Everett Transit’s Route 12 will remain fare-free for now

Published 2:34 pm Monday, April 27, 2026

EVERETT — Everett Transit’s Route 12 will remain fare-free a few weeks longer than initially planned, the municipal transit agency announced Thursday.

In October 2025, Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin made Route 12 free for six months following the closure of Fred Meyer, in an attempt to give nearby residents easier access to grocery options. Route 12 runs between Seaway Transit Center near Boeing to Mall Station, with much of the route running along Casino Road.

Along with the fare-free route, Everett Transit also introduced a temporary shuttle between Mall Station and a nearby Walmart, which has since ended.

But fare-free service, initially expected to end April 20, will continue until further notice due to Everett Transit’s search for additional transportation options in the south Everett area.

Everett Transit is in the process of retiring a paratransit-style vehicle from active service and is looking for a nonprofit in the Casino Road area to donate it to, with the goal of the nonprofit using the vehicle to provide extra transportation service to the Casino Road community, wrote Matt Coomes, a spokesperson for Everett Transit.

“We expect to deliver this vehicle to the selected non-profit in the next few weeks,” Coomes wrote. “Route 12 fare collection will resume shortly thereafter.”

Route 12 is the third most popular route Everett Transit operates, ridership data shows.

The impacts to the agency’s budget from the fare-free service has been minimal, Coomes wrote, and it did not impact any staffing or service levels. Fares make up a small percentage of Everett Transit’s operating revenues — it gets most of its funding from a 0.6% sales tax.

City law gives the mayor the power to authorize temporary fare-free service in the event of an emergency and also allows Everett Transit to periodically provide fare-free service to encourage ridership or support new or modified routes.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.