Swift bus to offer frequent trips along Highway 99

Published 11:10 pm Wednesday, December 5, 2007

EVERETT — Everett Transit is all aboard with Community Transit to provide trainlike bus service down Highway 99.

The two transit agencies signed off on an agreement Wednesday to jointly bring bus rapid transit service from the King County line to Everett Station. Bus rapid transit, called BRT for short, is similar to light-rail train service but far cheaper.

“This will be a great service,” Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson said. “It improves service and addresses efficiency and redundancy. It’s a great agreement that lets us work together and do what we do best.”

Called Swift, the new service is scheduled to start in 2009, with buses stopping every 10 minutes during peak hours. Community Transit has been working on developing the service since 2005.

The service is planned to include 15 pairs of stations along a 16.7-mile route. Currently, more than 60 bus stops serve the same corridor, and riders often have to switch buses.

Under the new agreement, the city plans to spend up to $4 million to build Swift stations inside Everett and install equipment that allows Swift buses to change traffic signals along their route. The city must also build a Swift terminal at Everett Station.

The city of Everett also must pay Community Transit about $1 million in sales tax annually each year toward the Swift system.

Community Transit is planning to operate the Swift line, and Everett Transit is planning to expand its coverage to underserved areas just outside city limits, according to the agreement.

“Today’s action not only ­enables us to proceed with implementation of the first true bus rapid transit system in Washington state, but it shows our commitment to providing the best service possible for our customers,” Community Transit CEO Joyce Olson Eleanor said.

The bus rapid transit model has been used in cities such as Eugene, Ore., Boston and Los Angeles. Stops along bus rapid transit routes tend to spark economic growth — which excites Lynnwood City Councilman Ted Hikel, who sits on the Community Transit Board of Directors. The city of Lynnwood is in the midst of studying how to rejuvenate business growth along its portion of Highway 99.

“It will enormously enhance it,” Hikel said. “We expect in the future, around these Swift bus stations, it will provide a higher level of transportation for people who want to use transit, rather than use their cars.”

Not everyone is happy about the new agreement.

Steve Oss, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 883, which represents about 100 Everett Transit employees, said the city violated its contract with the union by not including it in recent Swift bus negotiations with Community Transit.

Although no transit employees are losing their jobs, Oss expressed concerns about the amount of money the city will be paying Community Transit.

The union filed a grievance with city management late last month and is planning to file an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, Oss said.

“It has nothing to do with the BRT service, it has to do with our contract with the city,” he said. “Our attorney feels quite strongly that our contract has been violated.”

Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.