EVERETT — Everett Transit’s August service cuts led some people to stop riding the bus, a report by the agency concludes. But most riders adjusted their schedules and either switched routes or rode at different times.
For example, the agency slashed service 32 percent on Saturdays, yet ridership dropped only 10 percent. During the week, when ridership is highest, Everett Transit cut service 10 percent, and the number of riders fell between 5 percent and 8 percent, said Tom Hingson, transportation services manager for Everett Transit.
"We are overall pleased that ridership didn’t drop as much as the service cuts," Hingson said. "That means a lot of folks found an alternative in which they could still ride the bus. The areas we changed service in were generally within walking distance of other lines."
To help riders inconvenienced by some of the cuts, ET beefed up weekday service on its most popular line, Route 9, which runs from Everett Community College to the city’s southern border on Evergreen Way and stops downtown and at Everett Station.
Even service on Route 9 was reduced on Sundays, the lowest ridership day for ET. Service had been every half-hour but was cut to every hour.
Overall, ET slashed service 48 percent on Sundays; ridership dropped more than 21 percent.
ET made the cuts because of continuing drops in sales-tax revenue, which funds 90 percent of its operating costs. The agency had taken hundreds of thousands of dollars out of its reserves to help tide it over, but that fund had declined to less than $1 million, and ET needs that money in case of an emergency, Hingson said.
ET hopes to save $350,000 a year with the service cuts, ET Director Ken Housden said.
The ridership drops are only estimates because the number of riders shifts even when there are no service changes, he said.
ET officials are preparing another round of schedule changes for February, but Housden said he doesn’t expect further major cuts.
Reporter David Olson: 425-339-3452 or dolson@heraldnet.com.
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