PORT ANGELES — Jim Fetzer is officially the new general manager of Clallam Transit System.

The system’s commissioners on Wednesday formally approved Fetzer’s one-year employment agreement that will pay him $142,000 annually plus assorted benefits such as merit pay and a monthly automobile expense reimbursement.

Fetzer was hired by the agency four years ago to be its operations manager. He had been acting as general manager since July 3, when longtime general manager Kevin Gallacci retired after 39 years at the agency.

“I really appreciate your confidence and just look forward to getting a lot done next year,” Fetzer said.

Fetzer is balancing both his roles as general manager and operations manager until the agency can fill his previous position.

Shuttle popular

The Hurricane Ridge shuttle, which began operating June 27, has been extremely popular, Fetzer told commissioners.

The route, which debuted last year, got a late start when the Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge was destroyed by a fire May 7 as it was undergoing renovation.

Fetzer said the shuttle service has been averaging about 400 riders a day, with the last bus up the hill at 12:45 p.m. averaging about 46 riders and the final return trip to The Gateway transit center at 3:45 p.m. averaging about 57 riders.

The bus has a 34-person seating capacity, so many riders have had to stand.

“We would like to have run later in the day, but we don’t have the staff,” Fetzer said.

Fetzer and commissioners discussed the viability of putting a motor coach, which has an 80-person capacity, on the 12:45 p.m. run to increase capacity.

They also discussed the possibility of implementing a priority ticketing system so that people can reserve a spot on a bus and avoid having to wait in a long line either at the Gateway Transit Center or Hurricane Ridge. A ticket system would also add some certainty for riders on a time schedule.

“It’s a good problem to have, and it just proves that people will ride the bus,” Fetzer said.

Free fares

Commissioners unanimously approved the Clallam County Free Fare program that provides free fares on the system’s fixed routes, except the Hurricane Ridge Shuttle and the Strait Shot, during the Clallam County Fair on Aug. 17, 18 and 19.

Riders don’t have to be going to or from the fairgrounds to take advantage of the free fare.

“It was very successful last year,” Fetzer said. “Last year we saw a ridership increase of 54 percent over 2022.”

The board approved Commissioner Brendan Meyer’s motion to direct Clallam Transit staff to explore developing a free-fare program across the entire system. Commissioner William Armacost was the only board member to vote against the measure.

Meyer said he was a fan of zero-fare public transportation and wanted to implement a test program on Port Angeles Routes 20 and 24 that would measure the effectiveness of free fares as an incentive to increase ridership.

Removing that type of barrier was not going to motivate people to ride the bus, Commissioner Mike French said.

“The No. 1 thing we can do is improve services to increase ridership,” French said. “I don’t think jumping to free fares is going to increase it. Hurricane Ridge is so successful because it’s targeted at a specific rider and then provides a service they want.”

Fetzer suggested the Clallam County Fair and the Free Fare program might be good opportunities to conduct surveys and gather information.

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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached at paula.hunt@soundpublishing.com.