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Commute Options details Safe Routes to School, vanpools and driver training expansion
Summary
Brian Potwin, executive director of Commute Options, updated the Bend MPO TAC on Safe Routes to School programming in 10 schools, an expanding vanpool fleet, the GetThere incentive program and the statewide Oregon Friendly Driver training; he outlined staffing growth, mapping and funding vulnerabilities tied to federal dollars.
Brian Potwin, executive director of Commute Options, told the Bend Metropolitan Planning Organization Technical Advisory Committee that the organization is running Safe Routes to School programs in 10 schools across Bend and La Pine and serving more than 3,000 students annually.
Potwin said the program focuses on pedestrian and bicycle safety education, “learn to ride” clinics, helmet giveaways funded by mini- and foundation grants, and suggested walking and rolling route maps produced in coordination with City of Bend staff and schools.
The maps, Potwin said, are posted on the Bend-La Pine Schools transportation webpage and are updated as infrastructure projects change. “We suggest routes because we’ve done walk audits looking for crosswalks, sidewalks, lighting and, where available, crossing guards,” he said.
Potwin also described Commute Options’ vanpool work with Cascades East Transit (CET). He said the regional vanpool program currently operates 22 vans and that the Oregon Department of Transportation is discussing a potential $4 million statewide subsidy for vanpools that could become available to regions east of the Cascade Range.
On incentives and mode shift, Potwin summarized the GetThere program, a ride‑share matching and trip-tracking tool used in ODOT regions 4 and 5. Users who choose an alternative commute mode can redeem incentives; Commute Options offers a $20 gift card reward for qualifying activity in the program’s current regional implementation.
Potwin said Commute Options is the statewide administrator for the Oregon Friendly Driver initiative, an online and in-person course aimed at drivers to improve interactions with people walking, rolling and bicycling. He said the course takes roughly 20 minutes and that Commute Options is seeking subcontractors to expand delivery in coastal and southern Oregon.
Asked about funding vulnerability, Potwin acknowledged that a large share of the organization’s revenue is grant-funded and therefore sensitive to federal funding changes. “We were as vulnerable as anybody,” he said when asked about federal budget uncertainty.
Potwin said Commute Options has eight staff members, five of whom focus on Safe Routes work, and that the agency recently hired a Southern Oregon coordinator based in Medford to support the Rogue Valley region.
The presentation closed with a request for continued coordination with MPOs and school partners as the program seeks to expand capacity and integrate infrastructure improvements.
