The Mount Hood Express (formerly Mountain Express Bus) is a

transit Transit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Transit'' (1980 film), a 1980 Israeli film * ''Transit'' (1986 film), a Canadian short film * ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countrie ...

system serving

Mount Hood Corridor The Mount Hood Corridor is a part of Oregon between Sandy and Government Camp, in Clackamas County. It is named after Mount Hood and has served travelers going in both directions since the days of Native Americans and Oregon Trail migrants. Th ...

communities in

Clackamas County Clackamas County ( ) is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the na ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, U.S. The Mount Hood Express travels along Highway 26 from

Sandy Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Sandy (surname), a list of people * Sandy (Iranian music band), Iranian singer, comp ...

east to

Timberline Lodge Timberline Lodge is a mountain lodge on the south side of Mount Hood in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, about east of Portland. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 by the Works Progress Administration, it was built and furnished by local art ...

, serving multiple ski resorts and the communities of Government Camp,

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

Zigzag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...

, 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. 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 Sandy Area Metro (called SAM) is a public transit system operated by the city government of Sandy, Oregon. SAM was created after the city successfully petitioned to be removed from the TriMet district in the late 1990s.Briggs, Kara (December 29, 1 ...

bus system, which can be used to connect with the Portland region transit system

TriMet The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) is a Transit district, transit agency that serves most of the Oregon part of the Portland metropolitan area. Created in 1969 by the Oregon Legislative Assembly, Oregon legi ...

. 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. In 2013, the newly-renamed Mount Hood Express formed a public-private partnership with

Mount Hood Skibowl Mount Hood Skibowl is a recreation area on Mount Hood located near Government Camp, Oregon. It is the largest night ski area in the United States, and the total skiable area encompasses an area of (about two thirds of this is lit). The resor ...

, 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. 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

External links

* Mount Hood Expres
website

The Sandy Post, 26 Dec 2013:
Mt Hood Express Offers Worry Free Trip Up Mountain
City of Sandy - Sandy Transit
{{Portland Transit Bus transportation in Oregon Transportation in Clackamas County, Oregon 2004 establishments in Oregon