Purple Vine BRT line planned for 2027. All real. — Ed.