PORT ANGELES — Bus riders in the Port Angeles-Sequim corridor will soon have another option for midday travel.
Beginning Monday, Clallam Transit’s No. 30 U.S. Highway 101 commuter bus will offer a weekday trip leaving the Port Angeles Gateway Transit Center at 11:30 a.m. for the Sequim Transit Center.
Transit officials say the service improvement will reduce crowding on the 11 a.m. and noon trips on the commuter bus out of Port Angeles, which are historically busier-than-average runs.
The new run also could attract new riders and improve on-time performance, officials said.
The Clallam Transit board approved the new trip at its February meeting.
The annual cost of the service is $31,800 and was included in the 2016 budget, General Manager Wendy Clark-Getzin said.
Earlier this year, Clallam Transit added trip a 5:30 a.m. trip for the No. 30 bus.
The No. 30 generally offers 30-minute service except between 9 a.m. and noon, when the bus comes hourly.
“The No. 30 11:30 [a.m.] run makes a higher level of service for midday trips and is a CTS [Clallam Transit System] commitment to provide more service to make CTS the preferred mode of motorized transportation,” Clark-Getzin said.
Driver appreciation
In other transit news, the board proclaimed today as Transit Driver Appreciation Day.
The proclamation was made to tell public bus drivers they make a difference, to demonstrate public gratitude and to celebrate their contributions, Clark-Getzin said.
The appreciation day was conceived by transit riders in Seattle in 2009.
March 18 was selected as the unofficial holiday because that is the day bus service is believed to have debuted in Paris in 1662, Clark-Getzin said.
“Operating public transit buses doesn’t just take physical skill but requires the ability to multitask while providing great customer service,” Clark-Getzin said.
“Transit drivers manage to keep a schedule, check fares, give directions, announce stops and remember stop requests, all for hours on end, while maneuvering extra-large vehicles through unpredictable traffic, adverse weather conditions and in some really tight places.”
For information on Clallam Transit, including routes, fares and pass outlets, phone 360-452-4511 or click on www.clallamtransit.com.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
