A Day on the Bus Offers a Snapshot into Daily Life in The Dalles
By Cole Goodwin
The Dalles, Ore, Aug. 9, 2024 – It’s just another day for The Link bus drivers in The Dalles, Everyday the Red and Blue routes circle The Dalles, helping send folks on their way, connecting them to their friends, their families, their jobs, and their community.
Everybody rides. Some folks who get on the bus are regulars, other’s one-timers, or first-timers.
Regardless of status or ability, bus drivers treat them all with respect and kindness, embodying Gorge TransLink’s unwavering commitment to ensuring accessibility.
The bus itself is a snapshot of daily life in The Dalles.
Here, passengers from all walks of life converge: a student on her way to go thrift shopping, an elderly gentleman with a whisper soft voice on his way to the Senior Center to enjoy lunch, a Native American family of three headed home from the doctor’s office, a penniless traveler asking for a ride to the library to use the computer, and a Child Protective Services worker on their way to visit a family and so many more.
They are unnamed but not unnoticed, each carrying their unique story onto the shared space of public transit.
I pull up to The Dalles Transit Center mid-morning. It’s a clear day, unseasonably cool for summer, but set to heat up as the day goes on. I board The Link’s Red Line bus and introduce myself to the driver.
Her name is Carmen Booker.
“But for my friends, I’m Letty,” she tells me.
I like her immediately. Something about her sincere eyes and warm smile reminds me of my Great Auntie Rosie. Intrigued, I start asking her about herself.
Letty tells me she is a wife and mother. She moved to the United States when she was still in her teens. Since then she’s worked hard to learn English and build a better life for her son and her husband. For some time, Letty worked as a caregiver. But after many years working inside, she wanted to spend more time outside, or potentially get to do some driving. That’s when she saw that The Link was looking for bus drivers.
“I see this opportunity and I am so so happy!” she says, a genuine smile blooming on her face.
It’s a bit quiet on the bus, so we spend some time chatting.
She tells me that in her youth, she worked in radio as a journalist.
“I loved it! People always tell me I have the voice for radio,” she confides, a happy memory dancing in her eyes as she remembers putting her voice to good use by helping the people in her community.
Mid-morning light spills over the red vinyl seats as we circle another stop. She starts speaking in her radio voice, each letter in the Spanish alphabet rolling off her tongue like a practiced professional.
I start asking her if she would ever work in radio again. She shakes her head, humbly,
“No,” she says, waving me off good naturedly.
Curious, I ask her why she left it behind.
“Too dangerous,” she says, telling me the story of her friend and fellow journalist who was murdered for calling out corruption. After that incident, Letty knew she had to leave the radio behind.
We pull up to the West Village Apartments to pick up an elderly gentleman in a newsboy cap.
When I introduce myself he answers back in a whisper quiet voice.
His name is Earl, he’s a regular on public transit and in two days he’ll be 80 years old.
I tell him an early Happy Birthday and he gives me a grateful nod and a hesitant smile.
Today he’s on his way to the Senior Center to have lunch. I ask him what he plans to eat for his birthday.
He says he’ll probably have Burger King.
“That’s one of my favorites, and my second favorite is Kentucky Fried Chicken,” he tells me, the corner of his mouth tugging upwards in a small smile.
We pull up to the stop at Cascade Square where a tall tan man in a hoodie is standing.
Earl waves his goodbye and disembarks to walk up the block to the Senior Center.
Letty asks the man where is going and tells him the fare is a dollar.
The man boards and goes to sit near the back of the bus.
He tells me his name is Sam, he’s not from around here and he’s catching a Greyhound bus to Los Angeles that afternoon, where he’s hoping to find a better future for himself, or at least some people he knows.
We drop Sam off at the library and keep driving.
As we drive she waves to one of her regular customers walking down the street.
At the Veterans Services office we pick up a new rider.
Her name is Kathy Schwartz, she insists on buckling up while riding the bus. She also asks me about my giant gallon sized water bottle and we share a laugh.
“I’m riding the bus today to go shopping at Goodwill,” she shares, “I just got out of the hospital too so I’m trying my best to not just be focused on being at home.”
I asked her if she’s doing okay.
“Yeah I’m okay, I’m doing okay,” she says, noting she has an external pacemaker now.
She had bradycardia, a heart rate condition where a person’s heart is lower than 60 beats per minute. She had to call 911 when her heart rate fell to 38 beats per minute.
She’s had a number of health issues, including broken heart syndrome, resulting in over 26 surgeries.
I tell her she’s a survivor.
“Actually yeah,” she says “God is showing me something different.”
Riding the bus allows her to get out and about without putting too much pressure on her health.
“I’m a dedicated bus rider,” she says. “It’s pretty awesome cause sometimes there’s times when I get to see people I haven’t seen for many years. And I get to see them again knowing that they're still alive and they’re doing okay, you know.”
On the short drive over she tells a little about herself. At the age of 54 she’s just graduated from Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC) with two certifications in early childhood education.
“I just finished my two years…I got two certifications. I got to walk during the graduation. I’m 54 years old, I never thought I’d get to college. I graduated in ‘88 and just never really did anything,” she confides.
Her goal was to become a teacher, but due to her physical health she isn’t sure what the future might hold for her but she says she’d still like to work with children. In the meantime she’s still got a sense of humor, a sense of accomplishment and a Gorge Pass courtesy of CGCC to get her through.
In the future she hopes to take the bus to visit the different waterfalls in the Gorge.
Our conversation is interrupted by our stop at Safeway where a familiar face uses the chair lift to get on the bus with her walker
“Sheri?! You really are a regular. I don’t get on the bus very often and everytime I do I get to see you!” I exclaim.
She laughs.
“I go somewhere everyday,” explains Sheri Bonomi. “Until it gets really mighty cold, that’s a different story.”
Today her adventure was food related.
“I wanted to get a pie, I wanted to get homemade cookies from the bakery and I wanted to try a different kind of pizza lunch. I never tried MOD pizza before so I tried that,” she shares.
One day Sheri decided that she was going to spend a year just taking every single bus and seeing everything she wanted to see. After that she spent two years adventuring around The Dalles, Hood River before she started venturing out to Mt. Adams transportation buses.
“It’s an adventure,” she says.
We stop near Goodwill. Kathy disembarks to enjoy her thrift shopping and a new rider, Jennifer hops on.
“I usually ride the bus to and from work,” says Jennifer, who works at Fred Meyer part time, before that, she worked as a caregiver for many years.
“I was a CNA for probably thirteen years,” says Jennifer.
Jennifer had high praise for Gorge Transit.
“It’s a very nice system that they have here in The Dalles. You can’t beat the price and all the drivers are very nice, very helpful,” says Jennifer.
Jennifer can name all the local drivers that she regularly rides with, she says that one of the perks of riding a bus in a small community versus in a City.
“I usually talk to the driver and sometimes I talk to the people who ride the bus too. It just depends on the person, some people are kind of reserved and just want to ride and sometimes people are very friendly,” says Jennifer.
As lunchtime nears it’s time for me to disembark and grab a delicious torta cubana from Mi Pueblito Taqueria. When we arrive at The Dalles Transit Center, I say goodbye to Letty, Jennifer and Sheri thanking them for the day.
Later I hop on the Blue Line at The Dalles Transit Center, it’s late in the day and I worry no one will be riding. But the bus hums to life and pulls away from the station, and the bus driver (who prefers to remain unnamed) is friendly and talks to me of his day's journey.
The narrative continues, each stop a vignette, each passenger a character in the day's unfolding story. The bus is more than a vehicle; it's a moving community center, a place of fleeting connections and shared journeys. As the bus makes its final rounds in the afternoon, the earlier buzz has settled into a quiet hum. Passengers reflect on their days, looking out at the familiar yet ever-changing landscape of the Gorge.
We pick up a family of three at One Community Health. They ask to be dropped off at a stop near their home.
“It’s just the ideal transportation to get around from spot to spot when you don’t have a car or don’t have dependable transportation you know,” they say.
Plus the little one was too tired to walk.
They don’t introduce themselves, but their anonymity doesn't detract from their contribution to the morning's camaraderie.
Next Ian Creed, who works for Child Protective Services hops on the bus. He’s on his way to check in with a child that he works with. Ian regularly rides the bus to work and to bring his family to the farmer’s market. He also frequently recommends public transit as a solution for the families he serves.
Ian sums up my day on the bus by sharing a message for the public.
“You should ride public transit because it’s fun! And you might go on a new adventure!”
Back at the transit center again I disembark. Today, like every day, the Gorge TransLink has carried its passengers safely to their destinations, proving that public transit is not just about places but about people. Each ride is a commitment to community access and to connection.
It’s then that I think to myself, that “Everybody rides” represents more than just a statement of diversity, but a belief that everyone deserves a seat on the journey, regardless of their life’s story.
To learn more about the schedules and services offered by Gorge TransLink, and how you can be a part of this daily community journey, visit GorgeTransit.com.
