Valley Transit

VALLEY TRANS I T all of our trolleys to encourage active lifestyles as well as using green transportation for first- mile/last-mile connections. “Our Plus services run in the evening and on the weekends to extend service through a Deviated Fixed Route. The Plus services allow us to extend public transportation services to 14 ¾ hours a day during the week, as well as an additional 7 ½ hours on Saturday. Switching to a Deviated Fixed Route and Connector bus allows us to reduce our hourly operational cost significantly by using just three buses as opposed to eleven. Our Plus Services is a combination of Dial-a- Ride type Connector service and a Deviated Fixed Route. So, in the evening, after 5:45, we switch to that service and we run a deviated route, which essentially goes where the Main Line had been going during the day. However, it can deviate up to a quarter mile off-route to get someone closer to their destination. Then, we have the Connector that runs in the area to help people get to the transfer center to be able to Currently, the total 0.6 percent sales tax accounts for about 80 percent of the agency’s budget; fares account for 4 percent; and the rest is made up with state and federal funding. Valley Transit has 55 employees, including drivers, in- house maintenance, and administrative staff. Recently, Business View Magazine spoke with Angie Peters, Valley Transit’s General Manager, to find out more about the agency’s operations and its future plans. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation. BVM: Can you talk about Valley Transit’s different services? Peters: “We operate Fixed Route, Paratransit/ Dial-a-Ride, Job Access, Van Pool, and Plus services. Our fixed Route runs 9 lines with 11 buses with our Main Line running four buses on it to maintain a 30-minute pulse from the transfer center in downtown Walla Walla. That is a fairly high frequency for an area with just over 50,000 people in it. We also have bike racks on