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Moving to 2020 - The Route Ahead: I.T.'s Long-Range System Plan

by Stefan Marks and Susan Hanson, Intercity Transit

Special to the Green Pages

Description of Public Transportation Packages

Three packages were proposed by the Intercity Transit Authority. Each package assumes that Dial-A-Lift service for people with disabilities is projected to double by 2020. Packages 2 and 3 propose significant expansion of transit service along the corridors where jobs and population are expected to grow the most.

• Package 1 Maintain existing transit service and moderately increase the vanpool program.

• Package 2 Expanded transit system that increases service roughly in pace with the expansion of population and significantly increases the vanpool program.

• Package 3 Expanded transit system and vanpool program that presents the most dramatic effort toward transit intensification that is now conceivable. This scenario intensifies per capita service quantities to 40% above present levels, and also introduces High Capacity Transit (HCT) service. -}

  Recommended Transit and Vanpool Services for 2020

  On May 21, 1997 the Intercity Transit Authority reviewed the three long-range growth options for increasing public transportation described in Intercity Transit's draft Long-Range System Plan. Upon reviewing a draft version of this plan, the Intercity Transit Authority adopted the plan, including the following recommendations:

  • Package 2 represents an appropriate level of service to pursue in the next ten years.
  • The decision of whether to pursue Package 3 (including High Capacity Transit) can be postponed until after 2005, when some of Package 2 has been implemented.
  • To support Package 2, the voters would be asked to authorize an increase of 0.2 cents in the local sales tax for transit purposes. This could be combined with other non-transit projects into a larger plan for transportation improvements in the region, depending on recommendations emerging from the Regional Transportation Plan.
  • Intercity Transit, Thurston Regional Planning Council and local governments should prepare a policy to protect transit travel times.
  • Intercity Transit should adopt service allocation standards to guide service-planning decisions and to determine the balance between productivity-oriented service and service oriented toward rural coverage. -}

    Package 2

    	Existing Service (1996)	Package 2*, Medium Growth (2020) !!
    Annual Transit Service Hours	264,000	550,000
    Annual Fixed-Route Boardings:
    Weekday	11,851	38,707
    Annual	3,731,350	11,221,246
    Cost per Fixed-Route Boarding	$4.20	$2.30
    Cost (millions)		$665
    Surplus/Deficit (millions)		$20.1
    New Sales Tax Increment	none	0.2 cents

    *2020 dollar totals are expressed in 1995 dollars.

    Over the next 20 years, Intercity Transit will focus most of its resources on the goal of maximizing ridership and productivity. Productivity is a measure of how many people use the transit service. Productivity also enables Intercity Transit to maintain ongoing financial stability by generating more fares. Increasing transit ridership and decreasing auto trips provides the most benefit on traffic congestion and air quality.

    The productivity strategy requires concentrating service where the ridership potential is greatest, and where the car is at the greatest disadvantage. These tend to be the most densely developed areas of the county. Thus, the plan proposes significant expansion of transit service along the corridors where jobs and population are expected to grow the most.

    Intercity Transit will continue to provide some services for basic mobility to the major rural communities of the county and will also continue to provide some evening and weekend service aimed largely at meeting basic mobility needs for those without cars. These services will be provided largely regardless of productivity, that is, regardless of how intensively the service is used. Dial-A-Lift service for the disabled will also continue as required by federal law. Finally, Intercity Transit will continue to provide vanpools and carpool matching. Vanpools as a commute option have been growing and I.T. will continue to expand them as demand increases.

    Summary of the Recommended Transit Network and Vanpool Program

    • Primary transit routes - backbone of the proposed transit system. Runs on major corridors like Martin Way and Harrison Avenue every 15 minutes all day.
    • Secondary transit routes - serves suburban areas like southeast Olympia, Tumwater Hill and east Lacey every 30 minutes at peak times and hourly at off-peak times.
    • Rural transit routes - serves existing rural communities such as Rochester and Boston Harbor hourly at peak times and every two hours at off-peak times.
    • Intercounty express routes - provides express transit service on I-5 from Olympia, stopping at Lacey and Hawks Prairie to connect at Lakewood with Regional Transit Authority (RTA) services to Seattle.
    • Dial-A Lift - specialized transportation services for people with disabilities. This service is projected to double in the amount of hours operated over the next 20 years.
    • Vanpools - provide options for long-distance commuters to areas or employment sites where transit cannot efficiently serve. Vanpools would increase from 38, the current number of groups, to 258 groups in the year 2020.
    • Facilities - new transit centers in northeast Lacey and west Olympia and an expanded bus maintenance facility. Increase the bus and van fleet from 105 vehicles to 202 vehicles by 2020. -}

      Description of Proposed Transit Services and Vanpool Program

      Primary Transit Corridors

      The most substantial service increases envisioned in this plan are focused on the most dense corridors in the urban area. Package 2 proposes Primary Transit Corridors where transit service will operate at 15 minute frequencies or better. These primary transit corridors are:

      • Martin Way linking Olympia, Lacey, and Hawks Prairie
      • Pacific Avenue linking Olympia and Lacey
      • Capitol Avenue from Olympia to South Tumwater/Labor and Industries
      • Littlerock Road from Tumwater Square/Custer Avenue to South Tumwater/Labor and Industries
      • West Harrison and Kaiser Road linking Olympia, Capital Mall, and The Evergreen State College
      • A link from downtown Olympia to South Puget Sound Community College, and from there to Capital Mall -}

        These primary transit corridors will support the most intensive transit-oriented land-use patterns and the highest likely transit ridership in Thurston County. For this reason, they would be the top priority for amenity improvements and transit preferential treatments, all aimed at providing a far higher level of quality, reliability, and convenience than transit provides today. For example, primary transit corridors would offer:

        • A consistent frequency of every 15 minutes or less all day. This frequency offers a high level of convenience. It is possible to simply go to a bus stop and know that a bus will be coming soon. In two corridors (Downtown Olympia to Tumwater Square and Downtown Olympia to Pacific and Boulevard) service would be every 7.5 minutes.
        • Intercity Transit will work with local governments to make special provisions for speed and reliability to maintain the operating speed of transit. This may mean adding transit lanes, signal coordination, signal priority, or other features in the future to ensure that journey times on transit will retain speed as traffic congestion grows.
        • Primary network buses will need to remain large because they will carry large loads. However, these buses will not feel much like the large buses in service today. New low-floor technology offers a much more spacious bus that feels much like a rail car, while also allowing faster boarding for most patrons, especially those in wheelchairs. -}

          Secondary Transit Routes

          Secondary transit corridors, with frequencies ranging from 30 to 60 minutes, are envisioned to remain covering the rest of the urbanized area, including a link to Yelm. These corridors will operate with a range of bus sizes depending on demand.

          Intercounty Commuter Routes

          Frequent transit service is also assumed in the intercounty corridor to Pierce County, with a high-speed route stopping only at Olympia Transit Center, the Capitol Campus, Lacey Transit Center, a new Hawks Prairie Transit Center, and Lakewood Park-and-Ride and its commuter rail terminal, with connections to Tacoma and Seattle.

          Local Commuter Express

          Intercity Transit currently operates several services that provide express links from one part of Thurston County to another. Some will be replaced by intercounty commuter service and frequent local service. For example, the 7.5-minute local frequencies proposed in Package 2 will provide access at least as attractive as the present State Office Shuttle.

          State Office Shuttles and Custom Bus

          State Office Shuttles and Custom Bus services (which provide evening service in lower density areas) would be phased out as more frequent regular fixed-route service comes on line. The state subsidy for the shuttles could be replaced by a fare subsidy, permitting state employees to ride at a reduced fare in return for not using valuable parking space at state offices.

          The proposed primary network will provide high-frequency links among all the major activity centers in downtown Olympia, eliminating the need for special downtown shuttles.

          Service for People With Disabilities

          Dial-A-Lift service, which provides door-to-door service for senior citizens and persons with disabilities, is projected to double by 2020, up from 42,000 in 1997. This growth is the same in all scenarios, because it is largely driven by the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act. In 1997, Dial-A-Lift is expected to total 16% of overall operating costs and service hours. In a scenario with no new resources, Dial-A-Lift in 2020 could total 30% of I.T.'s service hours.

          Rural Services and Mason, Grays Harbor and Lewis County Connections

          The present level of rural service is assumed to continue, including links with Lewis and Mason Counties. Rural services would be augmented during peak hours. Intercity Transit would work with Twin Transit (Lewis County), Mason County Transit and Grays Harbor Transit to design comprehensive intercounty service that could be funded under Package 2. A specific link that is needed is service to Centralia and Chehalis from south Thurston County.

          Vanpools

          Intercity Transit's successful vanpool program is expected to continue and to be expanded as resources permit. Vanpools are a variation on carpools in which I.T. provides a van for use in a particular commute, where 8-15 people are available to fill the van. Vanpools are driven by one of the commuters, not by an I.T. driver, and for this reason they have minimal operating costs for I.T. The demand for vanpools is expected to grow dramatically. Vanpools will be especially important in serving employers who are not well served by the fixed route system.

          For more information on Intercity Transit's Long-Range System Plan, contact Stefan Marks at 786-8585.

          Susan Hanson is the Director of Marketing and Communications at Intercity Transit, and Stefan Marks is I.T.'s Long-Range Planning Manager.

          
          

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