Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA) has announced it will offer a full week of free fares starting Thursday, August 10. The free fare week is set to benefit more Blaine and Birch Bay passengers after WTA recently extended Route 75, the only full-service bus route connecting Blaine to Bellingham.
From Thursday, August 10 to Saturday, August 19, all bus rides within Whatcom County will be completely free of charge.
WTA extended Route 75 in mid-June to run farther north, adding four stops along C Street in Blaine, and further into Birch Bay, now going all the way to Birch Bay Village on Birch Point Road. But the extended fixed route service did come at a cost.
The WTA cited 23,516 trips on Route 75 between January 1 and October 31, 2022. Of those trips, 2,092 – nearly nine percent of all riders, were using the WTA’s “flex” service.
Flex service refers to bus routes that can “flex” off-route within the bus’s normal service area, and pick a rider up directly from a predetermined address. Anyone can reserve a flex ride, and the service does not cost any more than a regular fare. But the WTA says flex services, while crucial for many riders, can cause delays in service.
In order to expand fixed bus services, the WTA greatly diminished the “flex service area” along the 75. As a solution for those with mobility issues or disabilities that keep them from using fixed bus routes, the WTA always provides paratransit services within three-fourths of a mile of any bus stop.
Paratransit services are designed to be ADA accessible, and take riders directly to their destinations. With an expanded Route 75 comes expanded paratransit services, and less need for flex service, according to the WTA.
Fares are always free for anyone under 18.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here