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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW 'Mitigation banking' ... The El Niño effect ... Our View: Legislature left unfinished business on ethics ... 'Mitigation banking' ... The El Niño effect ... Our View: Legislature left unfinished business on ethics ... TRANSPORTATION RVTD riders enjoy new commute between Medford, Grants Pass Comment By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Nov. 20, 2014 at 12:01 AM By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Nov. 20, 2014 at 12:01 AM Rogue Valley Commuter Line --> • Cost per boarding: $2. Children 6 and under ride free. Exact fares are required. • Buses leave Grants Pass for Medford at 6:35 a.m., 7:35 a.m., 11:05 a.m., 3:15 p.m. and 4:15 ... » Read more X Rogue Valley Commuter Line • Cost per boarding: $2. Children 6 and under ride free. Exact fares are required. • Buses leave Grants Pass for Medford at 6:35 a.m., 7:35 a.m., 11:05 a.m., 3:15 p.m. and 4:15 p.m., Monday through Friday. • Buses leave Medford for Grants Pass at 7:45 a.m., 8:45 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 4:25 p.m. and 5:25 p.m. weekdays. • In Grants Pass, buses stop at the Anne Basker Auditorium, 500 N.W. Sixth St., near the front of the Josephine County Courthouse. • In Medford, buses stop at the downtown Rogue Valley Transit Front Street Station, near Rogue Community College's Riverside campus. • From the Medford station, riders can transfer for free to other Rogue Valley Transit buses. Riders coming from Medford can transfer for free to Josephine Community Transit buses. Transfers are good for one hour after deboarding. • Riders wishing the bus to stop in Rogue River or Gold Hill must call in advance. For information, call 541-474-5452, ext. 2. » Social News For more than two months now, Rogue Valley Commuter Line buses have transported riders on weekdays between Grants Pass and Medford. At the bargain rate of $2, riders can travel between the cities, and stop in Rogue River or Gold Hill by appointment. Ridership has been low, but climbing. Surprisingly, more people are riding from Medford to Grants Pass, rather than the other way around. "It's a good bus ride," said rider Mike Dudley of Ashland, who had come to town to visit his parents. "I spent the night." "It's great," said Travis Sallas of Medford. "We come down here to visit family and stuff." Sallas and others were at a bus stop on Friday in front of the Josephine County Courthouse. Bus driver Dennis Southard of Josephine Community Transit pulled up about 3:15 p.m. in a 45-foot-long bus — the size of a typical bus in a metropolitan area — to take fares to Medford. "They're different than the little buses we drive," Southard said, referring to smaller shuttles typically used by the transit service. The big buses were donated by the Lane County Transit District. A federal grant of $450,000 helped launch the commuter line on Sept. 4. "It's awesome," said Haley Sholes, who was at the bus stop with Sallas and their three children. "I'm probably going to be using it every day. I'm going to be coming by with the kids." Her mother and sisters live in Grants Pass. Sholes and Sallas live in Medford at a shelter that requires her to be gone part of the day. She said she'll use that time to visit Grants Pass. The number of riders using the line daily averaged 48 in September, 51 in October and 61 so far this month, according to Scott Chancey, program supervisor with Josephine Community Transit. The new service was launched with no advertising, although some news stories ran in local media. The Oregon Department of Transportation plans to highlight the line on Dec. 12 in its widely distributed publication "Moving Ahead." Ridership counts show that 60 percent of riders board in Medford, although Chancey had only anecdotal evidence about why people were using the bus. "There's a lot of people on that end of the valley who want to get here," he said. A formal survey of riders is a few months away. Chancey guessed that many people who used the service one way — say, from Medford to Rogue Community College in Josephine County — were getting rides back home in private vehicles. Or, maybe riders were spending the night with family, rather than riding back home the same day.  Jason Alexander of Grants Pass also was at the bus stop on this particular day. He has used the service about three times. On Friday, he was on his way to visit in Rogue River. He liked the way that the new commuter line connected communities. "I think it's about time for this area," he said. "It's long overdue." Reach Grants Pass Daily Courier reporter Shaun Hall at 541-474-3813 or [email protected] By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Nov. 20, 2014 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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