Everett Transit carried a record number of passengers this year, crossing the two million mark for the first time.
Passing the threshold puts the public transit agency into the Federal Transportation Administration’s category of medium-size transit agencies.
“It puts you in a different pool of discussion,” said Tom Hingson, head of Everett Transit.
The big milestone follows a period of steady growth for the municipal bus system that operates on a $27 million annual budget, serving Everett seven days a week.
Hingson said the increase is attributable to several factors including population growth, added routes and rising gas prices. The district also saw a jump in ridership in 2003 when Everett Transit took over routes that Community Transit dropped along the busy Highway 99 corridor.
Meanwhile, Community Transit is on pace to break its own record with 10 million riders this year. That’s a 10 percent increase from 2005, said Tom Pearce, a Community Transit spokesman.
The uptick reflects a national trend toward mass transit, said Virginia Miller with the American Public Transportation Association in Washington, D.C.
High gas prices, coupled with expanded transit service, has made public transportation attractive to a growing number of Americans, Miller said.
Even after gas prices leveled off from well above $3 a gallon in late 2005, people still chose to keep their cars parked in favor of buses and trains.
People are also taking their desire to support public transportation to the ballot box by voting to invest in transit systems, Miller said.
That appears to be the case in Everett.
In 2004, voters approved Proposition 1, which doubled Everett Transit’s share of the city’s sales tax from 0.3 percent to 0.6 percent.
Bus fares only pay for 13 percent of Everett Transit’s expenses, with the lion’s share coming from sales taxes.
Despite an upward trend, public transportation isn’t seamless and is often costly and time consuming.
Attracting riders on the higher end of the socioeconomic ladder isn’t a strong suit for Everett Transit, Hingson said.
Nearly two-thirds of those who ride Everett Transit buses have household incomes of less than $20,000.
That’s unfortunate, said City Councilman Bob Overstreet, a member of the city’s transportation advisory committee.
Overstreet owns a car, but takes the bus from home to City Hall three to four days a week.
“It’s more efficient, less harm on the environment, and I have the time,” he said.
The 70-year-old elected official started riding the bus after a medical condition last year prevented him from driving. Now that he is OK to drive again, he still frequently rides the bus to work, medical appointments in Federal Way and meetings in Seattle.
Once he learned the bus system and became comfortable with it, he became a loyal customer.
Everett Transit plans to dramatically expand service during the next five years using increased funding from Proposition 1. A new transit center at Everett Community College is in the works, and plans to bring streetcars to the city’s core are being studied.
“We hope people will see this as a better choice then driving alone to work or just a few blocks down Evergreen Way,” said Hingson with Everett Transit. “If transit becomes a choice rather than an only alternative, then ridership will grow.”
Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.
Everett Transit riders
2001: 1,554,394
2002: 1,513,054
2003: 1,924,034
2004: 1,927,339
2005: 1,957,478
2006: 2,000,000 (as of December 11)
* Sunday bus fares are free on Everett Transit through December.
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