If you drew a map of transit in Western Washington, you’d see what looks like a series of islands; service concentrated mainly in city centers and few, if any, options extending into rural areas.
While some states have a unified transit system, ours is composed of independently managed public transportation benefit areas (PTBAs). The benefit of this system is that each transit provider is directly connected to the community it serves. The drawback is that coordination between agencies is often limited, resulting in large unserved areas and a fragmented system that is difficult to navigate across PTBA lines.
Transportation is a regional need. We hear this over and over again in our conversations with local nonprofits, community partners, educational institutions, businesses and agencies. Residents need affordable, reliable transportation to rise out of poverty, maintain a good income, and thrive in our communities. A healthy transit system is an integral part of a healthy economy.
Lack of public transit is especially difficult for rural residents who can’t afford a reliable vehicle. It negatively impacts senior citizens who are no longer able to drive, forcing them to become homebound through circumstance instead of remaining a vital and active part of our community. Those in need of medical care struggle to access treatment due to transportation barriers. Lack of public transit places an often-insurmountable hurdle in the way of local youth who would like to participate in educational programs like Running Start, but who don’t have access to a car or personal driver.
We believe transportation should never stand in the way of someone living their best life or pursuing their dreams. By not examining the needs of our elderly, our children, our sick and infirmed, our friends and neighbors, and doing what we can to support them in a more meaningful way, we are by default doing them a disservice.
Many people don’t understand that public transportation is an economic issue. Our local businesses often struggle to find reliable, skilled workers. At the same time, skilled individuals in rural areas could easily fill those slots — if they had affordable, reliable transportation to work. We have all the pieces of the puzzle — we just have to put them together.
Twin Transit recently hosted the first ever Interagency Summit, uniting transit and other organizational leaders from across Western Washington to collaborate, gain new insight and creatively address systemic issues. During this Summit we gleaned a number of insights that will help connect our communities in a much more comprehensive and meaningful way.
Together, we are taking up the mantel of going out into our local regions and exploring how we can broaden our offerings to better serve our neighbors. This includes partnering with remarkable nonprofits like Catholic Community Services, local educational entities like Centralia College, regional employers, our fellow transit agencies and more. It means creating new and innovative transportation options like Community Vans for local organizations, and Vanpools to help people access and maintain steady employment.
Transportation is community service.
As we begin to plan for our next round of community outreach and input, we want to hear from you. How can we better serve greater Lewis County? What are your ideas for better transportation options? Please email Info@TwinTransit.org and share your thoughts and ideas.
Together, we can make the future brighter for everyone.
