A LIFELINE ON WHEELS.

Byline: Bob Keefer The Register-Guard

Think "city bus" and you may imagine stalled traffic, tired commuters, sour diesel fumes and miles of uninterrupted pavement.

You'll think again once you try Lane Transit District's 91 bus, traveling four times a day from downtown Eugene up the McKenzie Highway and back through postcard-perfect scenery surrounding a whitewater river.

The 91 just might be the best transportation deal in Lane County, if not the entire state. It's the longest LTD bus route. A $1.25 fare takes you 55 miles past countryside that New Yorkers and Los Angelenos can only dream about.

You can take a morning bus to the end of the line, go hiking on the McKenzie River Trail for six hours and catch an afternoon bus back to Eugene. The 91 is also an informal lifeline for McKenzie River residents who can't afford or prefer not to drive the winding highway down to town.

Bus driver Reba West, a 10-year veteran with LTD, was dipping into her breakfast burrito on a morning last week before leaving Eugene Station for her 8:20 a.m. run upriver.

Why did she want to drive the 91? "Because it's so beautiful," she said. "I take any rural route I can. The people are so appreciative."

She left the station empty, but steadily picked up passengers en route: a glass blower going to Blue River to pick up his things and move back to Eugene; a 15-year-old high school boy heading to Blue River High School for the day; and Lida Flynn, who got on near Nimrod and was heading off for her day's work baking pies at the Rustic Skillet, 20 minutes up the highway.

"I've taken this bus every day I've worked for four years," Flynn said. "It's great. Some days there's a lot of people. Especially holidays, like the Fourth of July. Some days I'm the only one on here. I feel like I've got my own limousine!"

And, in the spirit of a limousine driver, West eased her giant bus to a stop in front of the Rustic Skillet, even though an official LTD bus stop was only about 50 yards farther up the road.

In fact, you can hail the 91 bus, and it will stop for you - provided you're in a place that a bus can safely pull off the highway.

Another driver on the route, the late Roy Hughes, once actually stopped his bus near Bear Creek so he and his passengers could get out to help a man whose house was on fire.

On this day, West reached the McKenzie River Ranger Station right on time at 9:37 a.m. and parked to stretch her legs for exactly 12 minutes before heading back to town. Ranger station employees make up the bulk of the 91's early run, which leaves Eugene at 4:47 a.m. and gets them to work by 6 a.m.

The only downside to 91, from the driver's point of view, is the summer traffic that can clog the winding two-lane highway. West, who's new on the route, drove some Saturday runs over the summer and found them less than relaxing. "It was horrendous," she said. "People passing all the time. I thought there were going to be head-on collisions!"

But on a drizzly February morning, the road was clear and West was making good time with her bus about half full of passengers for the return trip to town. Tim Williams, a disabled veteran who lives along McKenzie Drive, had boarded to visit Veterans Affairs in Eugene.

"I take this bus almost daily," he said. "Usually to Blue River, where I help out at the store. I've never had it be late in five years I've been riding it. You know, I couldn't drive my car even to Blue River for a buck and a quarter."

Across from him sat Chuck Liles, who had a small pet carrier at his feet with a Chihuahua named Ronnie inside. Ronnie was on his way to get his toenails clipped, Liles said.

Just then a man asked to be let off. Not at the bus stop. "Can you drop me off at the little water pump house up there?" he said.

"Oh sure," West said. "No problem." She laughed. "I think of myself as a designated driver - for people who don't want to drive."

CAPTION(S):

Reba West says great scenery and grateful riders make driving LTD's 91 bus fun. Ronnie, a Chihuahua, waits quietly inside a pet carrier at the feet of passenger Chuck Liles as they head for a grooming in Springfield. Riding the 91 makes it easy for Liles to get Ronnie to town for a toenail clipping and flea dip. T r a n s p o r t a t i o n Stephanie Barrow / The Register-Guard Kevin Clark / The Register-Guard James Penland, 15, a student at McKenzie High School, uses his commuter time to write lyrics for a song titled "Em's Gone Fem" for the band he is in, FYA. He takes the bus to school. Lane Transit District bus 91 waits at the downtown transit center for its three-hour roundtrip to McKenzie Bridge. Kevin Clark / The Register-Guard Ronnie, a Chihuahua, waits quietly inside a pet carrier at the feet of passenger Chuck Liles as they head for a grooming in Springfield. Riding the 91 makes it easy for Liles to get Ronnie to town for a toenail clipping and flea dip.