Community Government Transportation
Summer bus service arrives in time for Maritime Gig Festival
They won’t resemble trolley cars, but Pierce Transit’s summer buses will run sooner, longer and more often than the past few years.
The buses wrapped to resemble red and gold trolleys have been retired. A different type of bus — bearing the transit agency’s blue, green and white color scheme — replaces them this summer. Service will begin on June 7, just in time for the Gig Harbor Maritime Gig Festival. It will be called the Waterfront Connector (Route 101).
Mock-up of Waterfront Connector buses. Courtesy of Pierce Transit
Summer service didn’t begin until July the past two years and operated only on Thursdays and Saturdays for about six hours per day. The city chose Thursdays for the Waterfront Farmers Market and Saturdays for tourism travel. This year, Sundays have been added and hours extended to 10:15 a.m. to 9:15 p.m. Thursdays, 9:45 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. Saturdays and 11:15 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Sundays.
Triple the service of last year
“With the extended hours each day, launching the service about a month earlier and adding another day of service each week, we are more than tripling the amount of service over 2024,” Pierce Transit Communications Director Rebecca Japhet said in an email to Gig Harbor Now.
The city desires to return to the original seven days per week from Memorial Day through Labor Day, using authentic trolleys.
“This year they’ve been able to bring it back to three days a week,” said City Administrator Katrina Knutson. “It’s not the ideal outcome we’re looking for, but we do appreciate Pierce Transit continuing to increase service in Gig Harbor. …
The buses will run between Uptown and the base of Peacock Hill. Courtesy of Pierce Transit
“We’ve had really good conversations with new CEO Mike Griffus at Pierce Transit and his staff, and they are committed to continuing to establish the service to include actual trolleys that are ADA compliant. That is our ultimate goal.”
Route shortened
The route traditionally ran from Uptown through the downtown waterfront and circled Gig Harbor North via Peacock Hill Road, Borgen Boulevard and Burnham Drive. The northern half was eliminated this year, with the new terminus at the base of Peacock Hill.
“Our partners at the (Gig Harb0r) Chamber and (Gig Harbor Downtown) Waterfront Alliance asked if we could operate the service every 30 minutes, rather than having trips every hour,” Japhet said. “Pierce Transit couldn’t double the number of vehicles (there will be two) which would be required to reach the level of service that would provide trips every 30 minutes on last year’s route, so instead the decision was made to truncate the route and focus on service between Uptown and the waterfront.”
The city wasn’t part of those discussions, but agrees with the change.
Buses in the past have been wrapped to look like trolley cars. Courtesy of Pierce Transit
“We do understand why the decision was made to run more often on a smaller route in order to have more use,” Knutson said. “I do know the more frequently something runs, the more likely humans are likely to use the service, so I understand their decision.”
Other alternatives
The lopped area is already served by Runner vans and Route 100, which runs between the Tacoma Community College transfer center and Purdy park-and-ride. The Waterfront Connector hooks up with Route 100 at the Kimball park-and-ride.
“I appreciate they’re really focusing on connecting to the waterfront from different hotel locations, hoping to encourage visitors and residents to ride transit downtown and alleviate the parking concerns we hear about quite often,” Knutson said. “It alleviates the stress of getting down to the waterfront and having to find a place to park.”
Trolley service began with real streetcars in 2013 as a demonstration project. They were eventually taken off the road for not being ADA compliant, said Knutson. Pierce Transit continued the theme with buses wrapped to look like trolleys.
The COVID pandemic shut down operations in 2020. Service restarted in 2021, but a shortage of drivers forced cancellation again in 2022. Pierce Transit has been trying to build back service ever since. During the last normal year, 2019, the route attracted about 16,000 riders.
Starts a month earlier
“Historically, the trolley began summer service in time for the Maritime Gig Festival to help with traffic congestion in the Harbor around that event,” Japhet said. “As resources, particularly staffing shortages, became a challenge over the past few years, we had to pull back service to start a bit later in the summer. This year because we are more fully staffed with operators, we are pleased to again be able to begin the service, this time with the Waterfront Connector, earlier in the summer to serve the Maritime Gig Festival.”
Though Pierce Transit is close to fully staffing operator positions, it now is short on maintenance mechanics that limits its ability to add more service, Japhet said. Plus, it doesn’t have the money.
“Pierce Transit is currently providing as much service as possible throughout its service area within the agency’s current funding levels,” she said.
Fares cover only a small portion of Pierce Transit’s operating costs. Most comes from sales tax. Gig Harbor business customers pay a .6% sales tax — 6 cents on a $10 purchase — to support the service. West of the Narrows Bridge, the agency’s service area only includes the city limits and a sliver of land north of the city that encompasses the Purdy park-and-ride.
Hope to get trolleys back
Riders liked the old look and feel of the streetcars better than the wrapped buses, Knutson said. Pierce Transit purchased new trolley cars last year and planned to modify them to ADA compliance for the route. They didn’t meet agency standards, Japhet said. The agency is ordering different vehicles, but they won’t be here in time for this summer.
“Pierce Transit is still willing to pursue trolleys coming back that are ADA compliant that would be more authentic to the trolley experience, but we were not able to secure that for the 2025 season,” Knutson said.
Pierce Transit’s Gig Harbor Runner vans, which debuted on March 31, 2024, are another option. Like an Uber ride at transit prices, the vans can be hailed by phone or computer for door-to-door transport within the agency’s service area.
Runner service popular
Since the Runner began, it has delivered 3,635 rides through May 25, and is growing, Japhet said. It’s average customer rating, from zero to five stars, has averaged 4.85 stars. Rides are available only within the service area.
Pierce Transit will charge regular bus prices for the Waterfront Connector and Runner. Adult fares are $2 and youths 18 and younger are free. Seniors 65 and older, disabled people and Medicaid card holders can ride for $1.