Community Government Transportation

Ballot measure would bring back holiday shuttle, increase bus service in Gig Harbor

If voters pass a Pierce Transit ballot measure in November, Gig Harbor’s lone bus route will see more-frequent stops and extended hours, and both the holiday trolley and Waterfront Connector service will return.

Pierce Transit’s Proposition 1 would increase the transit agency’s sales tax from 0.6% to 0.9%. The increase would generate $64 million in additional revenue for the agency beginning in April 2027. The agency put forward the ballot measure after years of planning and community feedback.

Route 100

Pierce Transit currently provides one bus route for Gig Harbor, Route 100. The bus runs hourly. If voters approve Prop 1, the bus will run every 30 minutes and continue until 9 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays and 7:30 p.m. on Sundays.

The agency would also provide a  holiday shuttle and revive the Waterfront Connector, which ended in August.

“Route 100 provides a critical connection to Gig Harbor and Tacoma via the Tacoma Community College Transit Center, which is one of our busiest facilities,” Pierce Transit Planning Manager Tina Lee said in a presentation to the Gig Harbor City Council on Oct. 12. “With our new approach to special event service and seasonal service, we’d ensure a robust future for Gig Harbor Connector or Gig Harbor Trolley with new ADA accessible trolley vehicles and recommit to continuing to access needed adjustments to address changing community needs and priorities.”

Proposition 1 would not expand Pierce Transit’s service boundaries, meaning the Key Peninsula and rural Gig Harbor would remain without bus service.

The proposed increase also would make transit free for elders age 65 and older, fund a 47% increase in bus service district-wide, decrease wait times for buses and create four new routes. Paratransit would expand in parts of Pierce County.

Transit relies on sales taxes

Pierce Transit CEO Mike Griffith said the agency has not increased its sales tax rate in nearly a quarter of a century.

Sales tax is the primary source of revenue for Pierce Transit, which does not collect money from car tabs or property taxes. Pierce Transit’s sales tax stands at roughly half of peer agencies in Thurston, Snohomish and Kitsap counties.

Griffith said the agency operates debt-free, but that could change. If voters do not pass the measure and create new revenue, Pierce Transit will have to grapple with a budget cliff as soon as 2031. In that case, Pierce Transit would have to consider reducing services and would fall further behind peer agencies.

“We’re hitting the functional limit of how much can be accomplished doing more with less. Largely due to inflation, expenses are expected to exceed revenue as early as next year,” Griffith said. “Our community has asked for transit that serves more people, more places, more often, and a transit system that connects work, school and essential places like health care and grocery shopping.”

He said that Pierce Transit’s research has shown that “89% of riders take trips that benefit the local economy and studies show that $1 invested in transit generates $5 in economic return.”

Beyond bus routes

Additionally, Pierce County as a whole is quickly growing. This means more people who need to get to work and back home again in a timely and efficient manner. By 2044, the county expects to see 250,000 new residents and more than 140,000 new jobs. She said the Puget Sound Regional Council estimates that traffic delays on county roads will increase by about 70% by 2050.

“More people and jobs means more demand on our roads. … Even if you don’t use transit, workers in our community rely on transit. … Whether it’s your hairstylist, your nurse, your grocery clerk, your kids’ teachers, transit gets them there,” Griffith said. 

He said that transit coordinates with emergency personnel to respond to crises and provide emergency transport, including in situations such as natural disasters, bridge collapses and wildfires. Bus drivers are also trained to be aware of things like human trafficking and locating missing people.

“Even if you don’t plan on transit physically moving you, it connects and protects the community that you’re a part of,” Griffith said. “This is why you often hear us say that [even] if you do not take public transit, you benefit from it.”