Kitsap Transit

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Kitsap Transit
Kitsap Transit logo.svg
Kitsap Transit.JPG
Kitsap Transit Bus 757 at the Washington State Ferry terminal in Bremerton
Founded1978
Commenced operation1983
Headquarters Bremerton, Washington
Locale Kitsap County, Washington
Service type Bus, foot ferry, vanpool, paratransit
Routes40
Hubs9
Fleet120 buses
Daily ridership69,700 (weekdays, Q4 2021) [1]
Annual ridership1,736,100 (2021) [1]
Fuel typeDiesel
OperatorKitsap County Public Transportation Benefit Area Authority
Website kitsaptransit.com

Kitsap Transit is a public transit agency serving Kitsap County, Washington, part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The system is based in Bremerton and operates bus service on 40 fixed routes, a foot ferry, a vanpool system, worker-driver services, and dial-a-ride services. The Kitsap Fast Ferries are also operated by Kitsap Transit. In 2021, the system had a ridership of 1,736,100, or about 69,700 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2021.

Contents

History

Beginning in 1971, the city of Bremerton operated a municipal transit system that had been bought out from a private company. [2]

A countywide public transportation benefit area (PTBA) was formed in 1978 to explore a transit system for Kitsap County as a whole. A 0.2 percent sales tax was put before voters in May of that year for a countywide system, but was rejected. [2] A second attempt was put on the September 27, 1982 ballot, with a 0.3 percent sales tax and a limited PTBA serving Bremerton, Gorst, Port Orchard, Poulsbo and Silverdale. The PTBA was approved by 55.6 percent of voters, and service began in January 1983, taking over the Bremerton municipal system. [3]

In 1992, Kitsap Transit became the first transit agency in the United States to install a traffic signal preemption system for bus priority, beginning with 40 buses and 42 traffic signals in a year-long trial of the "Opticom" system. [4]

Kitsap Transit formed a public-private partnership with Kitsap Ferry Company to operate a passenger ferry service between Bremerton and Seattle in 2004, replacing a former Washington State Ferries passenger run that was suspended the previous year. [5] The service was suspended in 2007, after voters rejected a sales tax increase to fund the ferry's rising fuel costs. [6] Kitsap Transit, looking to revive the service, placed a 0.3 percent sales tax on the November 2016 ballot to fund fast ferry service, which was passed by voters. [7] The new Kitsap Fast Ferries service began operation on July 10, 2017, traveling 28 minutes between Bremerton and Seattle. [8] A second fast ferry route, connecting Kingston to Seattle, began operating in November 2018. [9]

In 2002, Kitsap Transit purchased Horluck Transportation, the operators of a foot ferry from Bremerton to Port Orchard and Annapolis, for $1.52 million. [10]

During a period of declining sales tax revenue following the Great Recession, Kitsap Transit made major service cuts to make up for a budget shortfall. Sunday and holiday service was discontinued in February 2009, low-performing routes were consolidated or eliminated later that year. Fares were raised twice to $2, and employees were laid off. [11]

In 2015, Kitsap Transit tested a double-decker bus from Alexander Dennis on routes serving ferry runs. [12] The agency debuted a new battery electric bus manufactured by Proterra in April 2018. [13]

Services

Kitsap Transit oversees the operations of these services:

Kitsap Transit participates in the ORCA Card program.

Kitsap Transit routes connect to Jefferson Transit, Mason Transit Authority, Pierce Transit and the Washington State Ferries terminals in Bremerton, Bainbridge, Kingston and Southworth.

Administration

Kitsap Transit is overseen by a ten-member executive board composed of the three county commissioners, the mayor of Bremerton, a Bremerton City Council member, appointed representatives from the cities of Bainbridge Island, Bremerton, Port Orchard, and Poulsbo, an at-large member from the three smaller cities, and a non-voting member representing the agency's labor unions. [14]

Current fleet

As of February 2016 [15] : 24–33 
Fleet
Number(s)		ThumbnailYearManufacturerModelNotes
730–747 Kitsap Transit 2003 Gillig Phantom 743-a.jpg 2003 Gillig 40' Phantom
  • Does not include 738 [15]
750–751 Kitsap Transit 2003 Gillig Low Floor 750-a.jpg 2003Gillig35' Low Floor
752–761 Kitsap Transit 2004 Gillig Low Floor 754-a.jpg 2004Gillig35' Low Floor
762–766 Kitsap Transit 2005 Gillig Low Floor 763-a.jpg 2005Gillig35' Low Floor
770–774 Kitsap Transit 2004 Gillig Low Floor 774-a.jpg 2004Gillig40' Low Floor
775–779 Kitsap Transit 2005 Gillig Low Floor 776-a.jpg 2005Gillig40' Low Floor
780–7872016Gillig30' Low Floor
975–978 Kitsap Transit 2002 Eldorado Aerotech 976-a.jpg 2002 ElDorado 24' Aerotech
979–980 Kitsap Transit 2003 Eldorado Aerotech 980-a.jpg 2003ElDorado26' Aerotech
6000–6042 Kitsap Transit MCI 102D3 6008-a.jpg 1993–2002 MCI 102D3
  • Previously used coaches purchased for Worker/Driver routes.
7000–7016 Kitsap Transit 2010 Arboc Spirit of Mobility 7006-a.jpg 2010 ARBOC Spirit of Mobility
7017–7025 Kitsap Transit 2012 Arboc Spirit of Mobility 7019-a.jpg 2012 ARBOC Spirit of Mobility

Related Research Articles

Kitsap County, Washington County in Washington, United States

Kitsap County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 275,611. Its county seat is Port Orchard, and its largest city is Bremerton. The county was formed out of King County and Jefferson County on January 16, 1857, and is named for Chief Kitsap of the Suquamish Tribe. Originally named Slaughter County, it was soon renamed.

Poulsbo, Washington City in Washington, United States

Poulsbo is a city on Liberty Bay in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is the smallest of the four cities in Kitsap County. The population was 9,200 at the 2010 census and an estimated 10,927 in 2018.

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Kitsap Regional Library Library system in Kitsap County, Washington

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Ferries in Washington (state) Overview of ferry transportation in the U.S. state of Washington

The U.S. state of Washington is home to a number of public and private ferry systems, most notably the state-run Washington State Ferries.

Washington State Route 304 Highway in Washington

State Route 304 (SR 304) is a state highway in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It connects SR 3, a regional freeway, to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and downtown Bremerton. The designation of SR 304 continues onto the Seattle–Bremerton ferry operated by Washington State Ferries to Colman Dock in Downtown Seattle, terminating at SR 519 on Alaskan Way.

Seattle–Bremerton ferry

The Seattle–Bremerton ferry is a ferry route across Puget Sound between Seattle and Bremerton, Washington. Since 1951, the route has primarily been operated by the state-run Washington State Ferries system, currently the largest ferry system in the United States. Kitsap Transit also runs passenger-only "fast ferries" service on the route.

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MV <i>Melissa Ann</i>

The Melissa Ann is a 77-foot (23 m), 172 passenger passenger-only ferry owned by Four Seasons Marine and operated by Kitsap Transit as part of the Kitsap Fast Ferries fleet.

Mason Transit Authority

The Mason Transit Authority (MTA), formerly the Mason County Transportation Authority, is the public transit authority of Mason County, Washington, United States. It operates free bus service within the county, connecting the city of Shelton, Hoodsport, Grapeview, Allyn, Belfair, the native tribal reservations of the Skokomish and Squaxin people, and paid commuter service to Olympia in Thurston County, Brinnon in Jefferson County, and Bremerton in Kitsap County. The agency also provides general public dial-a-ride service, operates a vanpool fleet, a worker/driver program that provides commuter service to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, volunteer driver program for senior transportation, a supplemental service that is an after school activity bus and a community van program.

A public transportation benefit area, abbreviated as PTBA, is a type of public-benefit corporation for public transit operators in the U.S. state of Washington.

Kitsap Fast Ferries Passenger ferry system connecting Seattle to Kitsap County, Washington

Kitsap Fast Ferries is a passenger ferry service operating between Seattle and Kitsap County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is funded and operated by Kitsap Transit and began service in July 2017, with a single boat traveling between Seattle and Bremerton. A second route, from Seattle to Kingston, launched in November 2018, and a third route serving Seattle and Southworth began operating in March 2021. In 2021, the system had a ridership of 573,200, or about 24,900 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2021.

MV <i>Finest</i>

MV Finest is an aluminum-hulled catamaran fast passenger ferry built at Derecktor Shipyards in 1996. She is owned and operated by Kitsap Transit on a Seattle–Kingston route since 2018. Finest is a former NY Waterway vessel and at one point provided service from the Massachusetts mainland to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

References

  1. 1 2 "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2021" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 10, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Division of Public Transportation Planning (August 1978). "Local Transit-Statewide". Public Transportation in Washington State, 1978 Summary (PDF) (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. p. 23. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  3. ↑ Public Transportation Office (October 1984). "Local Transit". Public Transportation in Washington State (PDF) (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. p. 85. OCLC   13007541 . Retrieved August 23, 2016– via National Transportation Library.
  4. ↑ Whitely, Peyton (July 6, 1992). "Buses in Bremerton get the green light". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  5. ↑ Gilmore, Susan (July 31, 2004). "Kitsap Transit chief takes risk with ferries". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  6. ↑ Gilmore, Susan (March 9, 2007). "Bremerton passenger ferry run to end March 30". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  7. ↑ Garnick, Coral (August 5, 2016). "With a fast ferry on the ballot, commuting from Kitsap County may get easier". Puget Sound Business Journal . Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  8. ↑ Friedrich, Ed (March 24, 2017). "Kitsap Transit sets proposed schedule for new foot ferry". Kitsap Sun. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  9. ↑ Gutman, David (November 7, 2018). "Kitsap Transit launches Kingston-to-Seattle fast ferry service". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Kitsap Transit buys Horluck". Port Orchard Independent . June 12, 2008. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  11. ↑ Friedrich, Ed (July 19, 2009). "Kitsap Transit Is Proposing More Service Cuts Come Fall". Kitsap Sun . Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  12. ↑ Friedrich, Ed (May 26, 2015). "Kitsap Transit trying out double-decker bus". Kitsap Sun. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  13. ↑ Vosler, Christian (April 29, 2018). "Kitsap Transit debuts new electric bus". Kitsap Sun. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Transit Board". Kitsap Transit. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  15. 1 2 Transit Development Plan, 2016–2021 (PDF) (Report). Kitsap Transit. February 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
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