Jefferson Transit has launched a survey to assess the demand and desire for a bus connection to Kingston’s fast ferry to Seattle. (Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News)

Jefferson Transit has launched a survey to assess the demand and desire for a bus connection to Kingston’s fast ferry to Seattle. (Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News)

Jefferson Transit surveys opinions on bus to Kingston ferry

Responses flood in after poll questions posted last week

PORT TOWNSEND — Here’s a potential new way to get to the big city, car-free: Board a Jefferson Transit bus, gaze at the scenery for about an hour, arrive in Kingston, then walk onto the fast ferry to downtown Seattle.

This would be a “one seat” ride, in transit-speak. Now through March 15, a survey of demand and desire for a bus to the Kingston Ferry Terminal is posted at jeffersontransit.com and the Jefferson Transit Authority Facebook page.

“We’ve received more responses from this survey than we ever have before,” said Tammi Rubert, Jefferson Transit general manager.

Some 400 responses have come in since the survey was posted last week, added Miranda Nash, mobility operations manager.

The survey’s nine questions include:

• How often would you ride a bus from Jefferson County to the Kingston ferry dock?

• Which days of the week would you take it, and what time in the morning and evening?

• Would your main reason for riding it be commuting to work, recreation in Seattle, going to the airport or something else?

• How much would you pay for this bus: less than $8, $10 to $12, or $14 to $16?

• Any other comments?

Jefferson Transit has purchased a bus from the old Dungeness Line, which used to transport people from the North Olympic Peninsula to Seattle, Nash said; its seats are suited for longer rides.

The trip to Kingston is projected to be about an hour, she said. It would depart from the Haines Place Park and Ride in Port Townsend and pick up more riders at three to-be-determined stops in the county.

Departures would be timed to connect with the Kitsap Fast Ferry, which crosses to Seattle in about 40 minutes.

The passenger-only boat to Seattle costs $10; coming back to Kingston, the fare is $2.

Jefferson Transit’s Kingston bus also would deliver people who want to catch the Washington State Ferry to Edmonds.

There are already a few other ways to take public transit to Seattle: Jefferson Transit offers a two-bus connection — a 100- to 120-minute trip — to the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal on Monday through Saturday. And the Strait Shot, a $10-each-way Clallam Transit bus, takes passengers from Port Angeles and Sequim to Bainbridge Island seven days a week.

The addition of a Jefferson Transit bus to Kingston is in the 2021 budget, Rubert said.

Sales tax is transit’s main revenue stream, while the premium fares for this new route would add funds.

The new bus could be running by midsummer, depending on several factors: survey results, recruitment and training of drivers, and progress on COVID-19 immunization.

As for the rest of Jefferson Transit’s service around the county and to Sequim, it has been fare-free since the start of the pandemic. Riding the bus will stay free for the foreseeable future, Rubert said.

The agency is striving to bring people back onto the buses, which Rubert emphasized are run according to COVID-19 safety protocols.

Ridership has fallen off about 50 percent since last March, Nash reported, from an average 750 passengers per day to 330.

“We have a very strict regimen of disinfecting our buses. We require masks on every single bus,” said Rubert, adding that, with no fares, there’s less interaction between passenger and driver.

________

Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Two people were displaced after a house fire in the 4700 block of West Valley Road in Chimacum on Thursday. No injuries were reported. (East Jefferson Fire Rescue)
Two displaced after Chimacum house fire

One person evacuated safely along with two pets from a… Continue reading

A Port Angeles city worker places a tree topper on the city’s Christmas tree, located at the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain at the intersection of Laurel and First streets. A holiday street party is scheduled to take place in downtown Port Angeles from noon to 7 p.m. Nov. 30 with the tree lighting scheduled for about 5 p.m. (Emma Maple/Peninsula Daily News)
Top of the town

A Port Angeles city worker places a tree topper on the city’s… Continue reading

Hospital board passes budget

OMC projecting a $2.9 million deficit

Lighthouse keeper Mel Carter next to the original 1879 Fresnel lens in the lamp room at the Point Wilson Lighthouse. (Elijah Sussman/Peninsula Daily News)
Donations to aid pediatrics clinic, workforce

Recipients thank donors at hospital commissioners’ meeting

Whitefeather Way intersection closed at Highway 101

Construction crews have closed the intersection of Whitefeather Way and… Continue reading

EYE ON THE PENINSULA: Commissioners to consider levies, budgets

Meetings across the North Olympic Peninsula

Highway 112 partially reopens to single-lane traffic

Maintenance crews have reopened state Highway 112 between Sekiu… Continue reading

Laken Folsom, a Winter Ice Village employee, tries to remove leaves that blew in from this week’s wind storm before they freeze into the surface of the rink on Thursday. The Winter Ice Village, operated by the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce in the 100 block of West Front Street, opens today and runs through Jan. 5. Hours are from noon to 9 p.m. daily. New this year is camera showing the current ice village conditions at www.skatecam.org. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Ice village opens in Port Angeles

Laken Folsom, a Winter Ice Village employee, tries to remove leaves that… Continue reading

Fort PDA receiver protecting assets

Principal: New revenue streams needed

Ella Biss, 4, sits next to her adoptive mother, Alexis Biss, as they wait in Clallam County Family Court on Thursday for the commencement of the ceremony that will formalize the adoption of Ella and her 9-year-old brother John. (Emma Maple/Peninsula Daily News)
Adoption ceremony highlights need for Peninsula foster families

State department says there’s a lack of foster homes for older children, babies

Legislature to decide fate of miscalculation

Peninsula College may have to repay $339K