Thurston County's public transportation system is set for a major overhaul. Intercity Transit unveiled a comprehensive plan to reimagine its bus network, offering more efficient and accessible service for residents.
General Manager Emily Bergkamp and Marketing and Communications Director Nick Demerice presented a detailed plan to implement a transformation of the bus system at a Transportation Policy Board (TPB) meeting on Wednesday, March 12.
According to Bergkamp, the redesign focuses on creating more direct routes, increasing frequency and improving connectivity.
In 2016, facing a potential financial deficit, the transportation agency launched a comprehensive "Road Trip" public engagement initiative that gathered 10,000 community comments, revealing that 83% of residents wanted a transformational transit system.
Proposition 1, which passed with 66 percent voter support in 2018, enable the agency to significantly enhance its services.
In 2020, the agency introduced a zero-fare program, discovering that fare collection overhead generated merely 2% of operating revenues.
"What we knew is that it was going to keep our buses running on time. It will relieve a lot of conflict around issues over the fare. The number one reason why bus operators are assaulted in the United States is conflicts over collecting a fare," Bergkamp said.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges, causing a 40% ridership drop and forcing temporary service reductions.
Agency front-line workers feared for their health and the safety of their families. Many drivers, particularly people in higher-risk age groups, chose to retire or take a leave of absence.
These workforce changes disrupted the agency's Proposition 1 plans, resulting in reduced bus services, fewer routes and less frequent transportation across the region.
By September 2024, Bergkamp claimed the agency rebuilt its operator workforce and exceeded pre-pandemic service levels by 102%.
Demerice explained that the agency has gathered extensive data from automated passenger counters, community engagement efforts, and rider feedback information for the system redesign.
The goal is to make transit more accessible for daily commuters and students, particularly those people traveling to area high schools, South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) and workplaces around the Capitol campus.
Currently operating on a hub-and-spoke system centered around Olympia Transit Center, Lacey Transit Center and Capital Mall, the agency plans to shift to a corridor-based approach.
The redesign will concentrate on high-frequency service along east-west routes with the highest ridership demand.
Increased frequency along key corridors: The agency will enhance service frequency by strategically overlapping routes and creating 15-minute bus intervals along high-demand corridors. Instead of maintaining a single high-frequency route, the agency will coordinate multiple routes to provide consistent service while avoiding redundant coverage.
Expanded service coverage: The agency will expand service to previously underserved areas, including Black Lake Boulevard and the developing Pioneer Park region. These new routes aim to provide transit access to growing residential communities.
Improved connectivity for students: The redesigned transit system will prioritize student mobility by creating routes that directly serve high school students. New routes will provide easier access to North Thurston High School and SPSCC.
Redesigned commuter service: The agency will transform its current Route 620 into two specialized express services. The Olympia Express will provide a direct route from downtown Olympia to Lakewood with minimal stops. The Lacey Express will create a new connection linking Lacey, Hawks Prairie and JBLM. This transit option will be specifically beneficial for military families and veterans seeking regional transportation.
Due to budget uncertainties at state and federal levels, the agency has modified its original two-phase implementation plan. Instead of rolling out changes in May and September 2025, the agency will now implement the new transit system in three strategic phases.
May 2025 — Initial improvements within the existing system, adding more buses to current routes.
September 2025 — Partial rollout of redesigned services, including the commuter express routes.
May 2026 — Full implementation of the system overhaul, including all redesigned routes and frequency improvements.
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OlyKid88
I used Intercity Transit for many, many years. It is a vital component to our community and provides countless benefits.
However, I think of equal importance should be to reimagine its financial management approach to providing transit.
The public financial information available for IT is confusing without a technical explanation. An example is a cash balance of roughly $250 million that continues to build over time even as IT invests in capital projects.
IT charges no fares on buses and receives roughly $500,000 in fares from Van Pool vehicles. The $135,262,094 of 2025 estimated funding is entirely taxpayer funds.
In 2023, the most recent data available, the Direct Cost Per Ride was:
Bus = $12.22 a ride ($42,160,796/3,449.951)
Commuter Bus = 20.61 per ride ($2,337,751/113,439)
Demand Respond (Dial a Ride) = $131.90 per ride ($18,109,913/137,303)
Van Pool = $15.20 per ride ($3,104,895/198,302)
Average = $16.83 per ride ($65,623,355/3,898,995)
Read into these numbers what you will. To me, they are far above what I was expecting to see for the cost of a ride on Intercity Transit.
Sources:
https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/transit-agency-profiles/intercity-transit
https://www.intercitytransit.com/about-us/publications/financial-information
Please correct any incorrect information I may have used, or my interpretation of that information. My understanding is a work in progress. I want to better understand the financial model being used. These are very big numbers.
Friday, March 14 Report this
coordinator
Thanks for the info on the numbers OlyKid88. The way I see it is IT has way too much money! The 4/10 of 1% that was passed in Prop 1 in 2018 should have been 2/10 of 1%. So, IT needs to 'burn' money. We need a correction to their funds with a new, lower levy on sales tax. But is that going to happen? Not likely, because to get a new prop or initiative on the ballot requires an inordinate number of signatures. Who wants to tackle that? The system needs to be changed to make easier corrections, otherwise we have bloated organizations wasting taxpayer dollars.
Saturday, March 15 Report this
sonshi
The buses in oly have the darkest window tinting of any in the region. You have to be right up next to them in order to see how empty they are.
Sunday, March 16 Report this
GFelsen
Yes, thanks for all that information; it's really great OlyKid88, thanks.
I was curious, how all the Federal Grant Money is accounted for. Is that part of the 'revenue'? The accounting terms used are definitely cryptic at times.
You stated that all of Intercity Transit (IT) 2025 revenue is from taxpayer funds, and yes, I believe that is true. I did want to note that some money comes from taxpayers all over the nation through grants IT has received from the Federal Transportation Administration, and Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grants. There's also grant money from WSDOT and Thurston County. At least there is some non-local help.
Sunday, March 16 Report this
The_Armed_Gardener
Intercity Transit is a job factory. The 3rd-floor jobs are for Evergreen-type do-nothings, who tend to be stay-at-home workers, for the most part. Tow the line, kiss up, and bake a cake for whatever function a purple-haired freak has got IT's nose ring flared. It's weird, and all get $100,000+ as a reward for pretending they transport people from here to there. The drivers? The turnover is insane. You transport junkies for a living with nice words from above to protect you. They try to make it seem nice. It's not nice. The Job Factory is broken.
Sunday, March 16 Report this
OlyKid88
GFelsen - While it is all taxpayer money, it is made up with money from the Federal Government and not just local tax payers. My guess is our local tax payers are also paying for transit in other cities with their Federal Taxes. Maybe there is a breakout somewhere that I haven't seen between the different types of funding.
I have an aversion to the word Revenue when Taxpayer Funds or Taxpayer Funded Grants seems more appropriate.
I don't think the broader community has the bandwidth to get into these details and question the strategy. My gut tells me that the scope of these numbers wouldn't go over well. Costs seem high and anecdotally, bus utilization appears low.
I know in my life here in Olympia, it feels like the bureaucracy has got away from us and broke through the guardrails.
There isn't a medium by which these topics get discussed by the community to any level of meaningful detail to help ensure that taxpayers are informed to vote appropriately. Intercity Transit is so important to the community that this needs to be right sized to ensure its long term viability. I don't think this cost model can accomplish that. Taxpayers are tapped out.
The local bureaucracy just grows, and does so in a way that makes accountability nearly impossible.
Monday, March 17 Report this
DudeInOlympia
*Clutches pearls* "Oh my goodness! MY tax dollars going to a service that I don't utilize! ToO mUcH mOnIeS tO tHe GrIfTeRs"
It is clear in the comments for almost every single article related to public transit that there isn't a lot of experience needing the bus or knowing someone who utilizes the bus/dial-a-lift system as their ONLY resource to get around town, especially if they are disabled (not directed at you OlyKid)
Monday, March 17 Report this
HappyOlympian
Interesting, the comments sections does not seem to include anyone form IT to address any of the quite shrewd observations and insights folks have shared here.
One thing no one seems to mention anywhere is the significant road damage all those large vehicles make. Olympia roads terrible, and seems that they are especially bad along the bus routes thru residential areas.
Wednesday, March 19 Report this
The_Armed_Gardener
HappyOlympian, would it surprise you that opinions outside of normal channels might be met with glaringly obvious repercussions?
Thursday, March 20 Report this
OlyKid88
HappyOlympian - These entities don't have a strong governing board structure. 5 local political members get to choose 3 other "community" members, plus a union representative.
This also explains why there isn't much discussion of the operational aspects, or financial management, of Intercity Transit.
By design, the expertise of the Board isn't aligned with the complexity of running a huge, diverse, $125mm a year organization. The Board doesn't lead, it follows.
This is often the answer to the common question in Olympia - "How in the world could this happen?"
https://www.intercitytransit.com/about-us/transit-authority
Thursday, March 20 Report this