Community Transit

This article is about the transit agency in Snohomish County, Washington. For other uses, see Community transit.

Community Transit
The logo of Community Transit
Two deadheading Community Transit buses in Seattle: an articulated bus and a "Double Tall" double-decker bus
Commenced operationOctober 4, 1976 (1976-10-04)[1]
Headquarters2312 W. Casino Road
Everett, Washington[2]
LocalePuget Sound region
Service areaSnohomish County, Washington
Service typeBus service
AllianceSound Transit
Routes33
Stops1,664[3]
Depots2
Fleet282 buses, 52 paratransit vehicles, 362 vanpool vans[3]
Daily ridership28,000 (weekdays, Q2 2024)[4]
Annual ridership7,133,700 (2023)[5]
Fuel typeDiesel (with some hybrid electric vehicles)
OperatorTransdev (commuter and ST routes only)[6]
Chief executiveRic Ilgenfritz
Websitewww.communitytransit.org

Community Transit (CT) is the public transit authority of Snohomish County, Washington, United States, in the Seattle metropolitan area. It operates local bus, paratransit and vanpool service within Snohomish County, excluding the city of Everett. CT is publicly funded, financed through sales taxes, federal grants, and farebox revenue, with an annual operating budget of $231.6 million as of 2024.[7] In 2023, the system had a ridership of 7,133,700, or about 28,000 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024, placing it fourth among transit agencies in the Puget Sound region.[8]: 37 [9] The city of Everett, which serves as the county seat, is served by Everett Transit, a municipal transit system.

The system, officially the Snohomish County Public Transportation Benefit Area Corporation (SCPTBA), operates a fleet of 282 accessible transit buses, 52 paratransit vehicles, and 362 vanpool vans, maintained at two bus bases in Everett.[3] Service is provided year-round at oiver 1,600 stops on 33 routes throughout the county public transportation benefit area (PTBA). These include three Swift Bus Rapid Transit lines, commuter routes that connect with Link light rail, and service to regional Sound Transit facilities. CT also operates several Sound Transit Express routes within Snohomish County and on the Interstate 405 corridor.

CT began operation as SCPTBA Public Transit on October 4, 1976, four months after voters approved a ballot initiative to establish and fund a new transit system—the third such attempt to create a PTBA. Renamed Community Transit in 1979, the agency expanded service in its first decades of existence, later taking over King County Metro commuter routes to Seattle in 1989 and adding several cities into its PTBA in the 1980s and 1990s. The agency operated commuter service directly to destinations in Seattle until September 14, 2024, shortly after Link light rail was extended to Lynnwood City Center station. CT was the first operator of bus rapid transit in Washington state and introduced "Double Tall" double-decker buses on its commuter routes to Seattle in the early 2010s.

  1. ^ "Agency Profile". Community Transit. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  2. ^ "Contact Us". Community Transit. Archived from the original on September 10, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "Community Transit 2023–2028 Transit Development Plan" (PDF). Community Transit. September 7, 2023. pp. 20, 26. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  4. ^ "Transit Ridership Report Second Quarter 2024" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  5. ^ "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  6. ^ "Extending Our Partnership With Community Transit" (Press release). Transdev. January 18, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  7. ^ "2024 Adopted Budget" (PDF). Community Transit. pp. 11–13, 53. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  8. ^ 2016–2021 Transit Development Plan (PDF) (Report). Community Transit. May 5, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  9. ^ Charnews, Mark (May 2014). "Regional Transit Ridership" (PDF). Puget Sound Trends. Puget Sound Regional Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 16, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2014.