Pierce Transit CEO Community Newsletter

November 2022

Dear Community Member,

It’s a busy time at Pierce Transit as we update our 6-Year Strategic Plan and make plans to provide you with even better service in 2023. You will find information on those topics and more in this bimonthly update. I wish you and your family a safe and enjoyable holiday season, and thank you, as always, for your support of your local transit agency.

Respectfully yours,
Mike Griffus
Pierce Transit CEO

Have the Young People in Your Life Accessed Their Free Youth Pass?

Last September Pierce Transit joined other transit agencies around Washington to provide free rides to youth ages 18 and under. We have been working with schools in our area to provide free ORCA cards to students; young people may also obtain a card at our customer service location at Tacoma Dome Station, or at myORCA.com/buy-online. Since kickoff we have provided cards to thousands of youths, and are looking to reach every young person who needs this free service. If you know a young person who does not yet have a free youth transit pass, please encourage them to visit PierceTransit.org/freeyouthpass to learn more and get signed up.

More Retailers Selling and Loading ORCA Cards

The ORCA card, Puget Sound’s all-in-one transit card that can be used to pay for rides across many public transportation systems, is now available at more stores. The region recently launched an upgraded ORCA system, and is now adding more retail locations where you can purchase and load ORCA cards. More stores will be added throughout 2023 and beyond, resulting in more than double the number of previous locations and more availability at locally- owned businesses. For details and retailer locations, visit info.myORCA.com/retail.

Planning for 2023 and Beyond

Pierce Transit is updating our 6-year Strategic Plan and making decisions about the services we will provide over the next several years. We are looking to our customers to help guide this work, and will be incorporating the feedback received from a recent Customer Survey. We were pleased to see survey results indicating that 79 percent of regular riders say they would recommend Pierce Transit to friends, colleagues and family members, and 82 percent of frequent riders say Pierce Transit is an agency they can trust. In other areas we are learning where we can do better, such as restoring service we reduced during the pandemic and providing more frequent service as staffing levels allow. Those are just some of the things we will be working on as we enter 2023.

Join Our Team!

When you think about Pierce Transit employees, the first person that likely comes to mind is a bus driver. In fact, our valued drivers make up more than half of Pierce Transit’s workforce, and have the most interactions with our customers and community.

These are family-wage positions that offer good benefits, award-winning training, and assistance earning a commercial driver’s license. If you know someone who would be a good fit for a bus operator position, please encourage them to apply at PierceTransit.org/careers. We also have openings for positions in our Maintenance and Public Safety departments, plus jobs you would find in any larger organization, such as finance professionals, project planners, human resources professionals and outreach staff. If you are looking to join a dynamic agency that serves our community, I encourage you to check out all our job opportunities at PierceTransit.org/careers. You can also connect with us at hiring events around Pierce County, including at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, over the next several months.

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Trip Planner Help

Trip Planner Tips - Entering Locations

To create a trip plan you need to enter both a starting location (origin) and an ending location (destination). For information about stops, schedules, or service at a specific location, you only need to enter one location.

The Trip Planner recognizes most street intersections and addresses as well as many landmarks in Pierce, King, and Snohomish Counties. If what you entered is not immediately recognized, the Trip Planner will offer you a list of options. You can choose one of the options, but if your intended location is not there, select the "Revise Original Entries" link to return to the entry page and change the entries you have already made.

Addresses

You don't need to type in the city along with the address. The Trip Planner shows the possible city names as options if needed. City names are based on zip codes.
You don't need to type in St., Street, Ave., or Avenue, or similar street types. The Trip Planner shows the possible alternatives as options if needed. (Example: type 110 Jones instead of 110 Jones Boulevard.)
You don't need to type in the directional designations for streets, but if a direction name is part of a street name, you should include it. (Example: type 1000 Main instead of 1000 S Main. But type 1000 West Viewmont for 1000 West Viewmont Way W.)
Some streets and addresses are unknown to the Trip Planner. You may need to enter another nearby location, such as an intersection or a landmark.
You should not enter the suite number or apartment number. Just the house number and street name (Example: type in 401 Broadway instead of 401 Broadway Avenue Suite 800).

Intersections

The "&" symbol is the only character used between two street names to show an intersection. (Examples: 1st & B, James & Madison)
You don't need to type in the city. The Trip Planner shows the possible city names as options if needed. City names are based on zip codes.
You don't need to type in St., Street, Ave., or Avenue, or similar street types. The Trip Planner shows the possible alternatives as options if needed. (Example: type Conifer & Jones instead of Conifer Circle & Jones Boulevard.)
You don't need to type in the directional designations for streets, but if a direction name is part of a street name, you should include it. (Example: type 3rd & Main instead of 3rd S & S Main. But type 34th & West Viewmont for 34th W & West Viewmont Way W.)
Some streets are unknown to the Trip Planner. You may need to enter another nearby intersection or a landmark.

Landmarks

Government Sites: Pierce County Health Dept, Pierce Co Sheriffs Office, Tacoma City Hall

Major Commercial Sites: Tacoma Mall, Sheraton Hotel

Transportation Facilities: Sea-Tac Airport, Greyhound Bus Depot

Schools & Colleges: Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma Community College

Sports & Leisure: Cheney Stadium, Pt Defiance Zoo

Medical Facilities: Group Health, Tacoma General Hospital