From the Program Administrator –

Ridership

SAM is meeting one of City Council’s goal of increasing system ridership! Overall, SAM provided 7,860 rides in March of 2023, compared to 6,855 in March of 2023. This is an overall increase 14.66% from last year. SAM-Gresham increased by 15.06% with a total of 6,020 rides. SAM-Estacada provided 523 rides, an increase of 9.41%. The Shopper Shuttle saw an increase of 32.56% providing 627 rides this year, compared to 473 rides in March of 2022.

SAM rides remained stable and experienced a negligible decrease of 0.32%, going from 629 rides in March of 2022 to 627 rides in 2023. ED provided 63 rides this March, compared to 43 rides in 2022, an increase of 46.51%.

Exciting News Article

SAM was recently featured in the Oregonian as part of a regionally connected system that provides easy, kid-friendly, car-free transportation to the mountain! Some of the highlights included friendly, helpful drivers that adhere to the schedule. The article also mentioned the cute Sandy Transit Center and that there is plenty to do in Sandy!

Hard at Work Behind the Scenes

SAM and MV are hard at work behind the scenes getting the new app, Passio Go! ready for the public. Once in place it will provide real time location, capacity and any announcements for riders. Behind the scenes SAM will have precise reporting information. In addition to Passio, we are also getting new dial-a-ride software in place. Tripmaster, the new software, will provide efficient scheduling through it’s auto-scheduler, automated call reminders and updates on the bus’s expected arrival time.

SAM’s new Ford transit van has arrived! This vehicle will provide sweeper service at peak hours of operation and serve as a backup vehicle when needed.