EVERETT — A review of Everett Transit’s operations and facilities concluded that, while the agency’s services are largely successful, it suffers from inadequate facilities and a lack of clear communication among staff and the public.
The review was conducted by the American Public Transportation Association, a professional association that convened a volunteer group of transit officials from across the U.S. to review the city’s bus system.
Mayor Ray Stephanson asked for the review as one part of his administration’s broader efforts to eliminate Everett’s long-term budget deficit.
The city balanced its 2015 budget and cut expenses with various measures, such as implementing a $20 car tab fee.
The city still anticipates deficits rising to $10.9 million by 2018. Future savings are expected to be identified through reviews of operations of the city’s fire, police and transportation departments.
The city is expected to complete the fire department review in June, and the police department review will begin in the next few months, said Meghan Pembroke, city spokeswoman.
The results of APTA’s review were presented to the Everett City Council on Wednesday by Richard DeRock, the general manager of Link Transit in Wenatchee.
The report is also available online at everetttransit.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/252.
There were three foci in APTA’s review: Everett Transit’s agreements with Community Transit, the agency’s facilities and its organizational structure.
All three areas were given mixed results, but it was in facilities that the most problems were found.
DeRock called Everett Station a “crown jewel” for the city that has not lived up to its potential as the gateway to and from Everett.
Problems identified in the APTA report point to a lack of signs or other information for travelers trying to find their way, few businesses at the site serving commuters, and a perceived lack of safety in and around the facility.
“You have people (who) don’t feel safe there, both because there are…wanderers, for lack of a better term,” DeRock told the council.
Police presence is inconsistent and the station’s own security staff is largely invisible, he added.
“Security staff were spending most of their time in their office looking at monitors,” he said.
Some of the actions taken to address problems have had adverse effects: To stop drug dealing in the bathrooms, the staff removed the doors from the stalls. That added to the sense of insecurity, DeRock said.
The report indicated that Everett Station could only be successful if more resources were put into it to make it safe and convenient for average people going to work or dropping off kids for an event.
“I know you don’t own all of it, it’s not yours to control, but it is the gateway to your community,” DeRock said.
He recommended Everett Transit work with its partner agencies in the station, such as Sound Transit and Amtrak, to address signs and way-finding.
The city should also establish a regular police presence there, possibly in the form of a small substation in one of the vacant offices.
Everett Transit director Tom Hingson said that the agency had recently received a $300,000 grant that will be used to upgrade security cameras, fix leaking windows and masonry, install more signs and hire more staff for a concierge desk in the main lobby, and a custodian for the restrooms.
Outside of Everett Station, the agency’s maintenance and operations North Base is inadequate for staff and there isn’t enough space to park buses, DeRock said.
Showing the council a photograph of a small bathroom in the building, Hingson said: “North Base used to be an elementary school, and none of our employees are elementary-sized.”
The base is scheduled to be closed in the fall, with the staff squeezed into the nearby administrative building, Hingson added.
By contrast, the APTA review found that Everett Transit was not overstaffed at all, and has too few field supervisors, especially on weekends.
The report also noted that customer service is only available from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, and suggested finding money for more relief supervisors, possibly by drawing from the pool of bus drivers.
In contrast to the challenges outlined in Everett Transit’s facilities, the report lauded the relationship with Community Transit, especially with the Swift Bus Rapid Transit service, as mutually beneficial and equitable to both agencies and their stakeholders.
It did note, however, that the public was unaware of the success of the program and the advantages it provides the city.
“For 20 percent of the cost of the (combined) system, you’re getting 50 percent of the benefit of service,” DeRock told the council.
Paratransit service, however, was only found to be “a good start,” according to the report, and a lack of coordination between the two agencies causes difficulties for riders.
DeRock said that passengers, in particular those with mental disabilities, have to make multiple phone calls to arrange rides that cross jurisdictional boundaries.
Transfers often involve being dropped off and waiting for up to an hour for a connection, he said.
The APTA report advocated more centralization of services, including one dispatch center for all trips and better coordination of transfers.
Making some of the large-scale changes in Paratransit operations and the overall management of Everett Station will take more conversation between Everett Transit leadership and the City Council, Pembroke said.
Changes that affect staffing levels or duties will also involve negotiations with the city’s labor unions, she said.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
