DRAFT 2019

Table of Contents
Section Page

Introduction........................................................................................................................ 1
Priorities & Strategies for 2019-2024..................................................................... 3
The Agency.......................................................................................................................... 5
Physical Plant and Properties ..................................................................................... 8
Service Characteristics & Fares............................................................................... 13
2018 Activities & Accomplishments ..................................................................... 24
2019-2024 Services, Programs, Facilities & Equipment .............................. 34
Financial Plan.................................................................................................................. 47
Appendix A: Environmental Determination of Non-Significance ...................... 51
Appendix B: Public Comments .......................................................................................... 53
Appendix C: Fuel Consumption and Accident Data.................................................. 54
 Introduction
The Transit Development Plan (TDP) is required by Washington State, Revised Code of

INTRODUCTION
Washington (RCW) 35.58.2795. The plan is updated annually and submitted to the
Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

Our plan summarizes accomplishments from the past calendar year, documents agency
goals and strategies for the current and following five years, identifies needed resources
and provides a financial forecast. The 2019 TDP provides a summary of activities and
accomplishments for 2018 and outlines goals and strategies for 2019-2024.

The Washington State Transportation Plan provides six goals to guide and prioritize the
activities of public agencies in developing and maintaining the transportation system.
Community Transit’s Guiding Principles describe core values for the agency that inform
how we prioritize and accomplish work to achieve the agency’s mission of helping
people get from where they are to where they want to be. These Principles align closely
with, and work to implement, WSDOT’s Transportation Goals:

WSDOT State Transportation Goals:

 Economic vitality – To promote and develop transportation systems that

stimulate, support and enhance the movement of people and goods to ensure a
prosperous economy.
 Preservation – To maintain, preserve, and extend the life and utility of prior
investments in transportation systems and services.
 Safety – To provide for and improve the safety and security of transportation
customers and the transportation system.
 Mobility – To improve the predictable movement of goods and people throughout
Washington State.
 Environment – To enhance Washington’s quality of life through transportation
investments that promote energy conservation, enhance healthy communities,
and protect the environment.
 Stewardship – To continuously improve the quality, effectiveness and efficiency
of the transportation system.

1 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Community Transit’s Guiding Principles:

 Customer Focus - We create a convenient, easy and positive customer

experience.

INTRODUCTION
 Safety/Security/Environmental Stewardship - We keep people, property and
environment safe and secure.
 Operational Excellence - We deliver and continuously improve high quality
products and services.
 Financial Stewardship - We make every dollar count for the benefit of our
community.
 Employee Experience - We value and inspire each other to achieve our mission.
 Equity and Inclusion – We align our policies, practices and resources so
everyone has genuine opportunities to fully participate and thrive.
 Civic Engagement - We partner with others to build vibrant communities.
 Planning for the Future - We connect insights, ideas, and innovation to guide us
toward our vision.

2 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 Priorities & Strategies for 2019-2024

GOALS & STRATEGIES

Community Transit’s highest priorities over the next six years are to:

 Provide easy access and connectivity to Sound Transit’s Link light rail
 Innovate to improve products and services that make travel easy and safe for all

Sound Transit’s Link light rail expansion is a multi-

billion-dollar investment that is changing the way
people travel. The arrival of Link light rail in
Snohomish County in 2024 will create opportunity
and drive increased customer demand for transit –
connecting Snohomish County to King County and
travel throughout the region.

The travel needs of our communities are changing

with increasing growth, development and traffic as
well as emergence of new technology, and mobility
options. Access to Link light rail and innovation and
improvement of our products and services will
encompass mass transit BRT and regular fixed-
route bus as well as vanpool and DART paratransit
(See Figure 2-1). Research and development is
also underway for new and flexible transportation
options that will connect communities in new ways,
FIGURE 2-1
providing services that will both integrate with and
provide alternatives to bus, BRT, commuter rail and light rail.

Two important strategies that will enable Community Transit to deliver on our priorities
are:

 Investing in the employee experience

 Modernizing and expanding our base facilities to support growth

Employees are Community Transit’s most valuable assets. Every day, hundreds of
dedicated people work hard to operate vehicles, maintain engines, clean park & rides,
help customers plan their journey, alert riders to changing conditions, operate radios,
provide for safety and security, purchase new equipment, and plan and design new
services. Community Transit is known as an employer of choice, providing a great

3 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

working environment and placing a high value on employee satisfaction. Continuing to
invest in a high-quality employee experience will be vital to delivering service and
operational excellence as the agency expands over the next six years.

GOALS & STRATEGIES

Modernizing and expanding our base facilities is required for ongoing expansion of
service and the larger fleet and workforce that will operate and support it.

Community Transit’s 2019-2024 TDP is a $1.5 billion service and capital plan focused
on implementing these priorities and strategies. The following sections describe the
specific initiatives, projects, programs, services, facilities and resources included in this
plan.

4 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 The Agency

THE AGENCY
Community Transit is a special-purpose, municipal corporation providing public
transportation services. In 1976, Snohomish County voters created Community Transit
with an approved sales tax to support a public transportation benefit area authority
(PTBA). Today, the PTBA encompasses most of urbanized Snohomish County,
excluding the city of Everett.

As of April 1, 2018, Community Transit’s PTBA has 587,366 residents, about 73 percent
of Snohomish County’s population (Figure 3-1). The remainder of the county’s
population resides in Everett (111,200) and in less populated areas of north and east
Snohomish County.

FIGURE 3-1

5 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Community Transit’s Governing Body
Community Transit’s governing body is a Board of Directors consisting of nine voting
members from within the PTBA and one non-voting member as follows:

THE AGENCY
 Two members of the Snohomish County Council
 Two elected officials from cities Community Transit serves with populations
of 35,000 or more
 Three elected officials from cities Community Transit serves with
populations between 15,000 and 35,000
 Two elected officials from cities Community Transit serves with populations
of less than 15,000
 One non-voting labor representative selected by the unions who represent
some Community Transit employees.

2019 Board of Directors

6 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Community Transit’s 2019 budget provides for 807 full-time equivalent employees (FTE)
in eight departments (Figure 3-2, Table 3-1).

Corporate Organizational Chart

THE AGENCY
Board of Chief Executive
Directors Office

Legal Council Chief of Staff

Communications Customer Planning &

Administration Maintenance Transportation Technology
& Public Affairs Experience Development

Administrative Capital Application &

Communication Customer Care Facilities Operations
Coordination Development Data Services

Controller,
Government Customer Contracted Programs &
Budget & Administration Infrastructure
Relations Experience Services Projects
Accounting

Staff
Public Affairs Vanpool & TDM Planning Vehicles IT Architecture
Development

Regional
Human Transit
Digital Products Programs &
Resources Technology
Projects

Procurement & NOC & Service

Marketing
Parts Operations

Risk
Management &
Security

FIGURE 3-2

Approved Mid-Year
Employees (Full Time Equivalents) 2018 Actuals 2019 Budget
Operations 484 519
Vehicle Maintenance 102 102
Facilities Maintenance 19 24
Administration 153.5 162.5
Contractor – First Transit 68.5 93
Contractor – Homage Senior Services 83 86.5
Contractor – Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office 18.5 19.5
Total FTEs Agency/Contractors 758.5/173.5 839.5/173.5
TABLE 3-1

7 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 Physical Plant and Properties
Operations/Administration

PROPERTIES
Community Transit’s primary operating and maintenance functions
and corporate administrative offices are located at the Merrill
Creek Operating Base at 7100 Hardeson Road, Everett,
Washington.

Contracted bus service and vanpool/fleet vehicle maintenance,

in addition to administrative offices, are located at the Kasch
Park Operating Base at 2300 Kasch Park Road, Everett,
Washington.

Facilities maintenance and distribution/storage are located at

the Kasch Park Casino Road site at 2312 W. Casino Road,
Everett, Washington.

Community Transit’s Ride Store provides

ORCA fare card and Regional Reduced Fare Permit (RRFP)
sales and information as well as Lost and Found services. The
Ride Store is located at the Lynnwood Transit Center at 20110
46th Avenue W, Lynnwood, Washington.

Park & Rides and Transit Centers

Community Transit serves 29 park & rides and
transit centers with parking capacity for almost
8,000 automobiles and 175 bicycles (Table 4-1,
Table 4-2). Major facilities (defined by the Puget
Sound Regional Council as more than 250 spaces)
are located in southwest Snohomish County from
Everett to the King County line. Smaller park &
rides with 250 and fewer spaces are located in north and east Snohomish County.
Eastmont and South Everett park & rides are served by Sound Transit and Everett
Transit only.

There are also 15 park & pool lots in Snohomish County with a total of 494 parking
stalls. The park & pool at I-5 and SR-531 is owned by Washington State Department of
Transportation (WSDOT). The remaining 14 park & pools are leased by Community

8 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Transit from churches and other private parties. Some park & pools are near
Community Transit fixed-route service and provide a parking alternative to some of the
larger and more crowded park & ride facilities. All park & pools provide a convenient
gathering place for formation of carpools and vanpools.

PROPERTIES
Major Park & Rides & Transit Centers
(Park & Rides with 250 or more parking stalls, Transit Centers with frequent bus service, sorted by size)
Car
Name Owner Service Providers Maintenance Bicycle1
Stalls
Lynnwood Transit Center WSDOT/ST Community Transit/ST Sound Transit 1,370 32
Community Transit/ Everett
Everett Station Everett 1,188 10+
ET/ST/SKAT/IT Transit
Community
Ash Way Park & Ride WSDOT Community Transit/ST 1,037 22
Transit
Mountlake Terrace Transit Community Transit/ Community
WSDOT 877 13
Center & Freeway Station ST/KCM Transit
Community
Mariner Park & Ride WSDOT Community Transit/ET 653 4
Transit
Community
Swamp Creek Park & Ride WSDOT Community Transit 422 2
Transit
Snohomish Community
McCollum Park Park & Ride Community Transit 409 8
County Transit
South Everett Freeway Station WSDOT ST/ET Sound Transit 398
Eastmont Park & Ride WSDOT ST/ET Sound Transit 387
Community
Canyon Park Park & Ride WSDOT Community Transit/ST 286 10
Transit /ST
Community
Edmonds Park & Ride WSDOT Community Transit 256 6
Transit
Community Transit/
Aurora Village Transit Center* KCM KCM 202*
KCM
Edmonds Community College Community
EdCC Community Transit 0
Transit Center Transit
Community Community
Edmonds Station (bus facility) Community Transit 0
Transit Transit
Community Community Transit/ Community
Seaway Transit Center 0 10
Transit ET/KCM/ST/Boeing Transit
Community Community
Smokey Point Transit Center Community Transit 0 16
Transit Transit
TABLE 4-1
1 Bicycle storage is in the form of lockers and racks: there are 5 bike spaces per bicycle rack.

Service Provider: ST = Sound Transit, ET = Everett Transit, IT = Island Transit, KCM = King County Metro, SKAT =
Skagit Transit
WSDOT = Washington State Department of Transportation

*Aurora Village Transit Center is listed under major facilities due to the regional nature of this hub and the frequency
of service.

9 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 Smaller Park & Rides
(Less than 250 parking stalls sorted by size)
Car
Name Owner Service Providers Maintenance Bicycles1
Stalls

PROPERTIES
Marysville Cedar and Grove Community Community
Community Transit 222 18
Park & Ride Transit Transit
Community Community
Lake Stevens Transit Center Community Transit 207 13
Transit Transit
Community
Marysville Ash Ave Park & Ride WSDOT Community Transit 202 8
Transit
Stanwood/
Community
Stanwood I-5 Park & Ride Snohomish Community Transit 147 6
Transit
County
Community
Monroe Park & Ride WSDOT Community Transit 102 2
Transit
Community
Snohomish Park & Ride WSDOT Community Transit 101 2
Transit
Community
Marysville I South Park & Ride WSDOT Community Transit 74
Transit
Community Transit / Community
Stanwood 267th Park & Ride WSDOT 73
Island Transit Transit
Marysville II 116th & I-5 Park & Community
WSDOT Community Transit 48
Ride Transit
Community
Sultan Park & Ride WSDOT Community Transit 38
Transit
Community
Gold Bar Park & Ride WSDOT Community Transit 30
Transit
Community
Arlington Park & Ride WSDOT Community Transit 25
Transit/WSDOT
Brier Freedom Park Park & Ride Brier Community Transit Brier 18
TABLE 4-2
1 Bicycle storage is in the form of lockers and racks: there are 5 bike spaces per bicycle rack.

10 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 Park & Pools (sorted by size)

Name Jurisdiction Owner Maintenance Stalls

PROPERTIES
Renew Church Snohomish County Private Party Owner Provided 75

Advent Lutheran Church Mill Creek Private Party Owner Provided 62

United Presbyterian Church of

Edmonds Private Party Owner Provided 58
Seattle

Smokey Point Community Church Arlington Private Party Owner Provided 50

Holy Cross Lutheran Church Lake Stevens Private Party Owner Provided 35

Cypress Semiconductor Lynnwood Private Party Owner Provided 31

Mill Creek Community Church Snohomish County Private Party Owner Provided 30

Bethesda Lutheran Church Mountlake Terrace Private Party Owner Provided 30

Marysville United Methodist

Marysville Private Party Owner Provided 25
Church

North Creek Presbyterian Church Mill Creek Private Party Owner Provided 23

Seattle Meditation Center Mountlake Terrace Private Party Owner Provided 22

Calvary Chapel Marysville Private Party Owner Provided 20

Edmonds Lutheran Church (84th

Edmonds Private Party Owner Provided 13
Ave)

Ebenezer Lutheran Church Lake Stevens Private Party Owner Provided 10

Edgewood Baptist Church Edmonds Private Party Owner Provided 10

TABLE 4-3

11 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 Bus Stops & Swift Stations
Community Transit buses serve over 1,600 stops in Snohomish and King Counties.
Almost 400 of these bus stops are equipped with passenger shelters. In addition to
regular bus stops, Community Transit’s system includes 66 Swift BRT stations with

PROPERTIES
raised platforms, passenger shelters, benches and off-board fare payment. (Figure 4-1)

FIGURE 4-1

12 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 Service Characteristics & Fares

SERVICES & FARES

Community Transit operates three transportation modes and provides transportation
demand management and educational services.

Fixed-Route
Community Transit operates regular fixed-route bus service which connects the majority
of communities in Snohomish County as well as peak period commuter services to
major destinations like Everett Boeing, the University District and downtown Seattle.
Community Transit’s local bus routes operate 365 days a year. Commuter services
operate during peak commute hours on weekdays.

Fares were most recently changed on July 1, 2019 (Table 5-1).

Reduced Fares
Adult Youth ORCA LIFT (low income)
(19-64) (6-18) RRFP (Seniors-65+, Disabled, Medicare)
Swift BRT $2.50 $1.75 $1.25
Local (100 & 200 series routes) $2.50 $1.75 $1.25
Commuter (400 & 800 series $4.25 $3.00 $2.00
routes)
TABLE 5-1

Community Transit is Sound Transit’s contractor for operation of Sound Transit

Regional Express Bus Service between Snohomish and King Counties.

Most Community Transit bus service is directly operated by Community Transit

employees out of the Merrill Creek Operating Base in southwest Everett. A portion of
Community Transit’s commuter routes to downtown Seattle and all Community Transit-
contracted Sound Transit Regional Express Bus routes are operated under contract
with First Transit, Inc. out of the Kasch Park Operating Base in southwest Everett.

In 2011, Community Transit adopted a Long Range Transit Plan (LRTP) to guide our
long term vision and future service goals for the next 20 plus years. The LRTP further
describes the fixed-route network as consisting of Core, Community-Based and
Commuter services. Maps showing the geographic extent of these service types and
descriptions of key characteristics follow.

13 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

  CORE SERVICE
Community Transit provides frequent
service on Transit Emphasis

SERVICES & FARES

Corridors, including Swift Bus Rapid
Transit (BRT) and other routes with
frequent service. These core routes
are in high-demand transit markets,
and provide straight, direct
connections between centers in the
urbanized areas of Snohomish
County.

Swift Bus Rapid Transit

Swift Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is
Community Transit’s High Capacity
Transit (HCT) service (Figure 5-1).
Swift incorporates key elements of bus
rapid transit design such as landmark
stations, uniquely branded vehicles, off-
board fare collection, real-time
customer information, priority bus lanes
and fast, frequent and reliable
service. Long range plans call for a
network of Swift lines connecting
destinations in urban areas throughout
the County.

The Swift network currently consists of

two lines: Blue and Green. The Swift
Blue line operating in the Highway 99
corridor launched in 2009. Service on
the new Swift Green line began in
March 2019 and connects the
Boeing/Paine Field Manufacturing and
Industrial Center with the Canyon Park
Regional Growth Center, in Bothell.
FIGURE 5-1

14 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 Other Core Routes
Other core routes in Community Transit’s system generally provide straight, direct
frequent service between major destinations (Figure 5-2). In addition to Swift, core

SERVICES & FARES

service includes Routes 101, 105, 115, 116, 196, 201 and 202. These are the trunk
lines of Community Transit’s local service network, providing the fastest way to get
between major destinations on the bus. As described in the Long Range Transit
Plan, over time, some of these corridors will transition to Swift service.

FIGURE 5-2

15 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

  COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICE
Community-based service feeds core service and connects outlying communities.
Routes in this category are less frequent but more flexible than core routes,

SERVICES & FARES

sometimes following a less direct path to link smaller scale destinations. While not
considered to be trunk lines, community-based service routes play a vital supporting
role to the transit network and provide 17 percent of all Community Transit
passenger boardings.

Feeder Routes
In southwest Snohomish County, the Marysville-Tulalip area, and the Highway 2
corridor from Everett to Monroe, local routes provide neighborhood connections and
carry riders to core service routes. We call these “feeder routes”. Feeder service
includes Routes 106, 109, 111, 112, 113, 119, 120, 130, 209, 222 and 271 (Figure
5-3).

FIGURE 5-3

16 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 Rural Routes
In less-densely populated areas of north and east Snohomish County, rural routes
provide important connections between outlying communities and the core service

SERVICES & FARES

network (Figure 5-4). Rural service includes Routes 220, 230, 240, 270 and 280.

FIGURE 5-4

17 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 COMMUTER SERVICE
Commuter service generally provides peak period, peak direction service for trips
destined to and from major activity centers. This service is comprised of in-county

SERVICES & FARES

commuter routes serving Boeing in southwest Everett and inter-county commuter
routes to downtown Seattle and the University District. Commuter service provides
28 percent of all Community Transit passenger boardings.

Commuter service includes Routes 107, 227, 247, 270, 271 and 280 to Boeing-
Everett; Routes 402, 405, 410, 412, 413, 415, 416, 417, 421, 422, 424, 425 and 435
to downtown Seattle; and Routes 810, 821, 855, 860, 871 and 880 to the University
District (Figure 5-5).

FIGURE 5-5

18 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Regional Connections
Community Transit’s network includes important connections with several partner
agencies at a variety of regional transit centers and terminals. These connections

SERVICES & FARES

include:

Sound Transit: ST Express bus at Ash Way Park & Ride, Canyon Park Park &
Ride, Everett Station, Lynnwood Transit Center, Mountlake Terrace Transit
Center, Seaway Transit Center and the UW Bothell/Cascadia College Campus.
Sounder Commuter rail at Edmonds Station, Everett Station, Mukilteo Station,
and King Street Station in Seattle.

Everett Transit: Everett Station, Mariner Park & Ride, Mukilteo ferry terminal,
North Broadway (Everett Community College/Washington State University),
Seaway Transit Center, and the Swift corridors.

King County Metro: Aurora Village Transit Center, Mountlake Terrace Transit
Center, Seaway Transit Center, the UW Bothell/Cascadia College campus,
downtown Seattle, and the University District.

Washington State Ferries: Mukilteo and Edmonds ferry terminals.

Skagit Transit: Everett Station

Island Transit: Stanwood, Everett Station

Through regular, ongoing coordination and integration with partner agencies,

Community Transit works to maintain and improve inter-system connections to provide
a convenient regional transit experience for the riding public.

Vanpool/Ride-Matching
Vanpools are a cost-effective way to serve commuters whose
schedule or origin/destination are not conducive to fixed-route
bus travel. Community Transit’s vanpool program is the 12th
largest in the nation. The fleet consists of 469 vehicles
(including 34 loaner “spare” vans) which include 7-, 12-, and 15-
passenger vans. Vanpools serve commuter groups with an
origin or destination in Snohomish County. Community Transit
staff provides assistance to vanpool groups with monthly bookkeeping, maintenance,
emergencies, and any other vanpool program issues. A staff person is on call 24 hours
a day to respond to vanpool emergencies such as accidents or breakdowns.

19 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Vanpool rates are based on miles traveled, van size, and schedule (i.e. 5-day work
week). Table 5-2 is a sample of current monthly rates, as of October 1, 2018:

5-Day Work Week 9-80s Work Week

SERVICES & FARES

Miles Traveled Small Van Large Van Miles Traveled Small Van Large Van
Up to 20 $313 $441 Up to 20 $283 $399
25 $358 $485 25 $324 $438
30 $400 $528 30 $362 $478
35 $457 $574 35 $413 $520
40 $513 $622 40 $465 $563
45 $570 $672 45 $516 $608
50 $627 $726 50 $567 $656
TABLE 5-2

Community Transit is piloting a new vanpool option to help facilitate first/last mile
connections with transit. Customers close the gap from home to work with a shared
ride in a vanpool. For those who commute on a bus or train, sharing a van is easy, fast
and cost-effective.

Community Transit also offers ride-matching services throughout the region to those
interested in carpooling and vanpooling. Commuters are matched by where they live,
their destination, and their work schedule. When a person applies for a ride match, a list
of others looking to share the ride will be sent to them. In addition, their name will be
added to the RideshareOnline database of more than 25,000 commuters who want to
share the ride within the Puget Sound region.

DART Paratransit
For customers who cannot use fixed-route bus services due to disability, Community
Transit offers comparable origin to destination paratransit service within ¾-mile of all
local fixed-routes during hours of fixed-route operation, see the map below. Community
Transit currently provides Dial-A-Ride Transit (DART) paratransit service to nearly 6,100
registered disabled customers, with an average daily ridership greater than 680.
Community Transit’s paratransit service requirements are strongly tied to the local
service network. As local bus service expands or contracts in geographic coverage and
operating hours, DART operations are adjusted in response. DART service is operated
under contract with Homage (formerly Senior Services of Snohomish County). A single
fare of $2.50 is charged for all DART service.

20 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 DART Paratransit Service Area

SERVICES & FARES

FIGURE 5-6

Transportation Demand Management & Education Programs

Community Transit also provides services that educate the public about alternative
transportation options to driving alone and how to use public transit. The Transportation
Demand Management program works with large businesses in Snohomish County and
the City of Bothell to provide transportation solutions for their employees. The two
educational programs target specific populations on how to ride the bus. One program
targets children and young adults while the other works with seniors and the disabled.

21 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Transportation Demand Management Services

For over 25 years, Community Transit has provided transportation demand

management (TDM) programs and services in Snohomish County. These programs

SERVICES & FARES

help reduce traffic congestion making our existing transportation investments perform
better, and improve outcomes for new transportation investments by developing the
market for Community Transit bus and vanpool services to potential riders throughout
the county.

These TDM programs leverage funding through a variety of local, state and federal
sources. This funding is critical to develop, maintain and grow effective programming to
target behavior change throughout the county.

Community Transit TDM programs and services target two primary audiences:
 Large employers in 9 jurisdictions within Snohomish County affected by the
Washington State Commute Trip Reduction Efficiency Act.
 Residents, students, commuters and businesses along congestion roadways
throughout the Southwest Snohomish County Urban Growth Area.

School Transit Education Program (STEP)

Community Transit’s School Transit Education Program (STEP)

engages schools throughout Snohomish County by educating
students about our transit system and how to ride the bus. STEP
is an entertaining and informative program developed by
Community Transit and shared at no cost with schools to promote
sustainable transportation and active transportation modes.

The program focuses on the benefits and safety of public transportation.

Students from kindergarten through 12th grade are introduced to their
local transit system with easy-to-understand steps. Immediately
following the program, everyone boards the bus for a 30-minute bus
ride on a comfortable 60-foot articulated bus. This "rolling classroom” allows students to
apply their newly-discovered skills as bus riders.

Travel Trainer Program

The Travel Trainer Program is like Bus Riding 101 provided to senior citizens, persons
with disabilities, and non-English speaking customers. This free program provides
practical training on how to use Community Transit's regular fixed-route bus system.

22 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Instruction is customized to meet individual needs and lasts anywhere from one hour to
several days, however long it takes the rider to feel safe and confident using Community
Transit’s regular bus service.

SERVICES & FARES

Group presentations and training are available for senior centers, residential facilities,
adult family homes, schools, and other organizations. These presentations provide a
basic orientation to Community Transit's bus system and public transit options for
Snohomish County residents.

23 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 2018 Activities & Accomplishments

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Ridership
In 2018, Community Transit had more than 10.6 million boardings on bus, DART
paratransit and vanpool service. Ridership increased approximately 2.8 percent from
2017. Figure 6-1 below illustrates ridership by mode and performance center, with
9,578,026 million fixed-route bus boardings, 870,833 million vanpool boardings, and
200,010 million DART boardings. Average weekday ridership was 37,491. Ridership
on Saturdays averaged 12,064, while Sunday & holiday ridership averaged 7,954 riders.

2018 Share by Mode

2018 Boardings by Mode
DART
Vanpool Paratransit 1,200,000
8% 2% 1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0

August
Fixed-Route
May
June
July

November
October
January
February

September
March
April

December
90%

Fixed Route Vanpool DART Paratransit

FIGURE 6-1

24 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Fixed-Route Bus (as reported to NTD)
Annual Revenue Hours Annual Revenue Miles Unlinked Boardings
526,647* 8,020,288 9,578,174

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
TABLE 6-1
* Revenue hours reported to NTD include in-service time and layover time. These hours are higher than
reported in Section 7 for future service plans, which are based on in-service time only.

2018 Bus Boardings 268,824

233,822

148,011 134,947

38,395

Core Routes Community Based Routes Commuter

Swift Corridor-Based Local Feeder Suburban/Rural Commuter
FIGURE 6-2

2018 Unlinked Bus Boardings by Month

1,000,000
900,000
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
Jan-18 Feb-18 Mar-18 Apr-18 May-18 Jun-18 Jul-18 Aug-18 Sep-18 Oct-18 Nov-18 Dec-18

Swift Corridor Based Local Feeder Suburban/Rural Commuter

FIGURE 6-3

25 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Vanpool (as reported to NTD)

Annual Revenue Hours Annual Revenue Miles Unlinked Boardings

144,352 4,595,894 869,370

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
TABLE 6-2

2018 Vanpool Boardings by Month

100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
Jan-18 Feb-18 Mar-18 Apr-18 May-18 Jun-18 Jul-18 Aug-18 Sep-18 Oct-18 Nov-18 Dec-18
FIGURE 6-4

Vanpool Fleet Utilization 2018

Total Vehicles* Active Vanpools Average Occupancy
Van Type (year-end) (year-end) (Percent Seats Filled)
7-Passenger 364 319 62%
12-Passenger 62 42 53%
15-Passenger 542 33 56%
All Vans 469 394 59%
TABLE 6-3
* Includes spares

DART Paratransit (as reported to NTD)

Annual Revenue Hours Annual Revenue Miles Unlinked Boardings
87,522 1,612,138 200,010
TABLE 6-4

DART Paratransit Boardings by Month

20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
Jan-18 Feb-18 Mar-18 Apr-18 May-18 Jun-18 Jul-18 Aug-18 Sep-18 Oct-18 Nov-18 Dec-18
FIGURE 6-5

26 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Fleet
In 2018, Community Transit owned, operated, and maintained 286 fixed-route buses,
469 vanpool vans and 52 DART paratransit vehicles. Our bus fleet is comprised of 30-

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
foot, 40-foot and 60-foot buses as well as 62-foot Swift BRT buses, and 42-foot double
decker buses dubbed “Double Talls,” the first of their kind in Washington State. The
average age of our fixed-route fleet is 7 years. Innovations within our bus fleet include
passive restraint systems for wheelchair users, on-board bicycle racks on our Swift BRT
buses and the agency’s first fixed-route 40-foot diesel-electric hybrid buses. The fleet
by vehicle type in December 2018 is shown in Table 6-5.

Revenue Vehicle Fleet by Type, December 2018

Type Propulsion Count
30 Foot Bus Diesel 13

40 Foot Bus Diesel 102

40 Foot Bus Hybrid 12

60 Foot Bus Diesel 80

Double Tall Bus Diesel 62

Swift Bus Hybrid 17

Fixed-Route Subtotal 286

DART Gasoline 52
& Diesel

Vanpool Gasoline 469

Total Fleet All Types 807

TABLE 6-5

27 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Service Expansion
Continuing to fulfill Proposition 1 promises. During 2018, Community Transit fixed-route
bus service improvements fulfilled the strategy of Making what we have better. There

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
were 2 service changes in 2018:

March 2018 Service Change

Increased bus service by approximately 1,500 annual revenue hours. This service
change focused on improving Sunday service, with the addition of trips to seven bus
routes: Swift Blue Line (Everett Station to Aurora Village) and Routes 105 (Hardeson
Rd/Mariner P&R – Bothell), 109 (Lake Stevens – Ash Way P&R), 113 (Mukilteo –
Lynnwood), 130 (Edmonds – Lynnwood), 196 (Edmonds – Ash Way P&R), and 202
(Smokey Point – Lynnwood).

September 2018 Service Change

Increased bus service by approximately 14,000 annual revenue hours. Trips were
added to Swift Blue Line, returning the service to 10-minute headways during
weekdays. Route 196 was restructured to connect directly to other routes at Lynnwood
Transit Center. Route 109 was restructured to serve bus stops along 99th Ave SE in
Lake Stevens, providing transit access to a rapidly developing neighborhood. Additional
trips were also added to Routes 120 (Canyon Park – Edmonds Community College)
and Route 413 (Swamp Creek P&R – Seattle).

In addition to increases in bus service, Community Transit’s vanpool program added 15

active vanpool groups and began developing a pilot program to improve a first/last mile
connection between transit centers and residential and employment centers.

Capital Projects
During 2018, Community Transit made progress on or completed the following
preservation projects to maintain the agency’s operational and transit facilities in a state
of good repair:

Merrill Creek Operations Base:

Kasch Park Operations Base:
 Hoist adds/shop upgrades
 Industrial Wastewater System
 Industrial Wastewater System
 Roof repair and restoration - design
 Pavement Project Phase II
McCollum Park P&R curb and walkway
Ash Way P&R – design transit lane repairs
improvements
Completed Transit Asset Management Plan

28 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

New Capital Facilities

 Seaway Transit Center

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The Seaway Transit Center is
the northern terminus for the
new Swift Green Line
connecting Boeing/Paine Field
with Canyon Park in Bothell.
The facility includes 13 bus
bays for Swift Green Line,
other Community Transit routes, Everett Transit, King County Metro, Sound Transit
and private employer shuttles. The facility includes passenger shelters, walkways,
bicycle racks, landscaping, driver restrooms, accommodation for supervision and
security. Low impact environmental development practices were used: Community
Transit is seeking certification under the Greenroads program.

Seaway Transit Center was funded through a State Regional Mobility grant, federal
Small Starts grant and local funds.

The facility opened for service on March 24, 2019.

 I-5 Approach Widening on 128th Street for Swift Green Line

The Swift Green Line crosses Interstate-5 at 128th Street. Modifications were made
to the approaches to maintain speed and reliability for the Swift service. The 128th
Street and I-5 approach widening project was completed in phases.

 During 2018 work included: an additional westbound lane from 3rd Avenue
SE to the east bridge abutment was added. General purpose traffic can use
this lane to make right-turns, but otherwise it is a transit-only lane.
 Added a westbound queue jump at the 128th Street/I-5 northbound ramps.
 Added bus refuge areas after the 128th Street and I-5 ramp intersections in
both directions.
 Optimized signal timing offset and phase order.

The project was financed with a FTA Small Starts grant and local matching funds.

29 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 Swift Green Line Corridor Stations (Figure 6-6)
In addition to the future terminus at Seaway Transit
Center, the Swift Green Line project included

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
construction of 31 BRT stations at 16 intersections in
the corridor and a terminal station at Canyon Park Park
& Ride. Amenities include the uniquely branded Swift
shelter design, benches, wind screens, 10 inch raised
curbs for near-level boarding, ORCA fare card readers,
ticket vending machines, maps and customer service
information and electronic real-time passenger
information signs. Concrete improvements to the
adjacent road lane provides a durable platform for Swift
buses stopping at the stations.

Construction of the stations began in 2018 and was

completed in 2019. Station construction was financed
with an FTA Small Starts grant and local match funds.
FIGURE 6-6

TDM, Marketing and Education Programs

TDM Highlights

During 2018, Community Transit TDM staff improved their outreach program for
employee transportation coordinators (ETCs), created an innovative Do-It-Yourself Bike
Month kit that supported 25 events throughout Snohomish County with 1,000 attendees,
facilitated the annual Commute Options Awards luncheon and created a mode-specific
“getting started” kit for large employers (have 100+ employees) and multi-family
residential developments. The kit includes personalize trip planning. TDM also
assisted Marketing with the Swift Green Line ORCA card promotions.

Marketing & Outreach

The primary focus during 2018 was employee recruitment, marketing the Swift Green
Line bus rapid transit (BRT) network expansion, and implementing WSDOT’s Regional
Transit Integration Grant that promotes regional ORCA fare media products.

Student Transportation Education Program (STEP)

During 2018, the STEP program provided student transportation education at 150
schools throughout Snohomish County. Additionally, 200 bus trips were provided, as
part of the educational program.

30 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Travel Trainer Program

Travel Trainers provided 345 hours of training helping more than 100 people learn how
to ride the bus during 2018. Training included a combination of presentations and

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
working with individuals on a 1-on-1 basis. Presentations were held at senior centers,
schools, YMCA facilities, retirement communities, community colleges and community
events in Snohomish County.

Supporting Agency Improvements and Investments

Expanding the Workforce

During 2018, Community Transit added 58 new positions, bringing the total staffing to
758.5 FTEs. The majority of the new positions were in Transportation and Maintenance
to support expansion of transit service.

Technology Improvements

To improve operations and enhance the customer experience, the following projects
were initiated, in-progress or completed in 2018:

 Finalized regional contract with INIT to design and implement the Next
Generation ORCA electronic fare system. Phases of this project will continue
through 2022, when the new system is fully implemented.
 Swift Blue Line ticket vending machines were upgraded and new machines were
ordered for the Swift Green Line.
 The transit signal priority system replacement project is 80% compete,
transitioning from McCain to Opticom equipment. Work has also begun to
replace the 148th Street queue-jump which operates on technology that is at end-
of-life.
 Community Transit completed work to publish GTFS (general transit feed
specification) data providing a published stream of electronic information
describing the real-time locations of agency bus services for internet and mobile
application development.
 The Passenger Information Control System (PICS) was initiated. The first phase
of this project, providing an electronically-distributed stream of transit service
alerts is anticipated in mid-2019.
 Work to fully implement the cellular voice and data communications system
continued. During 2018 the data communication system was completed, while
development of the “voice over internet protocol” (VoIP) communication system
continues. Completion of the system is anticipated in 2020.
 Customer comment system: work was initiated on implementation of a new
customer comment system in 2018 and continues through 2019.

Fare Change
In 2018, Community Transit’s Board of Directors approved a system-wide fare change.
The change increased Local bus fares by 25 cents, consolidated Commuter bus fares,

31 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

increased DART paratransit fares by 25 cents and increased vanpool rates on average
by 3 percent or $14/month. The fare change was implemented on October 1, 2018.

Community Transit’s Board of Directors also held two workshops to evaluate the

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
feasibility of joining King County Metro’s ORCA LIFT (low income fare ticket) program.
The Board conducted a public hearing in January 2019 and took action to join the
program, implementing a low income based bus fare effective July 1, 2019.

Planning Coordination
The following provides an overview of Community Transit’s representation on local,
regional and statewide organizations and committees:

 Snohomish County Tomorrow (SCT), an inter-jurisdictional forum of Snohomish

County, Snohomish County cities and the Tulalip Tribes. The primary function is
to oversee countywide planning and coordination and development of
infrastructure and the transportation system.

Community Transit staff members participate in the monthly Infrastructure

Coordination Committee (ICC) and Planning Advisory Committees (PAC)
meetings. Community Transit Board members also sit on several of the SCT
Boards.

 Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) is the multi-county planning agency for
the Puget Sound region that oversees the regional growth strategy and
transportation plan, as well federal transportation funding for King, Kitsap, Pierce
and Snohomish Counties.

Community Transit staff serve on the following committees:

Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory (BPAC) Special Needs Transportation

Regional FTA Caucus TDM Advisory
Regional Project Evaluation (RPEC) Transportation Operators (TOC)
Regional Staff (RSC) Regional Traffic Operations

Community Transit is also represented on the Transportation Policy Board by an

appointed Board member.

 The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has several

major projects underway in Snohomish County. Community Transit is part of the
Stakeholder Advisory Group that regularly meets with WSDOT and various
jurisdictions. Projects currently include: the US-2 Trestle, Mukilteo Multimodal
Terminal, 116th Street Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI), the I-5 Partnership

32 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 (near and long term), I-5 Marine View Drive to SR-528 improvements/HOV lanes,
SR-529/I-5 Interchange, SR-9/SR204 Interchange, SR-526 (Boeing Freeway)
and SR-531 (Arlington), and I-405/Canyon Park Direct Access.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
 WSDOT’s Transportation Demand Management Executive Board.

 Coordination with Sound Transit for ST2 and ST3 planning and construction of
Link light rail and STRIDE Bus Rapid Transit projects. This includes: bi-weekly
construction meetings for Mountlake Terrace Transit Center and Lynnwood
Transit Center, BRT Interagency group meetings for I-405 BRT and SR-522
BRT, ST3 Integration meetings on access projects and coordination with
Snohomish County.

 ORCA Regional Electronic Fare Collection System is shared by 6 transit

agencies and the Washington State Ferries. This requires regular coordination:
Community Transit has presentation on the following work groups: Joint Board
(i.e. agency CEOs and general managers), site managers, fares and finance
staff, business accounts, operations, marketing, public information offices, etc.

33 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 2019-2024 Services, Programs,
Facilities & Equipment

2019-2024 PLANS
Community Transit’s 2019-2024 plan calls for significant expansion of all services as
well as research and development of new services and mobility options to meet the
diverse travel needs of our growing communities. This section provides a summary of
services, programs, facilities and equipment including:

 Research and Customer Engagement

 Marketing
 Fixed-Route Bus and Swift Service Hours and Network Development
 DART Service Hours
 Vanpool Program Development
 Community Connections & Alternative Service Development
 Fleet Replacement and Expansion
 Facility Expansion and Preservation
 Technology
 Staffing

Research and Customer Engagement

A major focus over the next three

years will be research and customer
engagement to inform innovation,
development of new services and
expansion and redesign of existing
services. This research program is an
important component of achieving the
priorities and strategies described in
Section 6.

Community Transit has contracted with a consulting firm to help the agency identify,
prioritize and implement research and engagement initiatives. These efforts are likely to
include a wide range of customer engagement strategies including random selection
surveys of transit users and the general public, in-person intercept surveys, phone
surveys, focus groups and statistical analysis of big data, including from mobile devices.

34 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Fixed-Route Bus and Swift BRT Service Hours and Network Development

Annual Bus Service

2019-2024 PLANS
Year Hours Added Total Hours Scheduled1 Total Bus Fleet
2018 Baseline 412,364 286

2019 46,500 458,864 304

2020 18,000 476,864 306

2021 12,000 488,864 317

2022 12,000 500,864 317

2023 12,000 512,864 317

2024 54,000 566,864 338

TABLE 7-1
1 Source of data for 2018 Total Hours Scheduled is scheduled in-service hours, as included in annual
budget documents and planning forecasts. These number differ from the presentation of revenue hours
in Table 6-1, which includes layover hours as required for federal reporting to NTD.

FIGURE 7-1

35 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

March 2019 (implemented March 24, 2019)
Community Transit continued to build out the Swift network, launching the Swift Green
Line, connecting Seaway Transit Center in the Boeing/Paine Field Manufacturing
Industrial Center (MIC) with Canyon Park Park & Ride in Bothell. The Swift Green Line

2019-2024 PLANS
connects with the Swift Blue line at Highway 99 and Airport Road, creating a network of
Swift lines in Snohomish County.

Additional changes were made to restructure and add trips to bus routes serving the
Boeing/Paine Field MIC, integrating these routes with the Swift Green Line at Seaway
Transit Center.

September 2019 (implemented September 22, 2019)

Improvements were made in Swift service, connection quality and Sunday and major
holiday service. Swift improvements include more frequent early morning service on
weekdays, more frequent service for Swift Blue Line on Saturdays and extending
service on both lines to 9 p.m. on Sundays. To improve connections with other services
at Edmonds Station and Seaway Transit Center schedule adjustments were made to
Routes 116, 130, 196, 227 and 247. Finally, to improve service on Sundays and major
holidays, Route 201 began hourly service (combining with Route 202 for 30-minute
service where the routes share a common path) and additional trips were added to
Routes 112, 113, 116, 202, 271 and 280.

March 2020 (conceptual)

Service changes in March 2020 will focus on improving reliability and connection
quality. New trips may also be proposed on routes where ridership demand is high.

September 2020 (conceptual)

Priorities for service changes include:

 Restructure local routes along SR 527, SR 96 and Airport Road to better

complement the Swift Green Line and provide more connections between Swift
and surrounding neighborhoods.
 Add new routes in areas of south Snohomish County that have significant
demand for transit but are beyond walking distance of bus stops.
 Add trips to routes with sufficient ridership to warrant frequent (15-minute)
service.

36 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

2021 Service Priorities
Strategies and concepts under consideration include:

2019-2024 PLANS
 Restructure selected inter-county express commuter routes to serve the
Northgate Link light rail station.
 Add new routes in areas of south Snohomish County that have significant
demand for transit, but are beyond walking distance of existing bus service.
 Add trips to routes with sufficient ridership to warrant frequent (15-minute)
service. Also look at adding trips to routes with 60-minute service.

2022 - 2024 Service Expansion Priorities

Develop a redesigned of express commuter network to serve Lynnwood City Center
station and Mountlake Terrace station when Lynnwood Link light rail opens in 2024.

Implement Swift Orange Line and Swift Blue Line Extension: see details below.

Restructure local routes along 164th St SW, 36th Ave W and 196th St SW to better
complement the Swift Orange Line and provide more connections between Swift and
surrounding neighborhoods.

Continued improvements to local route frequency and span, new connections and
access in North and East Snohomish County. An example is a possible service
expansion in the SR-531 corridor in Arlington.

Swift Network Buildout

During this 6-year period, two Swift network expansions will occur: Swift Orange Line
and Swift Blue Line Extension. These system expansions will connect with Sound
Transit’s Link Light Rail, starting in 2024. Later in this period, Community Transit will
also begin planning work for the next expansion of the Swift network in the late 2020s,
including the Swift Red Line between Everett and Smokey Point and a Swift Green Line
Extension to Bothell.

37 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Swift Orange Line
The Orange Line will run in the 196th Street/164th
Street corridors. The proposed line is 11.3 miles

2019-2024 PLANS
long with 13 station pairs and 2 terminals (Figure
7-2). The terminals will be located adjacent to
Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood and
McCollum Park in Mill Creek. The project also
includes priority treatments for speed and
reliability. A total of 42,500 annual service hours
are planned for this service.

The total project budget is $85 million, which

includes project development, environment
review, construction and the purchase of 16 60-
foot articulated buses.

Planned funding for this project includes federal,

state and local funding: FIGURE 7-2

 $5 million FTA 5307 funding for project development

 $42 million Federal CIG Small Starts Grant (assumed) for construction
 $5 million FTA 5307 towards construction of stations
 $5 million Connecting Washington towards the Swift BRT program
 $7 million (CMAQ) towards bus purchase
 $22 million local funding for grant matches to support the remainder of the
project

38 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Swift Blue Line Extension
The Swift Blue Line Extension will extend Community Transit’s first BRT line to connect
with Link Light Rail at 185th Street in Shoreline by 2024.

2019-2024 PLANS
This connection requires extending the Swift Blue
Line 1.8 miles south along Highway 99/Aurora
Avenue to N 185th Street and then east along N 185th
Street to Interstate 5. Sound Transit is constructing a
Swift platform at its N 185th Street station to facilitate
this connection.

The total budget for this project is $15 million and

includes a feasibility study, project development,
environmental review, construction of six stations,
removal of terminal at Aurora Village Transit Center,
speed and reliability improvements in the entire
corridor, and the purchase five 60-foot articulated
buses.

Planned funding for this project assumes both state and local funding:
 $10 million in state grants
 $5 million in local funding

DART Paratransit

Along with bus service growth, this plan anticipates approximately 3 percent annual
growth in DART paratransit service hours (Table 7-2). This forecast growth is attributed
to both the general trends of an aging population and increasing travel demand of all
types as well as new routes and increases in bus service hours of operation.

DART Service Hours

Actual Planned
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
87,522 90,000 93,000 96,000 99,000 102,000 105,000
TABLE 7-2

39 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Vanpool

The Vanpool program is expected to grow in terms of total fleet and active vans. There
were 469 vans (including spares) in the fleet and 394 active vanpools at the end of

2019-2024 PLANS
2018. In addition to replacing aging vehicles, this TDP adds 40-vanpools to the fleet
through 2024. Vanpool maintenance requirements reserve 34 vehicles as spare/loaner
vans. The 2019-2024 forecast assumes that all available vans (excluding spares) are
assigned to active vanpool groups.

Vanpool Program, 2018-2024

600

500

509

509

509
504
489

475

475

475
474

470
469

455

400
440
Vanpools

394

300 Active Vanpools

Total Fleet
200
(total fleet includes
100 34 spare vans for
maintenance needs)
0
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
FIGURE 7-3

Ridership Forecast

Community Transit is forecasting increases in ridership, with continued increases in

service growth and build out of the Swift BRT network. Figure 7-4 illustrates projected
system-wide ridership growth in millions of passenger trips through 2024.

System-wide Ridership, 2018 Actuals and 2019-2024 Forecast

20
14.4
15 12 12.4 12.9
In Millions

10.6 11 11.6
10

0
2018 Actuals 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

FIGURE 7-4

40 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Marketing

2019 through 2024 projects include a continuation of Swift Green Line BRT outreach, a
marketing brand strategy and ridership campaign. The Swift Green Line BRT activities

2019-2024 PLANS
include: Seaway Transit Center dedication and open house, Swift Green Line opening
celebration and marketing the new service. The final phase of Swift Green outreach is
a post-launch awareness and marketing campaign, promoting “Connections you can
count on” and “Try Swift on us.”

In 2019, a contractor was hired to conduct a brand assessment survey to test

Community Transit’s brand awareness. Information collected will help inform updates to
the brand strategy.

Beginning in 2020, Community Transit will begin a ridership campaign. This campaign
will help with brand awareness, encourage Snohomish County residents to try different
transportation options, target promotions based on location, audience and specific
service to connect customers with best fit services.

Community Connections
A new outreach program, working with local governments and community partners, to
develop innovative and cost-efficient transportation mobility solutions, provide better
public transportation, and integrate with new travel options and emerging technologies.
Community Transit is initiating this program with the City of Lynnwood.

Capital Facilities

Preservation Projects
Community Transit’s Capital program continues to address preservation and
rehabilitation during the next six years. The following projects are planned:

 Repair and replace bus hoist at Merrill Creek Operating Base

 Replace fire alarm system at Kasch Park Operating Base
 Complete the Edmonds Park & Ride renovation project
 Complete Ash Way P&R transit loop repairs

Transit Asset Management Plan

Community Transit adopted its first Transit Asset Management (TAM) Plan in
September 2018. This 4-year plan is valid through 2021 and provides an inventory and
assessment of capital assets. Assets are divided into three categories:

 Rolling stock - bus, ADA demand-response and vans

41 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

  Equipment - non-revenue service vehicles and equipment with a value greater
than $50,000)
 Facilities – administrative, maintenance and passenger/parking

2019-2024 PLANS
The TDP financial models inform plans for maintenance and replacement of capital
assets included in the TAM plan. This includes a vehicle model for rolling stock and a
financial model that includes all revenue, expense and reserve fund assumptions.

Future Operating Base Capacity

This year, Community Transit returned
to pre-recession service levels and
fleet size. Service and fleet expansion
beyond 2019 will stretch the capacity of
maintenance bays, bus parking and
operational support space. A multi-
phased and multi-year $70 million base
expansion project is under way to
support the agency’s expansion. The
preliminary project schedule and
highlights:

 Phase I – design and renovate the Kasch Park Casino Road building and move
most administrative personnel from the Merrill Creek Administration building in
2022.
 Phase II – design and renovate the Merrill Creek Administration building for
transportation employees and occupy in 2023.
 Phase III – design and renovate the Merrill Creek Operations Base. Renovations
include additional maintenance bays in 2024.
 Phase IV – assess needs, design and renovate the Kasch Park Operations base
in 2025.

Fleet
The following graph and table provide a summary of overall fleet growth by mode and a
detailed breakdown of vehicle replacement and expansion by type and year.

Fleet expansion during this planning horizon includes:

 21 60-foot articulated buses for the Swift Orange Line and Blue Line extension.
 13 40-foot buses providing capacity for ongoing expansion of local bus service.
 40 vanpool vans.

42 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 Revenue Vehicle Fleet Forecast
600
489 504 509 509 509

2019-2024 PLANS
500 469 474
Vehilces in Fleet

400 338
304 306 317 317 317 Bus
286
300
DART
200 Vanpool
100 52 52 52 52 52 52 52

0
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
FIGURE 7-5

YEAR 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

BUS FLEET REPLACEMENT

40 Foot Bus 21 12 12
60 Foot Bus 16 8
Double Tall Bus 23
Swift BRT 15
BUS FLEET EXPANSION
40 Foot Bus 3 10
60 Foot Bus
Double Tall Bus
Swift BRT 21
VANPOOL REPLACEMENT
Vanpool Van 55 56 57 57 57 57
VANPOOL EXPANSION
Vanpool Van 5 15 15 5 0 0
DART REPLACEMENT
DART Bus 13 13 11 15 13
TABLE 7-3

Supporting Service Expansion

Technology Projects

 Regional coordination for transit signal priority (TSP) improvements and transit
Queue-jumps with the Washington State Department of Transportation and the
cities of Lynnwood, Everett and Shoreline. Complete transition from McCain to

43 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 Opticom in 2019. Replace 148th Street SW queue-jump and complete TSP
Strategic Plan in 2020.
 Continue regional coordination to implement the Next Generation ORCA

2019-2024 PLANS
electronic fare collection system. The schedule includes final system design in
2019 and begin transitioning to the new system in 2020.
Full implementation by 2022.
 Continue to implement the Wireless communication and
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system to replace the
land mobile radio system.
 Build out agency’s “cloud first” strategy.
 Transit information program – including vanpool
 DART paratransit – research potential end-to-end solutions for paratransit to
replace existing system.
 Continue improving the GTFS & GTFS-RT open data with infrastructure
improvements to enhance the quality of data and provide additional information
such as vehicle capacities.
 Passenger Information Control System – this project enables Community Transit
to quickly and easily monitor, measure and control real-time information to
multiple customer facing tools.
 Replace the budget and business planning system
 Replace the customer comments system
 IT Disaster Recovery Plan
 Swift ticket vending machines: feasibility study for future all-functioning machines
that include the ability to re-load ORCA cards. And order machines for the
Orange Line and Blue Line Extension in 2024.

Efficiencies and Compliance

In addition to all the technology projects, Community Transit is also making the most of
its resources with two agency wide programs: Process Improvements and Records
Management. The process improvements program provides training, education and
exposure to industries best practices for continuous improvement and cultivating a
culture of change. The program empowers staff to identify and remove inefficiencies in
processes, while continuing to receive feedback, to improve customer service. The
records management program provides structure for the storage and disposal of
records, consistent with federal and state guidelines.

44 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Employment

As Community Transit increases

service, the agency staffing needs

2019-2024 PLANS
to grow to support more trips on the
road. The greatest need will be
hiring additional coach operators.
We will also need more mechanics
to maintain a larger fleet and other
support staff to support longer hours
of operation and more facilities.

Community Transit’s amended 2019 budget includes a total of 839.5 full time equivalent
employees, not including contractors. Over the next six years, the agency will need to
increase the coach operator ranks by almost 130 to operate higher service levels. With
mechanics and all other supporting functions, overall employment will exceed 1,000 by
2024 (Figure 7-6).

Potential Staffing Increase 2018-2024

1200

1000
Employee Count

800

600

400

200

0
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Baseline Growth

FIGURE 7-6

45 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Planning and Coordination

Community Transit will continue to participate in transportation and land use planning
discussions at the State, regional, county and local levels. This includes engagement

2019-2024 PLANS
with partner agencies and jurisdictions in planning for future improvements to the
regional transit system, new stations, terminals and modes and their integration with our
network. Examples of this planning include:

 Coordination with Sound Transit, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace and

Shoreline around extension of Link light rail to Lynnwood in 2024 and
eventually Everett in 2036.
 Coordinate transit integration with WSDOT’s design of the Legislative
Evaluation & Accountability Committee (LEAP) Transportation projects.
 Cooperation with the City of Shoreline in their Transit Service Integration
Plan (TSIP) that will identify policies addressing future transit needs
throughout Shoreline once light rail service begins (2024). The TSIP is a
coordinated plan in which Shoreline is working with Community Transit,
King County Metro Transit and Sound Transit.
 Working with Bothell, King County Metro, Sound Transit and UW
Bothell/Cascadia College on master plans for transit service and the
UWB/CCC campus and the arrival of Stride (Sound Transit bus rapid transit
system).
 Coordination with Sound Transit, City of Seattle, WSDOT and King County
Metro in Downtown Seattle Transit Coordination (DSTC).
 Participation in the Seattle City Center Mobility Plan. This plan will further
the efforts of the Downtown Seattle Transit Coordination by considering
longer range investments and policies that will be completed by the City of
Seattle, in partnership with King County Metro, Sound Transit, the
Downtown Seattle Association, Community Transit, WSDOT and others.
This effort will also include more in-depth technical analysis of approaches
to improve transportation, land use and community development near
downtown Seattle.
 Coordination with PSRC and Snohomish County Tomorrow Planning
Advisory Committee on updates to Vision 2050.

46 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

 Financial Plan

FINICAL PLAN
Revenue
Community Transit is a locally-funded agency. Retail sales tax collected in the Public
Transportation Benefit Area (PTBA) is our primary revenue source. Other funding
sources include: rider fares, pass-through funding for Sound Transit ST Express bus
service, state and local grant funding, advertising and other miscellaneous revenues.
Operating Revenues:
The following table provides 2018 Actuals, the 2019 adopted budget and forecast for
2020-2024.
Operating Revenue 2018 2019
(in millions) Actuals Forecast1 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Sales Tax $ 140.5 $ 148.3 $ 154.2 $ 160.4 $ 166.8 $ 173.5 $ 180.4
Fares 22.3 22.9 23.9 24.9 26.7 27.7 28.7
Sound Transit 18.9 22.0 21.8 22.4 23.1 23.8 24.5
Grants & Local
5.0 7.0 9.0 9.6 7.8 7.9 7.0
Contributions
Advertising 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4
Other 4.1 5.3 4.2 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4
Total Revenues2 $ 191.4 $ 206.1 $ 213.7 $ 220.3 $ 227.3 $ 235.8 $ 243.7
TABLE 8-1
1 The 2019 Forecast is projected expenses based on department expenditures through July 2019
2 Totals may not match due to rounding actual dollar amounts for table

Operation revenue assumptions include:

 Growth in sales tax revenue throughout the planning period. The forecast is 5%
in 2019 and 4% for the remaining years through 2024.
 Potential fare increases 2021 and 2024.

Operating Grants (by year of funds):

Operating Grants &
Local Contributions 2018 2019
(in millions) Actuals Budget 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Federal Formula $ 2.0 $ 2.0 $ 2.1 $ 2.1 $ 2.2 $ 2.3 $ 2.3
Federal Competitive 1.0 1.5 2.5 1.0
State Grants 1.0 2.0 3.4 2.9 2.4 3.4 2.5
Other Local
1.8 1.9 1.9 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.1
Contributions
Total Revenues* $ 5.0 $ 6.2 $ 6.3 $ 6.7 $ 7.6 $ 6.7 $ 5.6
TABLE 8-2
* Totals may not match due to rounding actual dollar amounts for table

47 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Capital Grants (by year of funds):
Capital projects are funded with Federal, State and local funds. The following table
illustrates approved and forecast federal and state grant funding sources:

FINICAL PLAN
Capital Grants 2018 2019
(in millions) Actuals Budget 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Federal Formula $ 8.1 $ 10.8 $ 11.2 $ 11.5 $ 11.9 $ 12.2 $ 12.6
Federal Competitive 1.2 1.0 0.5 5.0 7.0 2.5 3.3
Federal CIG Small Starts 42.0
State Grants 6.4 6.4 10.0 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.8
Total Revenues* $ 115.9 $ 18.3 $ 21.8 $ 59.5 $ 20.0 $15.7 $ 17.9
TABLE 8-3
* Totals may not match due to rounding actual dollar amounts for table

Expenses
Operating Expenses
Overall operating expense is forecast to grow from $140 million in 2018 to more than
$224 million in 2024. This operating expense includes bus service, DART paratransit,
vanpool and all supporting programs.
Growth in operating expense is driven by inflationary increases in baseline costs as well
as the significant expansion of service described in this plan.
To insure long-term sustainability of service, Community Transit targets annual volume-
adjusted cost growth (growth in cost of one hour of service) at 3.3%. The preliminary
2020 budget forecasts volume-adjusted cost growth of 2.3% over the 2019 amended
budget.
Table 8-4 provides a summary of forecast operating expense through 2024. Total cost
of operations, baseline and new service, is forecast to grow from $164.9 million in 2019
to $230.9 million in 2024.
Annual Operating Expense, All Modes, 2018-2024
2018 2019
Actuals Forecast 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
$ 140.3 $ 162.1 $ 176.2 $ 184.0 $ 193.4 $ 203.4 $ 224.7
TABLE 8-4

48 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Capital Program
Capital expenses include fleet purchases, facility preservation and special projects.
Table 8-5 includes the total project cost.

FINICAL PLAN
Capital Projects 2018 2019
(in millions) Actuals Budget 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Fixed-Route Bus $ 33.2 $ 14.5 $ 28.9 $ 7.7 $ 28.7 $ 15.2 $ 26.8
Vanpool 2.4 1.9 2.4 2.5 2.3 2.2 2.3
DART Paratransit 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.2 1.7 1.5
Support Vehicle 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
Facility Preservation 7.1 5.3 14.7 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9
Base Expansion ($70M
2.3 39.5 14.7 17.5 10.1 1.9
through 2025)
Minor Capital (Local) 10.8 8.0 6.2 9.4 4.5 4.7 4.9
Swift Orange Line 5.0 4.2 61.0
Swift Blue Line Extend 10.0
Swift Program 1.1 1.0 1.8
Next Generation
0.1 0.7 8.8
ORCA
Other 21.4 13.5 2.4
Total* $ 77.7 $ 53.1 $ 108.6 $ 108.8 $ 56.3 $ 37.0 $ 41.6
TABLE 8-5
* Totals may not match due to rounding actual dollar amounts for table

Several capital projects above have multiple funding sources:

 Fixed-route bus replacements are generally funded with federal formula and local
funds. These amounts are highlighted in Table 8-3 Capital Grant Funding and
Table 8-6 Vehicle Replacement Reserve.
 Vanpool fleet replacement and expansions are paid for with state grants and
local funding.
 Swift Orange Line funding includes federal and state grants and other state and
local funding. Details are provided in Section 7.
 Swift Blue Line Extension includes assumption of a state grant and local funding.
Details are provided in Section 7.

Reserves
The 2019-2024 TDP maintains reserve cash balances at required and/or recommended
levels. Community Transit maintains three significant cash reserve funds designated for
operating, vehicle replacement and facility preservation. Two smaller funds are
maintained for workers’ compensation claims and bond debt payments. A Facility and
Technology Expansion Fund represents funds designated for specific projects
associated with expanded services and technologies.

49 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024

Each reserve target meets specific goals or mandatory requirements. The following
summarizes specific requirements for a selection of the reserves below:

FINICAL PLAN
Reserve Fund Purpose

Operating Two months’ capacity for all agency operating expenses, exclusive of Sound
Transit service and $5 million fuel reserve to cover increases in the cost of
fuel above budget.

Vehicle The locally-funded portion of costs to replace both vehicles for revenue
replacement service and support. The balance in this fund is based on a calculation of
the anticipated lifespan of each vehicle, the forecast replacement cost at
end-of-life and the planned local funding share of that replacement cost.
Agency targets for local funding share of each vehicle type are: 20% fixed-
route bus, 100% for vanpool and DART paratransit, 100% for support
vehicles.

Facility The local share of current year preservation projects, the local share of
Preservation preservation projects anticipated in the two years following the current
year, and 1.5 percent of the total replacement cost of all
facility/system/technology assets, excluding vehicles.

Facility & The Facility and Technology Expansion Fund includes capital funding
Technology designated for specific projects related to service or technology expansion.
(IT) Projects This includes expanding the Swift BRT network, operating base expansion,
the wireless communications system, Next Generation ORCA, etc.

Reserve Funding 2018 2019

(in millions) Actuals Budget 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Operating $ 63.9 $ 46.6 $ 79.7 $ 77.9 $ 99.5 $ 113.2 $ 111.0
Vehicle Replacement 24.3 43.0 42.4 43.9 43.1 45.5 47.6
Facility Preservation 29.8 24.5 9.9 9.1 9.1 9.1 9.1
Facility & IT Expansion 61.9 78.9 38.2 31.5 16.3 8.5 9.0
Workers’
Compensation 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2
Bond 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1
Total* $ 187.5 $ 200.6 $ 177.9 $ 170.0 $ 175.6 $ 183.8 $ 184.3
TABLE 8-6
* Totals may not match due to rounding actual dollar amounts for table

50 TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2019-2024