Community Transit asks for input on its Journey 2050 Long-Range Plan

Plan will chart a vision for public transportation in Snohomish County

Snohomish County, Wash. – When light rail reaches Snohomish County in 2024, the local transit system will expand to connect with light rail as well as serve new areas of the county. Commuter bus service that now travels to downtown Seattle and Northgate will be reinvested into more local bus service, and a microtransit pilot project will have started in Lynnwood.

But what will transit in this county be like beyond that timeframe?

Community Transit is asking local residents, transit riders, and anyone who travels in Snohomish County to comment on the next phase of the agency’s long-range plan called Journey 2050. This plan will guide Community Transit’s vision and long-term priorities for the years 2025-2050 to adapt and meet the public transportation needs of the growing region.

The deadline for completing the survey has been extended. People can give their feedback in an online survey, available in five languages, through September 2 at www.communitytransit.org/journey2050.

Earlier this year, the agency asked the public to weigh in on values and priorities for future transit services and learned:

• Eighty percent of respondents feel high-quality transportation is important for Snohomish County.
• Convenience, reliability, and efficiency are citied as the most important features of transit.
• The top two benefits of transit according to respondents are “getting people where they need to be” and “providing options for those who use transit as their primary option.”

For this second phase of comment, Community Transit is asking people what types of transit service they would like to use in the future, and to prioritize the following service types:

• Swift bus rapid transit – More Swift service along busy corridors where there are more people and jobs.
• Innovative services – Community-based services like microtransit or bike share that meet a local community’s needs (Community Transit will launch a microtransit pilot project fall in Lynnwood).
• Regular fixed-route bus service – More traditional bus service to more places in the county.

Community Transit staff will use this input to create a final long-range plan that will be presented to the board of directors in early 2023.