The Workers Behind Rural Transit: Meet Chadd

As a transit driver and Oregon AFSCME Local 2479 member in Morrow County, Chadd helps ensure community members reach their destinations. Whether driving to a medical appointment, work, a local program, or another everyday stop, Chadd connects people with where they need to be.

Chadd and his coworkers provide three regular routes serving all Morrow County residents, as well as demand-response service. Unlike a traditional fixed bus route, demand-response service works more like a community taxi, helping riders get to specific destinations when they need transportation. As for why he does the work?

“I like the people, and I like driving around, helping, making sure people get where they want to go,” he explained.

Demand-response service can look like taking kids from a summer program to the swimming pool, helping families get to health appointments, or driving veterans to medical appointments as far away as Walla Walla, The Dalles, or Portland.

In a rural community where many people don't have reliable access to a personal vehicle, these services can make the difference between making an important appointment and having to cancel it.

Chadd and his coworkers also offer a dispatch service that helps riders navigate the transit system, including working through language barriers and helping people understand which routes and services can get them where they need to go.

The buses and vans are also equipped to serve riders with mobility needs, including wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

“It’s a free public service,” Chadd explained. “They get on the bus, we ask them where they’re going to get off at, and they get to sit back and relax, and we get them there safely.”

Before joining the transit workforce, Chadd spent 24 years in the military and nearly a decade working for the U.S. Postal Service. 

“I was a manager for the USPS and saw firsthand how powerful union members are together.” 

When he joined Morrow County, he knew he wanted that same union protection for himself.

Rural transit workers like Chadd are an essential part of the public services that keep Oregon communities moving. Their work often happens quietly, but the impact reaches far beyond the bus or, in this case, sometimes the van.