Transit ridership patterns in Snohomish County during COVID-19

Across Snohomish County our agency tracks transit ridership in real time, allowing a view into how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted transit use. Two weeks into Governor Jay Inslee’s “Stay Healthy, Stay Home” proclamation, overall ridership on buses had decreased by approximately 70 percent.

Since April 1, ridership levels have remained steady at about 11,000 riders (29% of normal levels) each weekday, 7,500 (60% of normal levels) on Saturdays and 6,000 (67% of normal levels) on Sundays.

However, looking at our ridership levels map which compares February 2020 to April 2020, the decreases in ridership vary widely across our county. According to Roland Behee, Community Transit’s Director of Planning, the changes in ridership correspond to different ridership groups and the types of service available in each area.

Click to enlarge

I asked Roland for some insights into the patterns we’re seeing in transit use during this unprecedented time.

What routes have seen the lowest change in ridership?

Our Swift Bus Rapid Transit and rural routes have maintained the highest percentage of ridership. Prior on-board surveys and socioeconomic analysis have found that rural routes serve areas with limited travel options that can be supportive of transit ridership. Swift service, on the other hand, runs through areas of higher population density with many popular destinations along the corridors. We also know that many Swift riders in the past have reported that many do not own cars, so it remains a very convenient travel mode with more frequent service than other routes.

What about ridership on routes that connect to our core, higher-frequency service?

With the service reductions, Community Transit has tried to maintain service coverage so individuals in all of our communities can still use transit to meet their essential needs. Moreover, many of these routes allow transfers to and from our Swift service, which remains at almost 10-minute frequencies and provides access to some of the County’s most popular areas.

And what about commuter-focused routes to King County?

Since the University of Washington closed and many downtown Seattle workers have been asked to work from home, these routes have seen the biggest difference compared to normal ridership levels. Even now, though, we know people need to travel to fulfill their essential roles and we’re seeing approximately 425 riders per day traveling on these routes. It’s important to remember that we are accommodating for physical distancing on our buses and providing options for riders may not have any other way to get to their employment, go food shopping, or pick up their children from childcare. Moving forward we’re looking at options for service to match ridership demand while always keeping the safety of our customers and drivers as our number one priority.

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Washington State’s phased reopening plan will likely result in incremental increases in transit use. Please subscribe to rider alerts or follow us on social media for updates about possible changes in service levels. For more information on our actions responding to COVID-19, please visit our dedicated page: Community Transit Coronavirus updates.

Snohomish County Food Resources

There are many people in our community that face challenges putting food on the table.

Food distribution centers and food banks aid individuals and families in preventing hunger by providing free food items to be prepared at home.

Washington Food Needs

·       1 in 5 children live in a household that struggles to put food on the table.

·       1 in 5 Washingtonians rely on their local food bank.

·       Washington is the 23^rd hungriest state in the nation.

Due to COVID-19, some people in our community may be visiting a food bank for the first time. During uncertain times, challenges preventing hunger can feel intensified. To help with this challenge we’ve gathered some community resources to help the fight against hunger:

If you or someone you know is in need of food, please contact Snohomish County Food Bank Coalition for information about the 21 food banks located within Snohomish County.

There are also many school district-related food distribution sites for students and anyone under the age of 18, at no cost, in Snohomish County. Those locations are listed here: Snohomish County School Districts are Offering Meals at no cost for Children at many locations.

The City of Everett and Snohomish County are leading a regional effort to recruit volunteers to assist at food banks and meal distribution sites throughout Everett and Snohomish County. If you are in the position to give back to your community and volunteer for a local food bank, please visit: https://everettwa.gov/formcenter/emergency-management-21/2020-volunteer-for-local-food-banks-and--326.

Community Transit has several bus routes that are within walking distance of food banks in Snohomish County. For a list and the bus routes to get to them, please visit: https://www.communitytransit.org/foodbanks.

In Their Own Words: I am an Essential Worker Who Depends on Public Transit

We read all the comments we receive on social media, email and phone calls. A month into #StayHomeStaySafe during this time of COVID-19, this comment caught our eye:

When we saw that, we reached out to Melanie. Here are her words:

"I have used Community Transit for the last three years; at first it was confusing and scary for this now almost 55-year-old.

Melanie Wentz

Thanks to your wonderful drivers, I now navigate five days a week (and sometimes more) successfully! I can even go to Puyallup and Tacoma on an enjoyable bus ride (seems like an adventure!) to visit family.

I work at Haggens in Lake Stevens and I'm a cashier. Your drivers are thoughtful and take good care of me-- without them I couldn't keep my job. I've worked for Haggens since 1997. It's like my second home. Without Community Transit, I wouldn't have my job.

Again, thank you for taking care of me during this time and during normal times. You are amazing!”
~ Melanie Wentz

Thank you, Melanie, for trusting us to get you to work.

Do you rely on public transit to get to your essential service job? Please share your experience by commenting below.

Message to our Customers from CEO Emmett Heath: We’re All in This Together

As we have shared over the past few days, our top priority right now is to provide a safe ride for our customers and a safe working environment for our employees. We are continuing to provide our normal level of service and hope to do so for as long as we can.

Today, I would also like to take a moment to thank all of the Community Transit employees and contractors who are working tirelessly to ensure we maintain safe and dependable service during this time. While our bus drivers are the primary face of our agency, we have hundreds of employees you may never meet who are working long hours during this time. Our entire agency is committed and focused on doing whatever we can to pitch in and provide critical services to you.

Many of these staff members cannot do their jobs from home. I want to share a special note of recognition to these front-line employees who are coming to work every day to keep our operations running smoothly, from drivers, dispatchers, mechanics, technical teams, Ambassador team and facilities crews to our road supervisors and customer care team helping riders at stops, over the phone, and at the RideStore; thank you. 

If you haven’t already, please take a moment to read our most recent customer communication (March 13) that details our current disinfection protocols and our request that you partner with us in preventing the spread of COVID-19. We are also keeping our website updated with key information for riders and our communities.

Community Transit is made up of an incredible team of people who are committed to the community, to you and to each other. I am humbled to be their colleague.

If you’re on the bus today, please remember to follow social distancing guidelines with both your fellow riders and your bus driver. If you can, take a moment to say thank you to your bus driver, even from six feet away. Wednesday March 18 is Transit Driver Appreciation Day and I hope you will join me in expressing our deep gratitude to our drivers.

We are all in this together. Whether or not you are still using our services or are able to stay home during this time, we wish you good health for the weeks and months ahead.  

Emmett

Emmett Heath

CEO, Community Transit

Coronavirus Update: Staying Informed

Our ongoing commitment to providing a safe ride for both our customers and our employees is our top priority. In addition to our weekly cleaning practices, we continue to disinfect all buses daily using a backpack sprayer and spray down all hard surfaces with the disinfectant Virex II 256, specifically to address COVID-19.

We ask that all riders partner with us in preventing the spread of coronavirus by following this guidance:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. Hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol will do if soap and water are not available.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw tissue in the trash and wash your hands.
• Avoid touching your mouth, nose, and eyes with unwashed hands to avoid transferring germs.
• Clean and disinfect frequently used surfaces, like counters, light switches and doorknobs.
• Stay home when you are sick and avoid close contact with others.

This week, the Governor provided guidance to transportation agencies, asking for agencies to do everything possible to encourage space between people. 

As our ridership has declined, this has naturally allowed for more space between riders. We will continue to monitor ridership daily and are working to ensure, to the best of our ability, that we are able to provide the ongoing transportation service that our customers need. We remain committed to providing current service levels as long as we are able to do so.

Providing a safe transit journey requires a partnership with our riders. Please visit our webpage where we will post updates on how we're working with local agencies to keep our communities healthy. We are also providing links to local health authorities should you have questions or concerns about the coronavirus.

Please Subscribe to free electronic alerts by email and/or texts and Follow @MyCommTrans on Twitter. Visit our blog to learn more about how we are responding to coronavirus/COVID-19 concerns.

Our top priorities are to continue service to the public and to keep our employees healthy and safe. Thank you for your patience and partnering with us to help prevent the spread of illness.

Coronavirus Update: How we’re responding to COVID-19 concerns

By Laurel McJannet

Be it by bus, paratransit, or vanpool, Community Transit provides vital transportation services. We transport people within Snohomish County, as well as to and from locations in King County.

Understandably, you may be feeling anxious and concern about the safety of public transit as the news of COVID-19 novel coronavirus continues to be in the headlines, social media and the topic of conversation with family and friends. We take these concerns very seriously.

Staying Informed

Updates and news about COVID-19 is changing rapidly. We are evaluating the situation daily and follow guidance provided by local health authorities. Our goal is to apply best practices to keep our customers and employees healthy. If you have questions and concerns about coronavirus, we encourage you to contact the local health authorities:

• Snohomish Health District (public health district for Snohomish County)
• Washington State Department of Health (Washington state government)
• Call Center: 1-800-525-0127, then press #
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. government)

Backpacks charge in preparation
for nightly bus disinfection.

Updated cleaning procedures

Last week we updated our vehicle cleaning procedures to include nightly disinfecting of all high-touch areas in all our buses. We want to ensure clean surfaces each morning to assist our riders in having a safe journey to their destination. If you have any concerns or observe a bus or vehicle that needs attention, please alert a transit employee right away.

Communication

Providing a safe transit journey requires a partnership with our riders in helping to prevent the spread of illness. We have messages available on our buses and online:

·      We’ve placed posters from the Snohomish Health District aboard all buses and at transit centers to remind everyone how they can keep themselves and others healthy.

·      For updates and to check out our FAQs, please visit our dedicated webpage at https://www.communitytransit.org/coronavirus.

·      Join us on Facebook for our Community Transit Live webcasts to ask questions. We will have our regularly scheduled webcast on Tuesday, March 10 at Noon (https://www.facebook.com/communitytransit/videos/1089224144751532/) We will also have a webcast every Tuesday in the month of March.

Postponing non-essential meetings

Based on the latest guidance from the Snohomish Health District, Community Transit is postponing in-person, non-essential events and meetings that are open to the general public, whether on- or off-site, until after March 31. Exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis.

Our top priorities are to continue service to the public and to keep our employees healthy and safe. Thank you for partnering with us to help prevent the spread of illness. And, stay well!

BusFinder is BETA and BETTER

By Laurel McJannet

As of Noon today, our website looks different-- and that's by design.

BusFinder BETA is now live on communitytransit.org

Community Transit's web app, BusFinder, was introduced in the spring of 2014. It was the agency’s first app, allowing customers to access real-time information to help plan trips and locate our buses

Since then, technology on our buses has improved and the data provided is more accurate. Our customers have asked for (and need) better web experiences, visually and functionally, to get from where they are to where they want to be.

With all this in mind, we've rebuilt BusFinder from the ground up and now everyone can give it a test drive on communitytransit.org.

The BETA testing period kicks off today, Thursday February 20 and will last 4-6 weeks to gather feedback and identify bugs. We invite you to put BusFinder BETA through its paces and tell us what you think!

There are a total of 25 enhancements made to BusFinder and you can read all about them (and check out the FAQs) at communitytransit.org/busfinderbeta.

The video snippet below shows how some key enhancements look on BusFinder BETA (Note: the video has been sped up for this example-- buses will not be blinking on the map!)

• Buses on the map indicate that the bus is transmitting "live," real-time data.

• Data refreshes every 30 seconds, resulting in the buses moving on the map.

• Your current location is shown as the shaded circle (as long as your location services activated on your device.)

• Buses showing real-time data have a green "LIVE" icon in its route listing. To see the route from end-to-end with more information, just click on the ">".

We are very excited about this new BusFinder BETA and hope it brings useful, easy to understand, timely information to help make your bus ride better. 

So, what do you think? Will you try BusFinder BETA? How does it compare with other transit apps? Tell us in the comments!