The Lane Transit District (LTD) is a public agency that provides

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...

in Lane County,

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. The

transit district A transit district or transit authority is a government agency or a public-benefit corporation created for the purpose of providing public transportation within a specific region. A transit district may operate bus, rail or other types of ...

serves the Eugene and Springfield metropolitan areas, including the neighboring cities of

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, Junction City, Creswell, Cottage Grove, Veneta, and Lowell. LTD began service in 1970 with 18 buses and two vans, and today carries roughly 10.5 million customers annually with a fleet of 111 buses. Many of LTD's riders are students;

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

and Lane Community College students ride by simply showing their student I.D. Student fees subsidize both programs, as well as limited late-night service until about 1 a.m. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . A

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

, whose members are appointed by the

Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

, governs LTD. A combination of passenger fares,

payroll tax Payroll taxes are taxes imposed on employers or employees. They are usually calculated as a percentage of the salaries that employers pay their employees. By law, some payroll taxes are the responsibility of the employee and others fall on the ...

es, and state and federal money fund the system. According to LTD's Website, LTD operates 111 buses, which includes both standard and

low-floor bus A low-floor bus is a bus or trolleybus that has no steps between the ground and the floor of the bus at one or more entrances, and low floor for part or all of the passenger cabin. A bus with a partial low floor may also be referred to as a l ...

es, in length of 30-foot, 40-foot, and 60-foot (

articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a slinky bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, is an articulated vehicle, typically a motor bus or trolleybus, used in public transportation. It is usually a ...

es) for regular services. Among those 111 vehicles, 11 of those are the 60-foot BRT vehicles used for EmX service. All LTD buses are wheelchair-accessible, since 1985. The district currently operates 45 hybrid-electric buses, and 11

electric bus An electric bus is a bus that is propelled using electric motors, as opposed to a conventional internal combustion engine. Electric buses can store the needed electrical energy on board, or be fed mains electricity continuously from an external ...

es.

Climate Policy and Fleet Electrification

In March 2020, LTD passed its first-ever board-level climate policy, with a commitment to reduce emissions from the fleet by 75% by 2030 and by 100% by 2035. Additionally, the policy calls for working with local jurisdictions to create joint goals related to the intersection of transportation and land use. The agency took delivery of the first of eleven electric buses from

New Flyer New Flyer is a Canadian multinational Bus manufacturing, bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing ...

in December 2020, with the remainder scheduled to arrive in the first half of 2021.

EmX (Bus Rapid Transit in Eugene)

In addition to the fixed bus routes, LTD operates a bus rapid transit line from downtown Eugene to the Gateway area in north Springfield, via downtown Springfield. The BRT line, named the Emerald Express (EmX), began operations in January 2007. This is Oregon's first Bus Rapid Transit line. The first corridor connects downtown Eugene to downtown Springfield and runs primarily along Franklin Boulevard. A second EmX corridor, the Gateway EmX extension, began service in January 2011. The Gateway EmX extension connects downtown Springfield and the Gateway area in north Springfield. LTD chose bus rapid transit after a review process during which several transportation options, including

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

, were considered. It concluded that this was the best option for Eugene-Springfield's size and current transportation needs. The West Eugene Extension is a 17-station extension of the existing EmX service west from its existing terminus at Eugene Station in downtown Eugene. The extension opened on September 17, 2017. The addition added 4.4 miles to EmX's current line, while also adding a new bike lane, two new bike and pedestrian bridges, and 4.7 miles of new, wider sidewalks installed along West 6th, 7th, and 11th Avenues. Future EmX line extensions to the Thurston neighborhood, Lane Community College, and LTD's River Road station are currently under consideration.

Route list

(Information as of March 31st, 2024)

Former Routes

References

External links

{{Coord, 44.04235, -123.04147, type:landmark_region:US-OR_source:placeopedia, display=title Bus transportation in Oregon Bus rapid transit in Oregon Transportation in Eugene, Oregon Cottage Grove, Oregon Transportation in Lane County, Oregon Transit agencies in Oregon 1970 establishments in Oregon Creswell, Oregon