Riders talk on an Intercity Transit bus.
Intercity Transit is putting proposition on the November ballot that would improve transit service at the cost of 4 cents sales tax on every $10 spent for those in Intercity Transit’s service area.
If this proposition — Proposition One — were to pass, Yelm bus riders could see a significant increase in the frequency of their bus routes, said Rena Shawver, marketing, communications and outreach manager for Intercity Transit.
“Currently service is every 60 minutes to Yelm and under the new plan it would be (every) 30 minutes, Shawver said.
She continued to say that weekday bus service to Yelm currently ends at 8:45 p.m. With the passing of Proposition One, the span of service to Yelm could also expand.
“Although not laid in concrete yet, discussions are to extend weekday service (in Yelm) to 11 p.m.,” Shawver said.
In addition, once the Yelm bypass is complete — projected for 2022 — Intercity Transit plans to expand routes to Yelm using the bypass, Shawver said.
If Proposition One passes, Intercity Transit plans to improve span of service across the board and keep busses on time by 2019; it plans to improve frequency of busses across the board and to expand service to NE Lacey by 2020; and Intercity Transit plans offer night owl service and to create an innovative service zone by 2021.
“Innovative service zones would be transit services to less densely populated areas that cannot support regular bus service yet,” Shawver said. “Smaller vehicles could go into these areas to help transport passengers to the broader transit system. In other transit systems, these smaller vehicles can be used on demand.”
During 2022, if the proposition passes, Intercity Transit plans to implement “enhanced commuter services” with the possible creation of HOV lanes. By 2023, a second innovative service zone will be added, followed by a third in 2026.
Also in 2026, if the proposition passes, Intercity Transit plans to make use of bus rapid transit, starting with one of the more highly-trafficked areas.
“Bus rapid transit, or BRT, is a high-frequency bus-based transit system that delivers fast, direct, comfortable and cost-effective service,” Intercity Transit’s website states. “[Intercity Transit] would begin saving funds for and, several years from now, implement a BRT system in the Martin Way Corridor from Olympia to Marvin Road in Lacey.”
Shawver said that Intercity Transit’s future plans are all the result of user suggestions. In fact, out of more than 3,500 people who answered their poll, Intercity Transit received over 10,000 unique suggestions.
“These plans, which as I mentioned were developed with lots of community input, should provide more access to transit services for students, youth, senior and workers trying to get to/from jobs and for people living with disabilities or limited mobility in need of Dial-A-Lift (paratransit) service,” Shawver said.
In order to keep services going at the same rate as before, Intercity Transit would need to collect two cents on every $10 of taxable purchases, Shawver said. So passing the proposition would keep the transit authority from having to cut services.
“If Proposition One is rejected, service will be cut by 15-18 percent,” Shawver said.
This means that some routes would have to be deleted, Olympia Express would be pulled from certain days or some routes would lose either Saturday or Sunday service, among other possible service cuts.
