Island Transit

ISLAND TRANSIT MAXIMIZED

Island Transit Maximized is an initiative that has evaluated all aspects of our current public transit system and identified where improvements can be made to create more accessible, convenient, safe, friendly, and sustainable bus services. This provides all our community members greater access to jobs, education, shopping, residential areas, medical facilities, and other opportunities across Island County.

Overview of Island Transit Maximized

This is a multi-phased process. The first phase was to analyze our route structure and see if we are meeting the needs of our community.

In the second phase we asked community members for feedback on six different options designed to improve services.

Third phase will begin September 26, 2022:

Route 9West serving West Oak Harbor - this is a new route serving a previously unserved area of Oak Harbor.

Routes 2 and 10 taking the place of the current Route 14 - the service area will remain the same - riders can expect more frequency and greater access.

Optimization of NASWI service.

Island Transit Maximized Key Takeaways

* six improvement packages

* board expected to decide in April 2022

* expanding service days and hours

* improving connections

* no one is losing service - routes are being improved

* introduction of on-demand service

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Overview of proposed “options”

Fehr and Peers have provided the following six different options to improve our services (all costs are approximate and on a yearly basis). The improvements being considered include:

New Sunday Service

This new Sunday service would mirror the service we currently have on Saturdays. It would increase our ridership approximately 4% and make it possible for our islands to be fully accessible by community members and tourists seven days a week. This would expand opportunities to those who need transit the most, including essential workers who work on Sundays. COST: $660,000
Oak Harbor Improvements, and Camano Optimization

This includes greater frequency of service and to more areas in Oak Harbor, as well more frequent service on Camano Island, with some less dense areas receiving on-demand service. It would improve ridership 13% on those routes. COST: $745,000
South Whidbey Extension, and Camano optimization

This includes new connections between Langley and Freeland, and more frequent service in the south end, including mid-day to Scachet Head. This option also improves service on Camano Island and improves ridership by 15% on those routes. COST: $600,000
Expanded Coupeville Ferry Connections

This option would provide more frequent service to the Coupeville ferry and replace unproductive service with an on-demand pilot project. This increases ridership on those routes by 18%. COST: $150,000
Extended hours - Later service

This option will add some later service to key destination to support those who don’t work traditional 9-5 days. It would increase ridership on those routes by 3%. COST: $335,000
New Seasonal Service on Central Whidbey

This service would operate during the summer months, connecting central Whidbey state parks that are presently not well-served, including Fort Ebey State Park, Ebey’s Landing, and Fort Casey. COST: $137,000