By Emmett Heath
CEO, Community Transit
They say the only thing constant is change. That could not be more true for residents of Snohomish County these days.
Every city in the county has orange cones in the streets and construction crews building roads, houses and office buildings. Snohomish County is one of the fastest growing counties in the nation for jobs and population.
Fortunately, Community Transit is also growing. Thanks to voter support, our transit agency is expanding its bus, vanpool and paratransit service by 40 percent in the next few years. We are also hiring dozens more people to meet that growth.
Our goal is to provide more service to more places more often. We want to give people appealing choices for getting around, and easy access to that service. That means new routes, more frequent buses, expanded hours of service and pedestrian improvements like ADA crosswalks, better sidewalks and more bus shelters.
All this benefits seniors who choose not to drive, and those who are dependent on public transportation to get around. More transportation options means more independence, which is a huge quality of life issue.
When we begin to serve new areas of the county, or expand our hours of local bus service, we also expand our DART paratransit service. DART is door-to-door service for eligible riders that operates within three-quarters of a mile of a local bus route during that route’s hours of operation.
DART is available to people whose disability or condition prevents them from riding our regular bus service. Community Transit contracts with Homage Senior Services to provide our DART service, a partnership we’ve had for many years.
The expansion of transit service within Snohomish County comes at a time when our population’s demographics are changing. Not only are more people coming into our county, but seniors will be making up a larger share of that growing population.
The need for transportation options is becoming more critical.
Community Transit is building a high-capacity transit network called Swift. The Swift Blue Line already operates on Highway 99 between Everett and Shoreline. Construction is under way on the Swift Green Line between Bothell and the new Seaway Transit Center near Boeing.
Swift is like a train on rubber tires. It stops at fewer stations along a route and fares are paid at the station, so riders can board the bus more quickly. With a Swift bus arriving every 10 minutes, you’re never late for a bus, you’re just early for the next one!
The third Swift route will be the Orange Line, which will connect with Link light rail when it gets to Lynnwood in 2024. That will establish a swift and easy transit connection between Snohomish County and the Puget Sound region.
We are proud of our community partnerships and especially the work we do with Homage Senior Services to serve our mutual customers.
Emmett Heath is CEO of Community Transit, Snohomish County’s transit provider.
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