From the Director — Sandy STIF Plan

Each biennium Transit designs a new STIF Plan, which is funded with Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund (STIF). STIF was created as part of the HB2017 Keep Oregon Moving Legislation that was passed in 2017. Projects funded by this program began in 2019. The projects below in yellow have been funded since 2019 by this plan as well as project 7 in gray.

Each STIF Plan is designed using the Transit Master Plan goals and priorities as each project has to be part of a local plan to be funded. The funding allocations are vetted through the Transit Advisory Board and voted on by the Clackamas County HB2017 Transit Advisory Committee along with plans put forward by all Clackamas County providers. The Plan is then added to TriMet’s STIF Plan and approved by the Oregon Transportation Commission.

Below is the STIF Plan for the 2024-2025 Biennium using projected (ODOT estimated) funds in the chart below. These are the highlights of the new plan:

1. Continue to fund route expansions in yellow.
2. Add weekend service to the Shopper Shuttle. (highest community priority from the public and stakeholder feedback during the Transit Master Plan process).
3. Cover administrative costs that are generated through this program such as the audit fees.
4. Program Reserve allows funding to be set aside in case STIF or other expected funds decrease unexpectedly.
5. Carry over, Capacity Project is funding that has been collected since 2019 for the planning and construction of future Sandy Operations Center expansion. These are the funds that will be used as match to the planning grant (5339) recently awarded and approved by Council.
6. Electric Vehicle Infrastructure – these funds will help cover costs associated with the transition to an electric fleet, including infrastructure and vehicle costs.

These are the projects that have been funded by STIF in the past:

1. Route Expansions – a) 2 runs added to SAM Shopper Shuttle Monday – Friday and a redesign of the Shopper Shuttle to accommodate after school programs b) 1 run added to SAM Gresham Monday – Friday c) 1 run added to SAM Estacada Monday – Saturday
2. New Bus Stop Signs
3. New Computers and Monitors for staff and dispatch
4. New Transit Tax Software
5. New Dispatch Software
6. Accumulating funds for future capacity expansion at the Sandy Operations Center
7. Bus Stop Improvements

STIF Regional Coordination

Additionally there are STIF Regional Coordination Funds that SAM has applied for through the TriMet HB2017 Advisory Committee (PTIP). These funds would be used to create the new SAM Clackamas Town Center Route and would include the procurement of a new vehicle for this route. This project will be voted on by the TriMet HB2017 Committee (PTIP). If successful, this route could begin as early as July 1, 2023.

From the Program Administrator – Ridership Stats

As noted in the chart above, August 2022 SAM ridership provided 7,289 rides, the highest overall ridership of the calendar year. This is down by 1.47% compared to August 2021. Although overall ridership is down slightly, SAM rides experienced a 17.75% increase in ridership as compared with August of 2021, providing 816 rides. Driver shortages and Covid are part of the reason we experienced a small decline in ridership.