<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) Snohomish County Business Journal/JOHN WOLCOTT  (click to enlarge) Sleek, streamlined Swift buses will pull up at stations like this training facility at the Community Transit headquarters in south Everett. Snohomish County Business Journal/JOHN WOLCOTT  (click to enlarge) Sleek, streamlined Swift buses will pull up at stations like this training facility at the Community Transit headquarters in south Everett. Snohomish County Business Journal/JOHN WOLCOTT  (click to enlarge) Designed in a sleek style to look more train-like than bus-like, Community Transit’s SWIFT buses cut an impressive figure on the road and at the station.

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CONTACT SCBJ Kurt Batdorf, Editor kbatdorf@scbj.com

New Swift buses offer riders swift ticketing, swift loading, swift rides along Highway 99

By John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor

Get ready for Snohomish County's inauguration of its first Swift bus rapid transit service, also notable for being Washington state's first rapid transit bus line.

It's destined to make significant improvements in public transportation service within the county as well as for riders heading into King County and Seattle along Highway 99.

A fleet of 15 new Swift Community Transit buses will begin carrying passengers between the Everett Station and the Aurora Village transit center in Shoreline Nov. 30, making the trip an estimated 20-25 percent faster than regular buses.

The day before, Sunday, Nov. 29, Community Transit will hold a public launching ceremony for the Swift bus service from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Swift Crossroads Station at Highway 99 and 196th St. in Lynnwood, the first station to be completed of the 24 Swift stations planned between Everett Station and the Aurora Village Transit Center.

Creating the new Swift service marks the successful culmination of years of planning, designing, engineering and funding efforts by Community Transit, the City of Everett, Washington State Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration. Originally budgeted at $32 million, lower construction costs should bring the project in around $29.5 million, with Community Transit paying half of the cost.

Although Community Transit express buses from Everett Station can reach downtown Seattle faster via I-5, Swift service will provide improved service along Highway 99 compared to regular buses.

Swift bus riders going into Seattle via Highway 99 can make connections with Seattle Metro buses at the Aurora Village Transit Center. By 2013, Swift buses will be able to connect with Seattle's new RapidRide system for faster service into the city.

“What we've been able to do with this (Swift bus rapid transit) project is show that good planning and good partnership can bring major improvements to our transportation system quickly and affordably,” Community Transit CEO Joyce Eleanor said at the groundbreaking for the building of the first Swift transit station last December.

At that event, Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson said, “With Swift, riding the bus will not just be a way to get there, it will be the preferred way to get there.”

Eleanor said bus rapid transit “is gaining popularity across the country for its flexibility and low cost ... in these economic times we need to provide the most efficient public transportation service to those who need to get around for work, school, shopping or whatever destinations they choose.”

The partnership of Community Transit and Everett Transit will allow riders to use Community Transit Swift buses on city routes normally reserved for Everett Transit buses, freeing those buses for assignment to other city routes without the purchase of additional vehicles.

Swift buses really will be swift

The 62-foot-long hybrid-fueled articulated Swift buses, designed to look like high-speed trains, will arrive at each station every 10 minutes between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays, with evening and weekend service every 20 minutes up to midnight. The Swift buses will make only 12 stops between Everett Station and the Aurora Village Swift buses expected to increase ridership.

In 2008, Community Transit buses carried a record 11.9 million passengers, a million more than in 2007, according to tallies released last March. Ridership was up by 9 percent last year, marking the fourth consecutive year of record ridership gains for the agency.

“We have been encouraging people to think transit first, and many certainly did in 2008,” said Eleanor. “The high gas prices probably inspired a lot of people to try the bus, but even as gas prices dropped, we maintained record ridership levels. I think that shows that once people try the bus, they like it and they keep riding.”

The ridership figures, based on statistical analysis that is reported to the National Transportation Database, include all lines of Community Transit service — local and commuter buses, van pool and Dial-A-Ride Transportation (DART) paratransit service.

While ridership gains may level off in 2009 as unemployment statistics impact the number of people using buses to get to work, the advent of the Swift buses is expected to attract many more riders, although some will simply be switching to Swift transportation from other buses.

Between now and Nov. 30, when the full service starts, Community Transit staff will be spending a lot of time in the Swift transit corridor to introduce customers to the new service throughout this fall. Swift buses will be on display in various places along the route so people can visit them well before they're in service, including the Aurora Village Transit Center, Lynnwood Transit Center, Edmonds Community College, the Snohomish County Campus in Everett and elsewhere. Locations will be announced on Community Transit's Web site, www.communitytransit.org/Swift.

Cities such as Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Miami have been using buses in this way for several years, Millar said. Others such as Eugene, Ore., and Cleveland have added systems more recently.
Mock-up station provides training.

To train its drivers with the new buses, Community Transit built a mock-up at its south Everett headquarters. Drivers have been practicing precise stops required by the Swift system and getting use to the new features on the buses. Trainer Matt Chomjak said the hybrid buses run very quietly compared to conventional transit buses and accelerate more smoothly, with no noticeable gear shifting.

For now, the buses will use conventional diesel fuel but they're capable of running on biodiesel once fuel costs are lowered. Brakes on the bus power a generator that stores energy in batteries, using the same principle as hybrid-fuel cars. After the buses are up and running, Community Transit plans to activate reader boards at the stops to tell riders the number of minutes until the next bus arrives. The buses first must be fitted with GPS systems to make that phase of the service work accurately.

A tour of the Swift buses reveals major changes

During a tour of a Swift bus and station at the Everett training center, it was evident that there will be some dramatic differences for passengers who are used to the more convention transit vehicles.

“People will find more space and faster service,” said Martin Munguia, a media relations officer with Community Transit. “They can enter and leave through three wide doors. Seats are comfortable and the ease of loading bikes is unique. We looked at a variety of bike racks used by other transit systems but our maintenance staff didn't like any of them that much so they designed their own. Bikes can be wheeled on board, pushed up a special bike ramp and locked in place in one movement. The system makes removal easy and fast, too, quite a difference from buses that have to wait for riders to mount their bikes on the front of the vehicle before transit service can be resumed.”

The articulated buses have only 40 seats but dozens of hand staps for standing riders. He said stops between stations will range from .7 to 2 miles so many people will prefer standing for the short rides. With buses serving stations every 10 minutes, and short stops at each site, there will be a feeling of swiftness as the vehicles move along their routes.

“We'll have a 14-foot-high market, lighted at night, that will be easy to spot at each station, plus pay terminals at each station to speed boarding,” he said. “Computer screens and signs will guide people in using the new payment system, which takes $1 bills and a variety of coins. Tickets for each right show proof of payment so they should be kept with the riders once they enter the bus. He noted that the $124 penalty for getting on board without paying the fee goes to the Snohomish County court system, not to Community Transit.

“We just want to emphasize the importance of paying for your ticket to ride, but we're not trying to make extra money from those who don't pay. That's not the point of it,” Munguia explained.

Only Swift buses will stop at Swift stations, he said. Buses waiting for transferring riders will be parked a short distance from the Swift station so they don't interfere with the faster service.

Stations will provide maps and transit information

“Maps and information will be provided at each station, including 16-page pamphlets with station information that riders can take home with them. our station maps will also show public landmarks nearby, such as convention centers or libraries or government offices, to help orient people to different surroundings while they travel,” he said.

Munguia expects many of the riders will be taking advantage of the Swift buses for short trips, from downtown Everett to Casino Road in south Everett, for instance, rather than taking the bus from one end of the route to the other. That way it speeds service for short-trip passengers as well as those heading to downtown Seattle or back.

“We'll have more accurate numbers once we start running the service,' he said, but we figure the Swift buses will cut about 25 percent off the former travel time with convention buses and bus stops.
He thinks riders will like the stations, too, each with different decorative designs in the concrete and an 8x8-foot space for each city to install its own distinctive artwork to decorate its bus platforms.

“Swift buses are going to make significant changes in how people travel and how much they enjoy the trip,” he said.