Intercity Transit: Another Story

I write about Intercity Transit from time to time, most recently about a slightly wobbly trip home. I came across this story, on OlyBlog, describing our community's response to huge cuts in Intercity Transit's routes due to the dramatic reduction in tax support for the system due to I-695 (Eyman's $30 tab initiative).

When we heard how people were going to be stuck, some of us got together and organized the Oly Free Bus. We used our own vehicles on our own time paying for gas with our own money, and we tried to fill the gaps in transit service as best we could. At the time, I had a van equipped with a wheelchair lift, and I'm proud to say that for 13 weeks in the spring of 2000, my van was the only wheelchair accessible public transportation in Thurston County on Sundays. At first we tried running scheduled routes, to make our service as much as possible like what people had come to expect from IT. After a few weeks, we got enough publicity and enough public support that we were able to switch to more of an on-call service. A local business owner paid for us to have cell phones, and helped to pay for gas.

This is an example of the idealism and bias for action that I love about this town. Of course, no good deed goes unpunished, so the rest of the story involves a letter from an attorney, working for -- you guessed it -- Intercity Transit. I can't wait for Part Two.

Intercity Transit: The Verdict

Thumbs up! I rode to work again today and then downtown for a little after work socializing and then back up the hill to home; all without a hitch. Once I was past the anxiety of missing the bus, I found it less effort than driving (and certainly less than walking).

The system has improved a great deal since I last used it. The buses are new, clean, and comfortable. The routes make sense and integrate well. The drivers are courteous. Not only that, but Intercity Transit does a great deal more than just run buses – they are involved in just about everything transport-related in the county. They have the Dial-A-Lift, vanpools, connections to Pierce Transit, Mason Transit, Grays Harbor, and Sound Transit, and the new downtown shuttle, the Dash.

I walk to work almost half the time and have been driving, alone, the rest. I think I can replace about half of those drives with bus rides.

Intercity Transit: The Ride

Prompted by the April brochure, which I blogged a few days ago, I started thinking about actually using the bus. And, today, I did.

I caught the 48 on Cooper Pt Rd near 14th a little before 7:00. I was looking to catch the 44 at the mall and experienced the interesting sensation of watching the 44 leave just as my bus was pulling in. I had wondered if that wouldn't happen, since the schedule had them all leaving at the same time from the mall. Fortunately, the driver was able to call the 44's driver and have him wait.

Because the 44 rolls back over part of the 48's route, I can get off the 48 at Safeway and catch the 44 a few minutes later. I'll do that tomorrow and avoid the anxiety of the too-close connection.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, though interesting. I haven't been on SPSCC's campus in a few years and there are a couple of new buildings. The trip home worked well, too, with a more reasonable connection at the mall in this direction. Each way was about 30 minutes, in comparison to almost 60 minutes for the walk and clothing change at the end.

So, I'll use the bus again tomorrow, as I'm heading downtown for a bit after work and can take the bus home from there, too. Then, back to the walking, which is my default method of commute. For some, perhaps even many, of the other commutes to work, I can use the bus, rather than driving. Right now, I walk to work almost half of the time. If the other half is mostly bus-riding, then I'll be down to only one day a week of driving alone to work.

Intercity Transit: The Brochure

The April edition the IT flyer (PDF here) contains a good history of the system and has some interesting information in graphs. Of the people within the service area, 11% ride the bus once a month or more and another 28% are considered “potential” riders, in that they would consider riding the bus. I suppose I would count myself among those, as I’m already among the reported 24% of commuters at “major worksites” who use an alternative “mode.” I walk the three miles to work and back about every other day and drive alone the rest. I could use the bus for some of those driving days.

When I lived in the north end of Seattle and worked on First Hill and downtown, I rode the bus every day. It worked great, as I was able to read on the way in and nap on the way home, usually waking up before my stop. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to use IT’s system to such an extent. I learned on my first day of work for the state that I could walk to work from the near west side to the campus in less time than the bus would take. The service has improved a great deal in the intervening years, but I still don’t use the bus much. I did use the old shuttle from the courthouse hill to downtown to take lunch during Lakefair or for meetings on the campus, but that’s about it.

So, I visited IT’s route page to see what it would take to use the bus. For both directions, buses run every thirty minutes. I could catch the 48 after 7:19 and be at the mall at 7:28. Route 44 leaves the mall at 7:28 (one hopes that means a reliable connection and not a just-missed-it event) and arrives at the courthouse at 7:45. That would get me to work in about 25 minutes. Walking takes 45 - 50 and driving takes 10 - 15. Not terrible. A trip home after work would start after 5:07, make a transfer at the mall at 5:28 and drop me near my home before 5:35 for a trip of less than 30 minutes during a busy traffic time. Again, not bad, and only a $1.50.

(Cross-posted at OlyBlog.)