Leaders in East Pierce discuss cutting ties with Pierce Transit
SARA SCHILLING
Some East Pierce leaders say they’re looking into what it would take to cut ties with Pierce Transit and provide alternative public transportation in the wake of cuts that will slash service in their part of the county this fall.
But it’s unlikely any new transit option will be in place in the near future. No official move to break with Pierce Transit has been taken, and the process to do so is lengthy and complicated.
Pierce Transit will no longer serve Orting and Buckley, and Bonney Lake and Sumner will see reductions, along with other parts of the county.
In Orting, “we’re frustrated” by the loss of service, said Mayor Cheryl Temple. “Our ultimate goal is to find a way to serve the people.”
Two or more cities in the transit district can initiate a boundary revision by calling for a Public Transportation Improvement Conference comprised of representatives from every city in the county, as well as the county itself.
The County Council makes an initial boundary proposal, and all the cities weigh in, according to information from Pierce Transit about the process.
The public also gets a say. Ultimately, the conference adopts a resolution fixing new boundaries, which then go to the County Council for review.
Cities aren’t the only entities that can initiate the boundary revision process. The County Council, transit board and groups of citizens via petition also have the authority, Pierce Transit said.
The Pierce Transit board may discuss the possibility of initiating a boundary change at a meeting next month, said Jessyn Farrell, agency spokeswoman.
There also are discussions happening at the county level, officials said.
Pierce Transit hasn’t gone through the process before, but Intercity Transit – its neighbor in Thurston County – did about a decade ago.
It had to shrink its service area in the face of declining sales tax revenue and loss of funding due to the passage of Initiative 695, which repealed the state motor vehicle excise tax, said Rhodetta Seward, executive services director. The process took about five months, she said.
Intercity Transit already had done sweeping layoffs and service reductions, she said.
Pierce Transit recently has been tightening its belt. Last month, the agency’s board approved a 20 percent service reduction to help bridge a $51 million budget shortfall due to the recession and the failure of a sales tax ballot measure.
The second phase of cuts – approved about two weeks ago – eliminates 15 fixed routes starting in October, including several in the eastern reaches of the county.
The eliminated routes are more expensive to operate and don’t have as many riders as others in the system, Pierce Transit officials have said.
“It was extremely difficult to make these decisions,” board Chairwoman Claudia Thomas of Lakewood said in statement after the vote. “The commissioners and I realize that everyone who depends on public transportation will be impacted by these cuts, but we did the best we could with the resources we have available to us.”
The agency in February proposed raising its sales tax collection from six cents to nine cents on every $10 purchase to avoid the service cuts, but voters rejected the measure.
A route between the Bonney Lake Park & Ride and Sumner’s Sounder station was on the chopping block, but the board opted to retain it through next February while officials explore working with partners including Sound Transit to help pay for it, Farrell said.
Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow said he’s thankful for that because parking at the train station already is cramped. He said his city is watching the boundary revision developments but hasn’t decided whether it wants to leave Pierce Transit.
“There are a lot of conversations (taking place),” he said. “It’ll be interesting to see what happens.”
Bonney Lake Mayor Neil Johnson, who represents small cities and towns on the transit board and voted against the latest cuts, said he wants to see something done. People on the plateau need bus service, and its unfair for them to contribute sales tax if they’re not getting that service, he’s said.
He said that while his city explores its options, leaders also want to keep lobbying Pierce Transit for more service.
“We’ll have to see what happens,” Johnson said. “We just want some service.”
