For decades, getting from the remote community of Simnasho to a nearby town meant walking, hitchhiking, or hoping someone had a car and a full gas tank. That changed on May 5, when Cascades East Transit launched Route 21 — a new bus line that winds 50 miles through the heart of the Warm Springs Reservation.

A Route Unlike Any Other

Bus driver Chris Ulibarri described the new route as one of the most beautiful he drives. The road cuts across wide grassy flats, winds through rocky canyon terrain, passes stands of pine trees, and offers distant views of the snow-covered Cascades.

But for reservation residents, the scenery has always been secondary to necessity. Much of the roughly 1,000-square-mile reservation had gone without reliable public transportation for generations. Route 21 changes that.

Simnasho Gets Its First Bus Stop

The route provides the first-ever bus service to Simnasho, a rural tribal community roughly 25 miles from the nearest town. One of the new stops is at 3 Warriors Market — named after a 1977 film with local ties — sitting at the intersection of two highways at the community's center.

Delson Suppah Sr., a Warm Springs elder who lives in Simnasho, was emotional about the milestone. "It's definitely an uplifting internal feeling for me to see this day come to pass and I'm thankful for it," he told OPB.

"A lot of our elders, when I was younger, I watched them walk. If they had to get to some place — whether it was The Dalles or Madras or Warm Springs from here in Simnasho — they walked." — Delson Suppah Sr., Warm Springs elder

Kah-Nee-Ta Connection

Route 21 also provides the first transit link between the reservation's eastern communities and Kah-Nee-Ta Hot Springs Resort, which reopened in 2024 after years of closure. For tribal members without vehicles, getting to the resort for work or recreation was previously not possible without a car.

The grant-funded pilot program is slated to run for 15 months. Cascades East Transit already operates a route connecting Warm Springs and Madras, but Route 21 extends service deeper into the reservation's eastern reaches.

Why It Matters

The new route addresses a decades-long gap in mobility options for one of Oregon's most geographically isolated communities. For medical appointments, job access, grocery runs, and basic errands, reservation residents who relied on rides from neighbors now have an alternative.

Tribal officials and transit planners will be watching ridership closely during the pilot period to determine whether the route can become permanent. Community members are encouraged to use the route to demonstrate its value and make the case for continued funding.