At the Wednesday Everett City Council meeting leadership at Everett Transit briefed council members on plans to cut service on routes by about seven percent while doubling adult fares over the next two years.
The current adult fare is $1.00. Click chart to enlarge.
During the briefing council members were told Everett Transit wants to build a sustainable network for the future. Here is part of their explanation.
The goals of the sustainable network are to:
To achieve these goals, the 2019 service proposal streamlines routes and reduces service hours. Routes and route segments with low ridership are proposed for elimination, and high-demand routes are restructured to allow an increase in frequency of service. Some changes are also prompted by the opening of Community Transit’s Seaway Transit Center near Boeing, which will significantly improve local and regional connections in south Everett.
Everett Transit is also proposing a fare increase in order to cover rising operational costs in a sustainable way. The agency’s last fare increase was in 2013.
During the next several weeks Everett Transit plans a series of public meetings to explain the changes and gather feedback. They then hope to get city council approval in September. Here is the list of public events.
Everett Transit will host presentations in July and August to educate the public about the proposed changes.
JULY 26 | 6 p.m. | Everett Station | 3201 Smith Ave | 4th Floor | Dan Snow Room
JULY 31 | 6:30 p.m. | Russian interpreter will be available | Bakerview Community Center | 1401 Poplar St | Adjacent to Baker Apartments
AUG 4 | 11 a.m. | Horizon Elementary | Gym | 222 W Casino Rd
AUG 9 | Noon | Everett Station | 3201 Smith Ave | 4th Floor | Dan Snow Room
AUG 15 | 6 p.m. | Spanish interpreter will be available | Everett Public Library | Evergreen Branch | 9512 Evergreen Way
Transit riders and community members are encouraged to provide feedback
by Aug. 20. For more information, proposed route maps and presentation dates, visit EverettTransit.org/ServiceChange.
During the presentation several city council members questioned why the fare increases were spread out over such a long period and also why there were no changes proposed for the para-transit program which provides service at a level that far exceeds state requirements.
Two Everett Transit employees testified during the public comment portion. One about how Everett is giving a share of sales tax to Community Transit and not receiving sufficient service in exchange and the other about how Everett is running para-transit service far outside of the Everett city limits and supplementing service that should be provided by providers in Snohomish County.
City Council member Brenda Stonecipher also questioned why there were no apparent cuts in management of Everett Transit in the proposal and asked to see a breakdown of all spending including administration for Everett Transit.
July 20, 2018
Everett Government