Intercity Transit

Intercity Transit
Headquarters526 Pattison St. SE
Olympia, Washington
Service areaThurston County, Washington
Service typeBus, paratransit
Routes21[1]
Daily ridership4,100 (weekdays, Q2 2024)[2]
Annual ridership3,955,100 (2023)[3]
Fuel typeB20 Diesel (Biodiesel)
General ManagerEmily Bergkamp[4]
Websiteintercitytransit.com
Intercity Transit "Dash" Bus 951 running in the Lakefair parade

Intercity Transit is a public transportation agency organized as a municipal corporation in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It serves Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and Yelm and Lakewood: an area of approximately 94 square miles (240 km2). It operates 21 bus routes,[5] the Dial-A-Lift door-to-door service, a vanpool program, and specialized van programs.

In 2023, the system had a ridership of 3,955,100, or about 4,100 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.[2][3]

Intercity Transit maintains a free shuttle route called Dash, which provides service between the Capitol Campus and downtown Olympia via Capitol Way.[6] Dash runs every fifteen minutes on weekdays, and every ten minutes on weekends, and is close to several public parking lots.

In 2009, the American Public Transportation Association gave Intercity Transit the America's Best Public Transportation System award for the mid-size category.[7]

Intercity Transit began a five-year zero-fare pilot project in January 2020 as part of its service expansion approved in a 2018 ballot measure.[8][9] The agency also launched a zero-fare express bus route connecting Capital Mall to Lacey in September 2019.[10] The pilot was extended to 2028 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which also forced the suspension of the express route and Dash.[11]

Fleet

Intercity Transit operates 77 coaches, 33 Dial-A-Lift vans, and 221 vanpool vans.[12] Intercity Transit purchased six new hybrid electric buses in 2010,[13] and nine new hybrid electric buses in 2014. Intercity Transit is one of the first transportation systems in the country to use an all-biodiesel fleet.

All of Intercity Transit's coaches are Gillig Low Floor buses.[14] They are equipped with wheelchair accessibility, kneeling doors, automatic stop announcements, and surveillance cameras.

References

  1. ^ Routes
  2. ^ a b "Transit Ridership Report Second Quarter 2024" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  4. ^ General Manager of Intercity Transit
  5. ^ "Routes". Intercity Transit. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  6. ^ Dash Shuttle
  7. ^ "APTA Award Fact Sheet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-22. Retrieved 2012-12-12.
  8. ^ Banse, Tom (January 2, 2020). "'Get on and go!' No bus fare needed anymore on Olympia transit system". KUOW. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  9. ^ Sundell, Allison (December 5, 2019). "Thurston County buses to launch zero-fare pilot in January". KING 5 News. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  10. ^ Spegman, Abby (September 11, 2019). "Coming soon: A bus ride across Olympia in 10 stops — for free". The Olympian. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  11. ^ Tu, Maylin (September 21, 2022). "As Fare-Free Transit Catches On, Checking In On 5 Cities With Free Public Transit". NextCity. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  12. ^ Meet the Fleet
  13. ^ "Hybrid Fact Sheet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2012-12-12.
  14. ^ "Fleet Composition" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-09. Retrieved 2012-12-12.