Website Survey Results: You Like Us-- but We Can Do Better

Last month, we asked for 4 minutes of your time to take our online website survey and you gave us 1,824 minutes! (That's 4 minutes each for the 456 people that  took the time to tell us what they like, don't like and want to see for communitytransit.org in the future.) Sure, we've got Google Analytics to give us reports on hits, visits and other numerical data-- but we wanted to hear from the people that use our website and we're glad we did!

We want to update our website in 2014. The last time it was refreshed was roughly five years ago, which doesn't seem very long ago until you realize the iPhone and iPad just came onto the scene in 2009. If you consider this September 2013 study of cell phone and usage by Pew Internet, it appears we are doing this refresh just in time:

"63% of adult cell owners now use their phones to go online, a figure that has doubled since we first started tracking internet usage on cell phones in 2009. In addition, 34% of these cell internet users say that they mostly go online using their cell phone. That means that 21% of all adult cell owners now do most of their online browsing using their mobile phone—and not some other device such as a desktop or laptop computer."

So, one of the takeways learned from our website survey is that it needs to be mobile-friendly so that the information you need is accessible no matter what mobile device you are using. We also found out that a majority of you rate the website quite high, and for that we thank you!

Below is an infographic illustrating the highlights and trends gleaned from the survey. Do you agree? Are you surprised?  What are your reactions to what the survey participants said about our website?

Four Minutes for a Better Website

The last time Community Transit's website got a virtual facelift was back in 2008. This is what it looked like in June 2007 just before we conducted a website survey and did the redesign:

communitytransit.org - June 2007

Interestingly enough, we conducted a website survey then, too, resulting in the website you see today:

communitytransit.org - November 2013

It doesn't seem too long ago, but when you consider what's happened in the last five years technology-wise, communitytransit.org could do with a little refresh. Since our last website re-design:

1. The iPad was launched (and three versions since);
2. Websites need to fit on all sizes of screens thanks to mobile phones and tablets;
3. Content has to be relevant and searchable more so than ever due to user and search engine demand (I'm lookin' at you, Google)
4. Mobile device usage is on the rise and will soon outnumber desktop use.

We hope to implement a new content management system soon that will help us keep our website up-to-date and user friendly no matter what you use to view it. We also want to take the opportunity to refresh the look and feel of our website.  This is where you and four minutes of your time come in.

We want to know how you, our customer, use our website. Yes, we have Google Analytics reports that can tell us browsers used, numbers of visits and pages visited, but we want to go deeper than that. How do you use the website? What do you like the most? The least? What can we do to make it better?

Tell us the answers to these and other questions through our short, online survey available by clicking on the link below. It should take around 4 minutes to complete and will be available until 5 p.m. Friday, November 29.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ctweb2013

Thanks in advance for helping us create a better website for you!

Next Bus Signs Live on Swift!

Community Transit’s first real-time bus information feature was officially turned on this week when the next bus signs at Swift stations went live.

These signs count down to the arrival of the next Swift bus, e.g., 12 minutes, 6 minutes, etc. When the bus is 1 minute away from the station, there is an audible chime and the signs say “Due.” After the bus departs, the signs start counting down to the arrival of the next Swift bus.

Because this is new technology, there will be a period of adjustment. The signs may not display correctly all the time. We already know that the audio chime at 1 minute may have some volume issues. That is something we are working to correct. Also, the timing of the chime has not always been exact in testing. We will continue to monitor that as well.

If you notice an error such as the bus not arriving at the displayed time, or the chime not working, you can help us improve the system by calling (425) 353-RIDE (7433) or sending a note to riders@commtrans.org.

Within a few weeks, next bus signs will be operational at the three largest transit centers: Ash Way, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace. This fall we will be launching a real-time bus departures feature that riders can access by phone, desktop computer and mobile devices.

Oct. 1 Service Changes

As happens twice a year, Community Transit's schedules will change on Monday, Oct. 1.

Planners have continued tweaking schedules after the massive February service network restructuring. They have looked to close layover gaps (when buses are stopped between trips) and add running time to some routes that have had trouble keeping on schedule. Because of this, many routes will see trip times changed a couple minutes earlier or later. Check the online schedule or Bus Plus books.

There also are a couple of routing changes being made that reflect either customer preference or things that really didn't work out. A few changes are being made this fall, while others have been proposed for Feb. 2013.

Routes 105 and 115 will no longer drive into the McCollum Park Park & Ride. Low ridership for these routes at that location, coupled with the time it takes to pull into and out of that lot make this a good change to improve on-time performance. Those riders wishing to travel along Bothell-Everett Highway can still catch Route 106, or they can simply catch Routes 105 or 115 along 128th Street.

Route 240 took extra time to travel north past the Stillaguamish Senior Center to serve three low-ridership stops. Now the route will end at the senior center. Those northern stops will continue to be served by Route 220, and are within short walking distance for people who don't want to wait for a connecting bus. Again, this change will save time to help keep Route 240 on schedule.

Route 280 was rerouted in Lake Stevens when a traffic roundabout project was under construction. After it was completed, it turned out that buses couldn't make the turns. So, the reroute up Hwy 9 to Lundeen Parkway is becoming permanent.

The other change this fall, elimination of the downtown Seattle Ride Free Area, is subject of another blog post.

Interest in the Double Talls

British reporter Tim Deakin visited Community Transit this week to learn more about our Double Tall double decker buses.

Deakin is writing an article about bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis Limited's efforts to crack the U.S. market with its double deckers. Currently, The RTC of Southern Nevada has 150 double deckers that serve the Las Vegas area, and Community Transit has its fleet of 23 Double Talls. Several other U.S. transit agencies have either single buses, smaller fleets or demonstration double deckers in operation.

Deakin wanted to know how our drivers, mechanics and customers liked the buses, and was particularly interested in the build process for our buses. Community Transit's bus purchase, which was funded largely through the 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (stimulus bill), was the first Buy America-compliant double decker order for ADL. That meant the buses, which have historically been built in Great Britain, had to be substantially built in the U.S. with American-made parts.

"We found there were some language barriers, even though we spoke the same language," said Strategic Planning and Grants Manager June DeVoll, who oversaw the bus purchase. "We could be using the same words, but they meant completely different things to us and them."

Despite the complexities and slight time delays involved in adapting a very British product and process to the American way, and the use of a new set of subcontractors from a different continent, the buses went into operation last year and have been a hit with our drivers, mechanics and, especially, our customers.

I explained to Deakin that when we had the one leased double decker from 2007-09, we created a web page to list the routes and times that bus was in operation because we got so many inqueries from people who wanted to ride that bus. We were resolved not to do that with the new fleet but, again, we were inundated with requests. Now, communications and dispatch staff collaborate to maintain a list of routes and times you can catch any of the 23 Double Tall buses.

Deakin is a freelance journalist based in London and says the article will appear in the trade magazine Buses sometime later this year.

The Curious Case of Dump the Pump 2012

June 21 is National Dump the Pump Day, a rallying cry for transit agencies and advocates to use high gas prices as a way to get non-transit riders to consider taking the bus, train, ferry, etc.

The American Public Transportation Association conceived this day seven years ago and the catchy title, supported by grassroots activities across the country has helped to garner media attention every year. It is a great hook, especially since gas prices tend to rise at the beginning of summer.

Dump the Pump 2012 has presented some interesting concerns. While gas prices spiked earlier this spring, they have really gone down over the past 6-8 weeks. Even in the Northwest, where refinery problems kept the price of gas well above the national average, the last 1-2 weeks has seen a dramatic drop.

The region's transit agencies - those that participate in ORCA plus Intercity Transit in Olympia - rewrote our joint news release several times because of those dropping gas prices. There are some regional calculations in that release, and each time we revised the "current" price of a gallon of gas, those calculations had to be redone.

For Community Transit, our biggest concern over promoting Dump the Pump Day was that our commuter routes are pretty full. Since our latest round of service cuts in February, there are not a lot of empty seats on our peak-hour buses. We didn't want to make a loud call to non-transit users to try transit for this one day only to have them stand the entire ride and not want to come back. Nor did we want to create an even more crowded commute for our loyal riders who have stood with us in these trying times. (The image above is from Dump the Pump 2009.)

So, Community Transit is using Dump the Pump Day to get people to think of their favorite "Summer Destinations" that they can get to on transit. We have a Destinations page on our website with information about bus service to some of the more popular places to go in Snohomish County. We also want to know where frequent or infrequent riders get to on our buses.

Chances are your favorite destination is not work, so we don't think this promotes more riders for those peak-hour trips. But even during our busiest times, not all buses are packed.

Where do you like to take the bus during the summer? What are some trips you didn't think were possible, but have found you can make on our buses?

"How Do I... ?" Watch and Learn.

by Karen Johnson, Design/Video Supervisor

Riders call us with lots of good questions.

“How do I catch a Swift bus?”
“What are my options for getting to Alderwood?”
“How do I load my bike on a bus?”

To provide another resource for our customers, Community Transit is creating Instructional Video Shorts for our website. These videos are about two minutes or less, and you'll be able to find them on our YouTube channel, in our Video Gallery and on topic-specific pages.

Video Shorts are easy to watch, with step-by-step instructions. Our first video short, “How to Use Our Trip Planner,” will show you how easy it is to plan your trip. Other topics you’ll find in the coming months include:

- ORCA
- How to Use Swift
- How to Buy Swift Tickets
- Riding The Double Tall
- Reading Schedules and Maps
- Bikes on Buses
- Transit Instruction Program

Our Customer Information Services division helps select the subject matter for our Instructional Video Shorts based on the questions they hear from riders. And the CIS staff is always available with personalized help for customers at (425) 353-RIDE (7433).

We’re always interested in more ways to help our customers. What are your ideas?
Can you suggest a topic that we should consider for our next quick instructional video?

Watch the video

Service Changes on Monday, Feb. 20

Next Monday, Community Transit bus service will change significantly.

For local riders in Snohomish County, there are major changes to the route network, as well as schedules. Several routes have been eliminated and others serve different destinations. Peak hour schedules (5:30-8:30 a.m. and 3:30-6 p.m.) will be largely the same, but off-peak schedules will have fewer trips, especially away from the urban areas. On Saturdays, buses will run less frequently than they have throughout the county.

Also, the latest any buses will operate is between 10-11 p.m.

For commute riders to downtown Seattle, several routes have been eliminated but most other routes remain the same, with fewer trips. Expect more riders on the remaining buses. Based on current ridership numbers, there should be seats for every rider if people store their belongings on their laps or beneath seats. Some trips may experience standing loads, especially in the afternoon when more people try to take the same bus back to Snohomish County.

Routes to UW are largely unchanged, except for some trip times.

If you have not planned your trip for next week (and maybe considered a Plan B), pick up a copy of the Bus Plus schedule book on buses or use the online Trip Planner. All new route schedules are available online, along with stop lists to tell you where the bus stops along each route.

While Monday is Presidents Day, there will not be a holiday schedule. All buses will run according to the new regular schedule. The Customer Information line (425 353-7433) will be open that day from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Community Transit employees will be at various locations to help people with their trips on Feb. 20 and 21.

Community Transit is reducing service because of low revenues due to the economy. The agency is pursuing new funding options during the State Legislative session.

Reality Check - Changes Coming!

Community Transit staff have been out at park & rides and on board buses reminding riders that a major service change will take place on Feb. 20. Many people are aware of this, and many have gone online or read the Guide to Service Change to see how their travel will be impacted. But there are still quite a few people out there who think these changes are negotiable and may not realize they are going to happen, soon!

To date, we have spoken to more than 1,700 riders about the upcoming service change. We get that number by adding the number of conversations we've had to the number of people on buses that we hop on and make an announcement. In some cases, we may have a five- or 10-minute conversation with someone waiting for their bus; in others there is a 25-second announcement that the changes are coming Feb. 20 and all the details are in the Guide to Service Change and on our website.

Given that we have about 40,000 boardings a day on our buses, that comes down to just south of 20,000 actual daily riders. We hope to speak to maybe 3-4,000 in person before the service change, and those people may talk to others. Through this blog, our electronic alerts (13,000+ subscribers), our website and our Facebook page, we hope the word is getting out to more. And, of course, everyone who rides the bus has a chance to see the materials on board.

But again, not everyone pays attention or realizes the urgency. Even on these pages we see commentors suggesting alternatives to the changes. It's always great to get feedback, but the public comment period for these changes took place last summer; these changes are final.

Maybe that fact will sink in when the printed Bus Plus schedule books arrive on buses later this week.

The changes are not perfect. Service cuts never make people happy. But nearly everyone should be able to still use our service with some adjustments. And we'll be making adjustments later this year. If a connection just is not working out, or trip times need to change, we can do that. For now, we are trying to make people aware that changes are coming, soon.

We'll be out by the Albertson's in Mukilteo, at the Ash Way Park & Ride and the Lynnwood Transit Center this week, and at Mariner Park & Ride, Boeing and Everett Station next week. What question will you be asking?

Where's My Bus?

Icy, Snowy Conditions Make It Difficult to Keep to Schedule

Day Three of the 2012 snow storm is nearly complete, and buses are still on the road. Demand has been down this week, but many, many people are relying on Community Transit buses to get to work or wherever they need to go.

Today, our local buses deviated from our regular schedule because many roads were in bad condition due to accumulated snow and ice, and because predictions for today were worse than what actually materialized.

A combination of factors led to this schedule: we can't use articulated buses on icy roads (unless we chain them but those chains then break or severely slow down the buses on clear roads); like any business, we don't get everyone to show up on bad weather days; and our buses are interlined so that one bus may serve, say Route 120 for a trip, then it turns into Route 118. With fewer buses running and trips taking longer, the trips we can actually provide is like a patchwork among our routes.

This is hard to message to riders. What we said this morning is that we'd serve the first and last trips on each route, and there would likely be some buses in between. Not too helpful. We encouraged people to call customer information to learn if a bus was running on their route.

The good news is that buses were running all day on all routes, just not on regular schedule. That also may not be very helpful if you're trying to figure out when to travel, but we were able to provide a lot of service today. We also got more than 1,800 phone calls as riders asked where their bus was. Again, we couldn't tell them where it was but at least could say there was one out there, on the way.

On Seattle commuter routes, the Double Talls have proven their value. Not only can they fit more people than a regular bus, but they operate just fine in these conditions. By replacing old articulated buses with these double deckers, we have greatly increased the capacity we have for commuter service on snow days.

We have, and will continue to send alerts on any reroutes or major changes to service. Those are also posted on our website as soon as we get the information. Like our drivers and maintenance crews, our customer service and communications staff are working long days to provide you service.

Weather Can Be Unpredictable

Last night, after a day of reroutes and bus delays from the snow that had fallen in parts of Snohomish County, we expected major revisions to today's (Tuesday's) bus service. Forecasters were calling for lots of snow overnight and into this morning.

On our website we put up an alert (as we do every night before bad weather) saying that service would be very limited, commuter buses would be first and last trip only, etc., etc. This morning, that all changed.

Buses were on regular routes and regular schedules today. But many people relied on last night's alert, and we were slow to change that. Our mistake. On top of all that, there was a glitch with our electronic alert vendor so the revised alert we sent out at 5 a.m. took up to an hour to reach some customers.

My point is, forecasts change. We are committed to keeping our website updated with the latest information so you can check just before you leave your house and know whether your bus is running, your route is diverted or you should expect delays. And, if you sign up for electronic alerts by route or park & ride, you should get that information sent to your email address or a text to your phone.

Despite having fewer communications staff available (one gone, one soon leaving due to the layoffs), we are dropping everything else on snow days to provide the most up-to-date information. Please keep riding!

New Schedules Online

The new bus schedules effective Feb. 20 are now online at the Community Transit website.

This is the piece of information many riders have been waiting for since the Board of Directions made a service change decision last September. With the schedules, riders will be able to see what times their bus will run, and how their transit connections might work once service has changed on Feb. 20.

Meanwhile, integrating the new schedule information with our online Trip Planner is a more complicated project, so you cannot yet plan a trip for Feb. 20 using that tool. That update will be complete in early February. That trip planning tool is the same one our customer information staff use, so until early February they will not be able to plan complex trips for after the service change.

In early February, Bus Plus schedule books will also be available on buses. Those books contain the print version of the schedules that you can now get online.

Last week, more detailed service change route information was made available online and on buses, and now schedules are available. Later this week, staff will begin an outreach effort to make sure riders are aware of the upcoming changes and answer questions. Community Transit staff will be at the Canyon Park Park & Ride this Thursday during the afternoon commute hours, then they will be at Edmonds Community College on Jan. 18 and Everett Station the morning of Jan. 19, weather permitting.

Riders with web access can get information easily through the Community Transit website. Discussions about the service change are going on here on the blog and on our Facebook page. Specific questions can always be sent to riders @ commtrans.org or asked via phone at (425) 353-7433 (RIDE).

February 2012 Route Information is Online

We are now several days into the new year and more details are available about the upcoming Feb. 20 service change. This is one of the largest service changes in our agency’s history—every route will be affected, although the commuter service to the University District will see only minor schedule changes.

In all, nine routes are being eliminated, 20 routes have changes to their routing and 29 routes will have fewer trips scheduled. There also will be two new routes, one in south county along 196th between Edmonds and Alderwood, and one in north county taking over the eastern portion of Route 240 between Smokey Point and Arlington.

The information now online is the same information that is in the Guide to Service Change that is going on buses this week. That booklet provides comprehensive information about the routing changes, trip reductions or frequency reductions, and tips for connections for each route. There are also maps for each route that has routing changes, and area maps to show how the service will connect in various geographic areas.

What the Guide to Service Change does not have are the specific schedules or bus stop lists for each route. Those will be available online soon, and the Bus Plus schedule books will be on buses at the beginning of February.

Here is an example of what information is in the Guide and online now:

Route 113: Mukilteo–Ash Way Park & Ride
Routing Changes - Map (shown above):
• Revised route ends at Ash Way Park & Ride instead of Lynnwood Transit Center.
• No service south of 164th Street.
Weekday Schedule: Daytime frequency reduced from every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes.
Saturday Service: Frequency reduced from every 30 minutes to every hour.
Connecting Routes: Swift, Routes 101, 112, 115, 116, 119, 201, 202, 413, 415, 417, 810, 860, 880, 885, 511, 532, Everett Transit, Sounder, Washington State Ferries.
Route 113 Rider Tips:
• Routes 112 and 113 will connect at Ash Way Park & Ride instead of Lynnwood.
• For service to Alderwood mall or Lynnwood Transit Center, passengers can transfer at 164th Street & 35th Ave. or Ash Way Park & Ride to Routes 115, 116, 201 or 202, all of which have frequent service.

The map shows the new routing, along with what section has been deleted. The rider tips explain that riders wanting to get to Alderwood, Lynnwood Transit Center or the Lynnwood Civic Center can transfer to specific buses to get there.

What riders will discover as they begin to use the newly designed service is that Route 113 now connects to the Ash Way Park & Ride, which has connections all over the county and to Seattle so there are new opportunities. It will take some getting used to, but our planners, faced with the financial reality of cutting 20 percent of our service, redesigned many routes to shorten trips, connect to other service and open up new opportunities.

Because some riders will need to transfer when they didn’t need to before, it is even more important for people to get an ORCA card if they don’t have one. With ORCA, your fare is transferred to any other trip you take in the next two hours.

In the coming days, and for the next two months, we’ll have more information here and on the website about the Feb. 20 service change.

When Your CEO is your Talent: Delivering the Service Change Message

By Karen Johnson, Video & Design Supervisor

“Joyce, please do that line over again and pause after the word ‘customers.’”

The talent, Joyce Eleanor, is our CEO. The video team - two of her employees from Customer Relation’s Marketing Division - create the concept, draft the script, produce, direct and edit the production, and then post it to the website. The topic is the upcoming February 2012 Service Change.

Joyce is a passionate and effective communicator. As the face of our agency, she speaks from her heart. Her message is authentic because she’s talking about the agency she leads, and the employees - her employees - who have lost their jobs. She has listened to the riders who are deeply impacted by the service cuts. Any other spokesperson would be unacceptable.

Producing a video to deliver information about service changes is just one way we use video on our website as a tool for our customers. We have also developed How to Ride videos in several languages for our customers, as well as another to become familiar with Swift bus rapid transit. Community Transit riders and civic leaders also contributed their own video storytelling testimonials in their own words.

Community Transit’s training division uses our videos during employee orientation to acquaint new staff with policies and agency culture. Plans for 2012 include instructional video shorts – brief, simple videos that demonstrate how to use our Trip Planner, how to use Swift, and a variety of other useful services. We recently created an online Video Gallery that contains all the videos we’ve produced.

Videos provide the opportunity for broad messaging in a timely manner to our many audiences.
And because we produce the videos entirely in-house, we are able to be responsive and accurate, at no cost to the agency other than staff resources.

“Cut! Great job, Joyce. But I need you to do that line one more time.”

Buying Local Can Help Spark the Economy

About this time last year, Community Transit launched the Buy Local for Transit campaign. The point is to encourage our bus riders and the general public to shop within our Snohomish County service area to generate revenues for our agency through sales tax (9 cents of every $10 taxable purchase goes to Community Transit). In addition to preventing future service cuts, that business activity also helps local businesses, local cities and the local economy.

If you have read our draft six-year Transit Development Plan, you know that our forecasts project very modest economic growth over the next six years. With that, there are no plans to increase transit service. Unless the economy rebounds.

It would be hard to measure the success of this campaign since any increase in sales tax revenue can be attributed to many factors, but we know the premise is sound. Increased spending in our service district helps our bottom line.

Community Transit has put Buy Local for Transit decals on our all our buses, created a webpage for the program and we describe our efforts in boilerplate language at the end of all our press releases that we send to local media.

A few of our buses have a larger Buy Local for Transit wrap that prominently touts the program everywhere they travel.

We know this is a good message because it is positive, economically upbeat and is a call to action. The idea came from rider suggestions when we held our community meetings for the 2010 service cuts. Concerned riders asked what could they do to help our agency. As we considered what riders could do we came up with this solution: buy local, generate sales tax.

As the holiday season approaches and many of our riders and their families and friends are out shopping, the message is more important than ever. Buy local, support your community and support Community Transit.

Prepare for Winter Weather

by Tom Pearce, Public Information Specialist

Perhaps you’ve heard that “a butterfly flaps its wings in China, and it rains in Brazil.” That’s how it is for Community Transit when it comes to snow.

We cover 1,300 square miles of Snohomish County. That can mean some long trips, like Route 201 between Smokey Point and Lynnwood. Snow throws a wrench in the works. We’ve seen days with six inches of snow north of Marysville and none in south county. So the bus starting at Smokey Point needs chains and is delayed. As it moves out of the snow zone, the chains need to come off. More delays. And in the end, people in Lynnwood are wondering, “Why is our bus late?”

That’s why we post Rider Alerts on our website when snow is expected. The first alert may be a general warning. Once the flakes fly, we’re on it, day and night. If snow falls overnight, we post our first alert by 5 a.m. and continue throughout the day into the evening. Every time something changes in local service, we post an alert. For commuters, there’s the 5 a.m. alert followed by a report by 2 p.m. outlining the evening commute. By 8 p.m. we have a forecast for the following morning’s commute, when we’re back at it with a more detailed 5 a.m. report.

We also offer an electronic alert system that sends notices by email or text. We'll send the same general alert out to all subscribers as we post on the website, but if your route's routing or schedule changes during the day we'll let you know.

The addition of 23 double decker buses to our commuter fleet should improve service in the snow. These Double Talls replaced our oldest 60-foot articulated buses. The 42-foot Double Talls can operate like any standard bus in slippery conditions. Artics can jack-knife easily when it’s icy, so the few times a year we get snow, we often pull them from service. That’s also why on snowy days you may see regular 30-or 40-foot buses running on Swift.

If it does snow, check our website for major delays before you head out. Dress warmly, because buses likely will be delayed if snow is sticking to the roads. And remember, just because it’s not sticking in your neighborhood, it may be elsewhere. Check to see if we’re on a reroute, or try to get to main roads, where service can operate more easily. If your stop is on a hill, wait at the top or bottom of the hill and flag down the driver; buses can be hard to stop or start mid-hill when it’s icy.

We’re ready for winter weather at Community Transit. If it snows, we want you to feel comfortable that you can rely on the bus to get you where you need to go.

Same Alternatives, New Mix for 2012 Changes

Just as the Hybrid Alternative (see previous post) is a mixture of existing proposals to reduce service, our revised "2012 System Changes" web page provides new ways to view existing information. Both the Hybrid and the web page have some differences compared to the originals which we hope are improvements.

New information now posted on the system change pages includes:

Potential Board Action on 2012 System Change

One of the action items on the Aug. 4 Community Transit Board of Directors meeting agenda is the February 2012 System Change - the proposed service cuts for next year.

Although this is a scheduled action item, depending on the board discussion there may or may not be a vote.

Over the past two weeks, since a July 21 board workshop on the service alternatives and public comment, a new hybrid alternative has emerged. Details are available on the website, but in a nutshell the hybrid alternative combines the commuter network of Alternative I with the local route network of Alternative III, with some modifications.

Board Continues Consideration of Service Cut Alternatives

The Community Transit Board of Directors met July 21 to discuss the 2012 system change alternatives and go over public comment that was received since June 3.

The board is expected to make a decision on a final plan no later than September 1. Once a decision is made there will be a great deal of work required to implement the changes. New maps and schedules will need to be developed, necessary staffing levels must be determined and a major public education effort will take place before the service change occurs in February 2012.

The July 21 workshop featured several presentations and a lively discussion that did not arrive at any consensus as to what the final service plan will be.

Good Financial Reporting Keeps Transit Accountable

Anyone wanting to know how Community Transit really spends the taxpayer’s money can view the “Comprehensive Annual Financial Report” (CAFR) on the budget page of our website. We just posted the 2010 version last week after the completion of our six-week annual audit by the Washington State Auditor’s Office.


Community Transit received a letter of congratulations for 16 straight years of clean audits from State Auditor Brian Sonntag.