EVERETT — The proposed annexation of Everett Transit by Community Transit induced an honest question at last week’s Everett City Council meeting that seems to be a shared perception–at least according to two city council members–about transit buses–be it Community Transit, Everett Transit or even Metro Transit in King County–that are mostly empty with just a few passengers on their respective routes.
The question was broached by Everett City Councilmember, Ben Zarlingo, who, during a public hearing about the transit agency annexation said, “One of the things I think I hear most from my constituents, and that is 40- or 60-foot buses riding around most of the day with one or two heads in them.”
Zarlingo quickly added a disclaimer to his question, “This is not specific necessarily to this (ET, CT) annexation, but to the public’s confidence in our adaptability. Microtransit solves a bit of that problem, but not much because a lot of these routes, where we’re talking about 40- or 60-foot buses traveling around with one or two people, or sometimes nobody, are fixed route. So, I guess what I’m asking about here, for all those people who needle me about it, what kinds of things can be done? Does any of this that we’re working on (re: annexation) address that?”
Zarlingo’s reference to “microtransit” is a transit agency option to utilize smaller vehicles for more specific service, potentially to passengers with mobility issues, for more targeted, on-demand transportation rather than conventional bus stops and bus routes. Microtransit options have been discussed during the nearly year-long debate about ET’s potential annexation by CT.
Zarlingo’s question was echoed a few minutes later by Everett Council President, Don Schwab, who explained similar concerns from his constituent feedback, saying, “Why don’t we have smaller buses? So don’t get me wrong here. This is what I’m also hearing, too, from my constituents, so there must be an educational component here.”
Community Transit’s Chief Operating Officer, Roland Behee, who spent nearly 20 years in CT’s Planning and Development division, including nearly four years as its director and CEO, Ric Ilgenfritz, both addressed the observation of full-size transit buses with just a few passengers on board at times.
As the Everett City Council and Community Transit Board members prepare to vote this week on the proposed annexation of ET, the question and answer is a reasonable one as taxpayers are looking for the most bang for the buck when it comes to transit and transit agencies are trying to boost ridership for the money being allocated to transit spending.
Click the embedded Everett City Council meeting video to watch the exchange. (Zarlingo is in the middle of the council dais wearing the light purple dress shirt. Schwab is on the right edge of the dais in a white dress shirt. The CT COO and CEO are alternately standing at the podium used for public comment in the foreground of the video.)
The Everett City Council is scheduled to vote on approving or rejecting the inter-local agreement (ILA) codifying the ET annexation by CT at its next regularly scheduled meeting, Wed. Nov. 4 at 6:30 p.m. If the ILA is approved, the CT Board is scheduled to vote on approving the annexation at its next regularly scheduled meeting, Thurs. Nov. 5 at 3 p.m.
For the full agenda and information on how to comment, go to communitytransit.org/board-of-directors and click on Upcoming Meetings. The Community Transit Board Room is in the Cascade Building, 2312 W Casino Rd, Everett, WA 98204.
