Community Transit to Expand Service

Snohomish County is growing, and so is Community Transit.

The Snohomish County transit agency on September 11 will launch its first significant transit expansion since voters approved Proposition 1 last fall.

The service expansion will add:
• Two new bus routes along Highway 9 in east Snohomish County;
• Route revisions in Marysville and Mukilteo; and
• More bus trips throughout the county and into Seattle.

Details of the service expansion plan are available at www.communitytransit.org/NewService.

A Guide to Service Expansion is now available on board buses, and the new Bus Plus schedule book will be on buses later this week. New schedules for the service expansion are online at www.communitytransit.org/NewSchedules.

The service expansion increases Community Transit service by 14 percent over 2015 levels. The agency’s recently-approved six-year plan calls for a total 40 percent service increase through 2021, funded largely by the voter-approved ballot measure.

Proposition 1 increased sales tax in the Community Transit service area, which is most of Snohomish County excluding Everett, by 0.3 percent, or 3 cents on a $10 purchase. Revenue collection began on April 1, 2016.

“Our promise to Snohomish County residents was to put their investment to use as quickly as possible, and we’re living up to our promise,” said Community Transit CEO Emmett Heath of the September service expansion.

New routes
Two new bus routes will provide east-west transit connections and establish north-south bus service along Highway 9 east of Everett. The two routes will meet at the Lake Stevens Transit Center.

Route 109 (Ash Way-Lake Stevens) will travel north from the Ash Way Park & Ride, then east on 128th/132nd streets across I-5 and along Cathcart Way to Highway 9. The route then travels north on Highway 9 through Snohomish to the Lake Stevens Transit Center, serving the Snohomish Station retail center along the way.

Route 209 (Lake Stevens-Quil Ceda Village) will travel north on Highway 9 from the Lake Stevens Transit Center, west on 64th Street by the new Marysville Walmart, west across I-5, then north on 27th Avenue to Quil Ceda Village, ending between the Tulalip Resort Casino and Seattle Premium Outlet mall.

Both Routes 109 & 209 will provide bidirectional 30-minute service during the weekday morning and afternoon peaks, and hourly service the rest of the day and on weekends.

While a number of new bus stops have been established on both these routes, some destinations will not be served until operational safety concerns related to bus stop placement are addressed. Community Transit is working with jurisdictions to expand the number of bus stops. Service suggestions are always welcome at riders@commtrans.org.

Route revisions
Route 222, which runs between Marysville and the Tulalip Reservation, will have some revisions in Marysville. The route will retain its current routing in Quil Ceda Village and on the Tulalip Reservation.

Going east from Quil Ceda Village, the route will travel on 88th Street and turn south on 83rd Avenue by Marysville Getchell High School. The route will turn west on 64th Street, then north on 67th Avenue and west on Grove Street, passing the Marysville Library. The route will continue west to State Avenue.

A revised Route 417 (Mukilteo-Seattle) will no longer stop at the Lynnwood Transit Center.

Added trips
Extra bus trips will be added on popular commuter Routes 402, 412, 415, 860 and 871 to Seattle and the University of Washington. Actual trip times can be found online at www.communitytransit.org/NewSchedules.

DART paratransit expansion
Because this expansion includes service to new areas, as well as expanded hours of bus operations, DART paratransit service will be expanded. DART is available to eligible residents within ¾-miles of a local, non-commuter fixed route during the same hours the bus operates.

Community Transit recently approved orders for 57 new buses, including 17 new Double Tall buses, to handle future service expansion in 2017-18. A second bus rapid transit route, the Swift Green Line, is set to open between Canyon Park/Bothell and Boeing/Paine Field in early 2019.