PORT ANGELES — The Clallam Transit System board on Wednesday unanimously approved a one-year pilot program that would eliminate fares on fixed routes starting Jan. 1, 2024.
The zero-fare program will apply to buses operating on predetermined routes and schedules, Clallam Connect, Interlink and Dial a Ride.
The Strait Shot to the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal and the Hurricane Ridge Shuttle are not included in the zero-fare program. However, veterans with a CTS ID card and passengers younger than 18 will continue to be able to ride for free on those routes.
The board tasked CTS staff at its September meeting with creating a plan to implement a zero-fare program to encourage more people to take public transit. Staff will provide quarterly reports to the board on ridership trends and comparisons to past years.
About 4 percent of CTS revenues come from fares.
The zero-fare program will be funded with a $1.9 million 2023-2025 Move Ahead Washington grant from the state Department of Transportation.
CTS will begin rolling out public outreach Nov. 1 with notices in CTS vehicles, on its website and on social media, in KONP traffic update announcements and notifications when customers call CTS.
There are eight zero-fare transit systems in the state.
In other news:
• CTS will install six free bike lockers by the Port Angeles City Pier next to the Olympic Discovery Trail.
There are four bike lockers in the Gateway Transit Center parking garage that have been lightly used because of problems related to people storing their personal belongings in them, but that issue has mostly been resolved with the assistance of the downtown resource officer, General Manager Jim Fetzer said.
• The Hurricane Ridge Shuttle logged almost 25,000 rides from June 27 to Oct. 9, operations manager Jason McNickle said, but ridership dropped sharply after Labor Day.
“Next year maybe we’ll run from Memorial Day to Labor Day,” McNickle said.
He said staff were also considering adding shuttles later in the day; this summer, the last shuttle left Hurricane Ridge at 3:45 p.m.
• Costumed CTS employees will hand out candy on a “Boo bus” decked out for Halloween during downtown trick-or-treat from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 31.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
