Everett City Council Update: Transit Changes on the Horizon
Header image: Richard Porter
Everyone needs to get from point A to point B. While many people utilize cars, we know this is not the only way to move around our city. Everett is lucky in that we have both Everett Transit and Community Transit in addition to bike and car lanes. Public transit ridership levels are growing in our city, and car traffic is worsening, so it makes sense for us to start looking at strengthening our public transit options.
A Transit Consolidation briefing was given in the January 31st City Council meeting. This briefing was not the first time Transit changes have been discussed on Council, and Tom Hingson, our Transit Director, and Roland Behee, Community Transit’s Chief Operating Officer, were able to provide some updates on where we need (and want) to go from here.
In 2018, Everett Transit completed its first long-term plan. In 2019, the Council initiated an evaluation of services with a Rethink Transit study, which resulted in three potential options for the future of Everett Transit - no change, growth, or growth through consolidation. In June 2022, the decision was made to study the “growth and consolidation” option. Since then, the work has focused on collaborating with Community Transit and the City of Everett to see what that type of consolidation would look like and what benefits (and risks) there would be for our city, especially considering the current light rail plan.
The goal of this consolidated system would be to provide more service (more frequent, longer service hours, etc.), more destinations, and more opportunities in general for riders. This would build on our current system, which includes 10 Everett Transit routes, as well as the Swift Blue and Green Lines from Community Transit. A consolidated system would generate an additional 5 Everett Transit routes, expand services for all 15 routes until 9 PM or later, ensure 14 of these routes have service every 30 minutes or better, and put more emphasis on providing better access and direct services to the light rail and other transit options (to better integrate the systems).
In addition to this expansion of routes and service hours, there is also a plan to expand fixed-route transit to 2 areas - Downtown Everett and the Eastmont/Silver Lake area. These would not be bus routes, but mirror the CT Zip Alderwood Shuttle, so riders could use these on-demand shared ride services within those areas for the same cost as using our local buses.
At this point, no decisions have been made, so we’ll see this topic return in future meetings (as well as more details on how these services will be supported considering our budget deficit). The Transit team also has a plan for robust community engagement in 2025, where they can share information and gather input before making an official proposal. Ultimately, after the proposal is made, the final step will be the voters deciding whether to accept the proposal on a future ballot.
We know Transit changes are coming, including the Swift Orange line opening on March 30, 2024 (with an Opening Block Party that very day from 12-3 PM at Edmonds College), and the light rail (eventually) making its way North of Lynnwood. Strong communities have strong transit options accessible to all their community members. Growing our Everett Transit system proactively, as well as utilizing all of our resources to create a more holistic system, will surely make our beloved city all the better.
Angela Di Filippo currently works in State Social Services and recently earned her Masters in Industrial/Organizational Psychology with extensive training in evidence-based leadership coaching. Angela moved from North Carolina to Washington 6 years ago and has proudly called Everett her home for 5 of those years. When not helping others solve problems in creative and strength-driven ways, Angela enjoys her time painting, hiking with her terrier-mix, Indy, and eating waffles.
