Swift Bus Ticket Machines Getting Multiple Rider Upgrades

It used to be you could only buy one ticket at a time at a SWIFT bus stop which means if you had a group some folks might miss a bus waiting for their ticket to be printed. Now Community Tranist is upgrading all SWIFT ticket machines from Everett south to keep people from being left behind. Here’s the explanation today from CT:

Community Transit is upgrading the ticket vending machines at all 32 Swift Blue Line stations to allow for multi-rider purchases. The new machines also have a more intuitive screen flow and are easier to see in bright light.

Two Swift stations at Everett Station received the upgraded machines last month and customers have welcomed the change. Starting this week, new installations have begun at the Wetmore Swift Station in Everett and move south, switching out machines at all southbound bus rapid transit stations ending at Aurora Village Transit Center. The upgrade installations will then move north, switching out all northbound stations. The upgrade will be rolled out to several stations a week and will take about two months to complete.

The Swift Blue Line utilizes off-board fare payment to keep buses moving. That means riders pay their fares at the station rather than on the bus. Most Swift riders use an ORCA card to pay their fare. Cash customers use one of two ticket vending machines (TVMs) located at each Swift station. The TVMs also accept VISA or MasterCard.

Until now, riders had to purchase a separate ticket for each rider in a group. Because a Swift bus does not wait at the station, riders sometimes missed a bus. The new upgrades will allow riders to purchase up to five tickets at once.

How to use the machines

The new screen instructions are a bit different than the older machines. Riders are asked to allow some extra time when first using the new machines. A few tips:

• Do not insert payment first. Please press the green “Start” button to begin.
• You can now buy up to five tickets in one purchase.
• Machine accepts $1 and $5 bills, but does not give change.
• Keep your ticket as proof of payment.

Read more about the ticket machine upgrade at www.communitytransit.org/SwiftTickets.

The Swift Blue Line is Community Transit’s first bus rapid transit line, operating between Everett Station and Aurora Village Transit Center in Shoreline. The agency is now constructing the Swift Green Line, which will operate between Canyon Park in Bothell and Boeing/Paine Field. The Swift Green Line is scheduled to open in spring 2019.

Community Transit is responsible for providing bus and paratransit service, vanpool and alternative commute options in Snohomish County. The agency is building a network of Swift bus rapid transit lines with Swift Blue Line along Highway 99 and the Swift Green Line between Canyon Park/Bothell and Boeing/Paine Field coming in 2019.