PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson Transit’s Kingston Express, also known as the No. 14 bus, is a free ride for all to the Kingston ferry dock, where passengers can step onto a Washington State Ferry to Seattle or Edmonds.

“I love how easy the Kingston Express is, and it’s this type of convenience that will get people to ride transit,” said Jefferson County Commissioner Kate Dean, who voted with the Jefferson Transit Authority board to make the No. 14 fare-free, effective Jan. 2.

The Kingston Express, known as a one-seat route, departs Port Townsend twice daily, Monday through Saturday.

The first run leaves the Haines Place Park and Ride at 7:20 a.m. to arrive at the Kingston ferry dock at 8:32 a.m.

The bus also picks up passengers at two stops in between: the Four Corners Park and Ride at state Highway 20 and Four Corners Road, and the Gateway Visitor Center, 93 Beaver Valley Road in Port Ludlow.

The second and last run of the Kingston Express sets out from Port Townsend at 2:50 p.m. and reaches Kingston at 4:02 p.m., also Monday through Saturday.

On weekdays, those arrival times synchronize with the Kitsap Transit fast ferry, which transports riders to downtown Seattle in 39 minutes for $2. That boat doesn’t run on Saturdays.

On any day the Kingston Express bus runs, passengers can use it to catch the Kingston-Edmonds Washington State Ferry, which sails every day of the week.

Route and schedule information for the Kingston Express and other routes can be found at jeffersontransit.com, while the agency can be reached at 360-385-4777 or by email at custserv@jeffersontransit.com.

The rest of Jefferson Transit’s fixed-route buses have been fare-free since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020.

That means riders can travel around Port Townsend and to Brinnon, Chimacum, Port Hadlock, Port Ludlow, Quilcene, Poulsbo and Sequim at no cost.

Clallam Transit, meanwhile, stopped charging fares on its fixed routes as of Jan. 1.

Federal grants and local sales tax fund the transit system, said Sara J. Peck, mobility operations manager at Jefferson Transit.

The Kingston Express began running, after years of discussion, in February 2022.

Following its fare-free introductory period, adult passengers paid $8 per trip while seniors and people with disabilities paid $6. Riders 18 and younger caught the bus for free.

When adopting the 2024 budget in December, the Jefferson Transit board voted unanimously for zero fare on the Kingston route. Federal grant money covers a portion of its operating costs, Peck said.

“When JTA introduced the Kingston Express route, the service wasn’t initially included in JTA’s Operating Grant scope. Local funds were used to finance the service at that time,” she noted.

“In July 2023, JTA entered a new Consolidated Operating Grant biennium that incorporated the Kingston Express route into its operating scope.”

Dean noted that the Kingston bus is both a money saver and a way to act locally on behalf of the environment.

“I have been a huge proponent of this route for many years, because it is the cheapest and easiest way to get to downtown Seattle, in conjunction with the Kitsap fast ferry,” the commissioner said.

“While lots of people support the idea of transit or want to lower their own transportation carbon footprint, we need transit to be the ‘better’ choice. Oftentimes in Jefferson County it will be easier to drive,” she added, “but getting to Seattle by car can be expensive and time-consuming, with ferry lines and parking fees.”

Dean acknowledged that the Kingston Express runs are limited, with just two round trips a day, six days a week.

She plans accordingly and uses the No. 14 to get to meetings, medical appointments and the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Peck noted that the Kingston Express schedule has been synchronized with the Port Townsend No. 11 shuttle bus to ease connections from around the city. Jefferson Transit is committed to “enhancing our service frequency,” she added, while that depends on staffing levels and “our ability to enact changes as circumstances permit.”

The agency is seeking to hire bus drivers and has an application packet at jeffersontransit.com. Other positions are also open.

The Kingston Express bus isn’t the busiest in the system, but it has seen growth in its nearly two years of existence.

In 2023, Peck said, 2,781 passengers rode it, an uptick from 2,009 riders in the previous year.

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Diane Urbani de la Paz is a freelance writer and photographer living in Port Townsend.