Editor,
What if Community Transit ran an hourly bus, seven days a week, all day long into the evening, directly between the Mukilteo Ferry Landing and the Lynnwood Park &Ride, serving both ferry commuters and Mukilteo residents/businesses as well?
After getting off the ferry, one can be at a major transit station in 15 minutes easily connecting to Sound or Community Transit buses going just about everywhere. This means one can get from the ferry to downtown Seattle, the Eastside, the UW, or numerous other destinations in about an hour or less anytime during the day.
If you consider the convenience, the amount of time freed up not waiting in ferry lines, and the big savings in paying walk-on fares instead of vehicle ones, wouldn’t this be initiative to leave the car on the island?
The present public transportation in and out of Mukilteo is total crap and has been so for too long. After 8 a.m. and on weekends, the only offering is an impractical “milk-run” CT 113 bus that eventually winds up in Lynnwood after what seems to be an eternity. This hasn’t changed since the 1970s despite the population of the region doubling since then. (Unfortunately, the ST train is no more than a redundant alternative to the earlier CT express buses).
A frequent direct bus between the ferry landing and the Lynnwood P&R via the Mukilteo Speedway has been long overdue, and would serve as a more practical solution to help alleviate the long lines on both sides than a bigger ferry would.
It would also be nice if island (and Mukilteo) folks could conveniently bus it to their off-peak hour/weekend jobs, to go shopping or to appointments, to go see the M’s/Huskies play, or to just hang out in town without the hassle of waiting two hours to get off the island.
The the Island County commissioners, with the hopeful support of the City of Mukilteo, should urge their state representatives to compel the subsidized Community Transit to establish this bus route. I believe this would pay off for people on both sides of the water. It would also make ferry lines shorter and far cheaper than buying bigger ferries and building overhead loadings.
Bob Prasch
Lakewood, NJ
n Editor’s note: Bob Prasch is a former longtime resident of South Whidbey.
