STA aims to carry more commuters

The Spokane Transit Authority is turning its attention to what officials say is an underdeveloped market: people who ride the bus to get to work.

In addition to offering wireless Internet service on six new 60-foot articulating commuter buses within a couple of months, STA officials are proposing basic service improvements that would cost more than $1.3 million a year.

STA directors will hold a public hearing on those basic service proposals on April 19. But adding wireless Internet service to some buses will proceed without a hearing because it will cost only $6,954 in its first year, including equipment, and about $2,500 a year after that.

One of the proposed route changes would restore express bus service to suburban areas north of Spokane. A new North Express route would run between the Hastings Road park-and-ride lot and downtown Spokane with no stops except at Francis, Wellesley and Broadway avenues.

The route would offer weekday service at 15-minute intervals between 5 and 9 a.m. and between 3 and 7 p.m.

Officials say the new route would require four more drivers and five more buses at an estimated cost of $420,000 a year. The buses would be acquired by delaying planned replacement of older buses over the next two years.

In other changes:

•A route realignment on the West Plains would provide direct service between downtown and Spokane International Airport at 30-minute intervals while improving commuter service to large employers along Sunset Highway, such as the Group Health offices and the Bank of America call center.

Only hourly service is available now to the airport and Sunset Highway businesses via Route 64.

The improvements would be accomplished by transferring airport service from Route 64 to an extended Valley Limited Route 74, which would give Liberty Lake and Spokane Valley residents a direct connection to the airport.

Route 64 would be realigned to provide better service to commuters. Officials would seek riders’ advice before deciding whether to change the service interval.

The changes would require five more drivers and three more buses and would cost an estimated $463,000 a year.

•Service improvements for Liberty Lake commuters would begin with acquisition of land to expand park-and-ride capacity. STA staff members say the Liberty Lake park-and-ride lot is at or near capacity, as are buses on routes 72 and 74 during peak hours.

Transit officials hope to acquire more parking space through lease or partnership arrangements that would cost little or nothing. Then they would ramp up service to match expected increases in demand, starting by using additional buses on some trips.

Eventually, officials say, the service interval on Route 72 would have to be decreased from 20 to 15 minutes. When that happens, three more drivers and three more buses would be needed. The annual operating cost would rise about $376,000.

•The STA would move toward creation of a park-and-ride lot at the Medical Lake interchange, Exit 272, on Interstate 90 by having Route 62 stop there. The STA staff has negotiated an agreement for buses to turn around in a service station parking lot at the interchange, and STA hopes to acquire a park-and-ride lot in that area at little or no cost.

•Early morning service would be added to five routes, including the new North Express and the revised Route 74 between Liberty Lake and the airport. One earlier pickup would be added on each route, arriving downtown at 5:45 a.m. The first downtown arrivals now are at 6:12 a.m.

Depending on how the proposed changes are received during the public hearing at the STA board’s April 19 meeting, the board could take final action at its May 17 meeting. The board meets at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council chambers at Spokane City Hall.

If the service improvements are approved, officials could start implementing them in September.