Pierce Transit May Cut Hundreds Of Bus Stops, But Wants Input

TACOMA, WA — Pierce Transit is considering a major streamlining of their bus routes, but want the public to weigh in on the proposal before they take any drastic steps.

The program is called the Bus Stop Balancing Project, and the broad goal is to speed up Pierce Transit rides by cutting down on stops that are redundant or underused.

As the Tacoma News Tribune first reported, Pierce Transit proposed the plan to Tacoma City Council Tuesday, with a preliminary suggestion of eliminating 407 bus stops. Currently, Pierce Transit has slightly more than 2,100 stops in their system, so that would mean about 19% fewer stops overall.

According to Pierce Transit, one of their most common customer complaints is that it takes too long for buses to reach their destination. They say this reduction in stops will free up buses which are slowed down pulling in and out of traffic, picking up passengers and collecting fare at these lesser-used stops.

"A significant component of delays for a bus trip, is having bus stops that are too close to each other," explains the agency in a promotional video on Bus Stop Balancing. "The time spent picking up and dropping off passengers really adds up."

Pierce Transit explains that they identified which stops they want to keep and which to remove by considering several issues, including:

• Public safety
• Accessibility
• Equity
• Proximity to other bus stops
• Ridership at that stop versus ridership at nearby stops
• Transfer points and major destinations
• Cost of repairs

The agency says many of the stops selected for removal were just too close together. State guidelines say stops should be about 1/8 of a mile apart in urban areas and 1/4 mile apart outside the city. Pierce Transit says one of their routes has 21 bus stops across just over a mile of road.

However, before they make any sweeping changes, they want the public to weigh in first. Residents of Pierce County or other Pierce Transit customers are invited to give their opinion by visiting PierceTransit.org/busstops or by calling Pierce Transit Customer Services at (253) 581-8000 and hitting option 1 twice.

They'll be accepting feedback from March 9 through April 11, before finalizing it and removing the chosen stops on Sept. 19, 2021.