The board of the Salem Area Mass Transit district will hear reports on ridership, assaults against employees and customer satisfaction during their meeting on Thursday, Feb. 22.
Read it: AGENDA
The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. and will be in person at the Senator Hearing Room at Courthouse Square, 555 Court St. N.E. and live streamed by Capital Community Media.
The public is invited to comment in person during the meeting, over Zoom, or in writing submitted via email or mail. Comments are limited to three minutes and can be about anything relating to the board.
Written public comments are accepted until 5 p.m. Thursday to [email protected], or by mail to Attn: Cherriots Board, 555 Court St. N.E., Suite 5230, Salem, OR 97301.
Assaults on transit operators
Cherriots workers in recent months faced death threats and intimidation at transit centers, and some were hit, according to a report the Cherriots board will review on Thursday. In one reported instance, an operator was pushed over during a fight between over a dozen youths, sustaining injuries that sent him to the hospital.
There were 11 non-physical assaults, like threats, on workers between October and December 2023. Most of the threats were directed toward security. There were four physical assaults, one to the operator who was hospitalized and the rest to other workers such as security.
That’s an increase of five non-physical assaults and an equal amount of physical assaults to the three months prior, July through September of 2023. Cherriots has not yet published its 2023 security report.
Ridership and goals
The board will hear reports on its progress on its strategic plan, performance and finance.
Cherriots saw a 19.3% increase in ridership in the quarter that includes October, November and December of 2023 compared to 2022. Local buses saw nearly 800,000 boardings in that time./ Over 24,000 people used the LIFT service which provides accessible transit for people with disabilities through scheduled rides, an increase of over 5,800 rides from the year before.
The strategic plan, adopted in August 2022, seeks to improve community value and employee engagement. This year, along that plan, it will continue integrating new battery electric buses, having listening sessions with employees, according to the presentation the board will hear on Thursday.
Halfway through the year, Cherriots had spent just 44% of its annual budget.
Customer satisfaction survey
The majority of Cherriots riders are content with the bus service, according to the results of a customer satisfaction survey that the board will hear on Thursday.
Cherriots’ most recent survey from fall 2023 found that 84% of customers were satisfied with the service overall, a slight decrease from the previous results in spring 2023.
The ETC Institute, a surveying company, asked riders to fill out a paper questionnaire on buses and at bus stops. Over 400 customers participated.
The lowest scoring categories were convenient routes and cleanliness, which each had 78% approval rates. The highest scoring categories were those who said Cherriots was valuable to the community, and travel time, both getting 85% positive responses. In most categories, the transit agency exceeded national benchmarks of customer satisfaction in safety, routes and accessibility.
The majority of riders, 83%, said they are dependent on Cherriots for travel, while 27% said they use the bus when it’s convenient. The majority, 57%, said they use the bus at least five days a week.
Other items
-The board will consider approval of a letter to the Salem-Keizer Area Transportation Study Policy Committee, suggesting that the voting structure be revised to take population size into account. Currently, Salem has the same representation in decision-making as smaller communities in the region.
Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251.
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Abbey McDonald joined the Salem Reporter in 2022. She previously worked as the business reporter at The Astorian, where she covered labor issues, health care and social services. A University of Oregon grad, she has also reported for the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week.
