STA seeking feedback on planned 2025 service changes

The Spokane Transit Authority is requesting public input on a slate of service changes coming to the system next year that could boost service for those outside of Spokane’s city limits.

Through an online survey, the regional transit agency is soliciting feedback on a high-performance transit route running from Liberty Lake to the larger West Plains, route frequency changes in Airway Heights and bringing double-decker buses to Cheney – just a few changes expected to take effect by next September included in a draft service change plan released last month.

Every year, the agency develops and releases a revision plan for the year ahead detailing what routes will be cut, added or altered, as well as other changes to the broader movements.

STA spokeswoman Carly Cortright said services are altered roughly three times a year, in January, May and September. The changes at the start of the year typically account for lost time amid winter weather, while those in May usually affect Cheney, where express routes for Eastern Washington University students are put on hiatus for the summer.

“For the most part, September would be when we implement more significant changes across the system,” Cortright said.

Much of next year’s changes are focused on improving services for residents in the system’s outskirts, part of the last stint of projects funded by a two-tenths of a penny sales tax approved by regional voters in 2016 and included in the STA’s 10-year Moving Forward plan that will be replaced in 2026.

For example, seven double-decker buses are intended to move more Eastern students around Cheney more efficiently, the plan states.

STA and its governing board have planned for the addition of the extra-tall buses for years, Cortright said, including developing the Boone Northwest Garage, which opened its doors on Cedar Street in 2019.

The 68,000-square-foot garage on Boone Avenue was designed to accommodate the double-decker buses, as well as the agency’s fleet of zero-emission electric vehicles, Cortright said.

“It has been in the works for a while and we’re really excited to have them arrive,” Cortright said.

Cortright said the agency is hoping to receive feedback on some of the planned route changes for the West Plains, in particular. Survey results will be brought before the governing board and will then be used to inform the finalized revision plan in February.

Spokane and its many residents, who make up the largest stake in STA’s ridership for local municipalities, were not left out of the planning. A number of changes are planned for routes that run in and through city limits, including the introduction of Route 772, an express route running from Liberty Lake to the north bank of downtown Spokane that will replace Route 172.

The survey can be accessed through QR codes posted at bus stops around the region, or by visiting the authority’s website at spokanetransit.com. The deadline to complete the survey is Sunday.