Morrow County offers to sell Pendleton a bus
By Griffin Beach on Thursday, July 17th, 2025 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
IRRIGON – The Morrow County Transportation Advisory Committee has approved the proposed sale of one of their buses to the city of Pendleton.
Morrow County Transit Manager Steven Davis says the bus involved in the potential sale requires a CDL to operate, and only 22 percent of his driving staff have that qualification. He also said the size of the bus makes it difficult to navigate many of the streets they serve.
“Since I’ve been here the seven months we’ve put the bus on the road once, that’s how infrequent we used it,” said Davis in a presentation at Wednesday’s Morrow County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Pendleton Finance Director Josh Ernst said they are in the very early stages of the transaction process, but that this would be a direct replacement for the bus that was involved in a crash in May. He said the city is utilizing insurance proceeds but there will also likely be out of pocket costs.
The bus was damaged when a truck crashed into it at the Third Street Interchange after the truck driver failed to obey the flashing yellow light for a left turn according to Pendleton Police. The bus driver was the only occupant of that vehicle.
Both Davis and Ernst hope to have the transaction finalized by early August. Ernst said once that’s completed the city would get the interior of the bus detailed and the exterior wrapped with their branding.
