As promised on Tuesday, Pierce Transit yesterday released their plan for spending a proposed additional 0.3% sales tax. It has the same number of service hours as the old “growth” plan, but apparently the distribution is a bit different.
The website breaks out the impact — in path and frequency — for every route in the system. Kudos to PT for the tremendously informative website, of which I hope Metro takes note in their next big service change.
I can’t say anything intelligent about these routes, but Tacoma Tomorrow sure can.
The new plan has some very good changes for those of us on the North side of Tacoma. For years, Pierce Transit has responded to declining ridership in the North End by cutting our routes. The original “growth” plan would have cut off nearly all service to Point Defiance and between the universities, community colleges and high schools.
In response to some pretty severe criticism, the new plan will keep the North End’s routes largely intact and increase their frequency, from 30 minutes during peak hours to 15 or 20. Additionally, the number 13 will be restructured to run from downtown through Stadium and Old Town and then to the Proctor business district, and back through the University of Puget Sound to downtown. This route will connect some of the most beautiful parts of Tacoma, (yes, there are beautiful parts of Tacoma!) and allow transit riders to get directly to the Ruston Way beaches from the North End for the first time.
Hopefully, with more frequent trips the 16, 11, and 13 will actually connect with Sound Transit, which would make a bus commute a great deal more palatable for people who might otherwise choose to drive. Currently, the routes to the North End more often than not pull out just ahead of the ST Express and it’s a half hour wait on a very ugly street for the next one. Unsurprisingly, most people just drive.
I’m excited about it, I just hope the ballot initiative passes and Pierce Transit didn’t break too many eggs with their first proposal.