Members of the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors recently met with the Salem-Keizer Transit District to discuss opportunities to improve transit service. Several initiatives were discussed, including leadership, advertising on Cherriots busses, additional funding for the Park-N-Ride shuttle for state employees, the Youth Pass Program, and effectively connecting with people and businesses not using transit services.
“The Salem Chamber agreed to support Cherriots’ efforts in these areas, and looks forward to finding solutions that work for everyone,” said Dan Clem, CEO of the Salem Chamber.
Planning for a comprehensive statewide transportation package is slated for the next legislative session, beginning in February 2017. This package could help meet some of Transit’s needs. “We will work with Cherriots to see what benefits we can obtain through this transportation legislation,” said Clem.
The Salem Chamber will host a public policy meeting in early fall to build consensus around a set of solutions. With the upcoming Salem Police Department ballot measure in November and last year’s defeat of the transit employer payroll tax, it’s not likely that either the Cherriots or the Chamber will present any type of local measure to support increasing transit funding in 2016.