May 2024

Dear Community Member,

I hope you are enjoying this spring season and looking forward, as I am, to the summer ahead. The past couple months have been exciting ones for your local transit agency and the customers we serve, with new and improved service options and work getting underway on the agency’s new six-year Strategic Plan.

Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support of Pierce Transit. It is an honor to serve you and the rest of our community.

Respectfully yours,

Mike Griffus
Pierce Transit CEO

Introducing Stream Community Line

On Earth Day, April 22, we were thrilled to cut the ribbon on Stream Community Line, the South Sound’s first high-capacity transit line. The route runs between Spanaway and downtown Tacoma and offers a new connection to Tacoma Domes Station and all the transit resources offered there. Stream departs every 20 minutes each weekday morning and afternoon and makes just 14 stops in each direction, providing a good option for commuters looking to travel up and down the corridor quickly. The service is also supported by our partner, MultiCare. More information on Stream Community Line can be found at PierceTransit.org/Stream. You’ll also find a podcast about the service and ribbon cutting event on Spotify.

Pierce Transit's 2023 Annual Report

Each year Pierce Transit produces an Annual Report that summarizes the agency’s work from the prior year, and we have just released the agency’s 2023 Annual Report. The report includes information about major agency initiatives, such as implementation of ORCA LIFT, a Bus System Recovery Plan, sustainability efforts, and Pierce Transit Runner. It also touches on ways we served our community in 2023, including service to special events, free rides to heating and cooling centers, and participation in more than 100 community events. The report also includes official agency ridership and budget information. Thank you for taking the time to read this key agency update.

Pierce Transit and Sound Transit - Who Does What?

I am often asked what the differences are between Pierce Transit and Sound Transit, and which agency provides which services. Pierce Transit is a “Public Transportation Benefit Area,” which is a special taxing district created solely for the purpose of funding public transportation. Pierce Transit service extends about 292 square miles throughout Pierce County, including 13 cities and towns and parts of some unincorporated parts of the county. Pierce Transit receives the majority of its funding from a 0.6 percent portion of the local sales tax. Pierce Transit is governed by a nine-member Board of Commissioners made up of elected officials from the jurisdictions it serves. Pierce Transit’s services include bus service, SHUTTLE paratransit, Rideshare (formerly Vanpool) and on-demand Runner service.

Sound Transit is a “Regional Transit Authority,” created in 1993 as a joint effort by the Snohomish, King, and Pierce county governments to build a regional rapid transit system. Sound Transit is independent of local transit agencies (including Pierce Transit) and is governed by an 18-member Board of Directors made up of elected officials from member jurisdictions and the Secretary of Transportation. Its service area spans from Everett in the north, to DuPont in the south, and east beyond Lake Sammamish. Sound Transit is funded by local sales taxes, property taxes, and motor vehicle excise taxes (car tabs) levied within its taxing district. Sound Transit’s services include light rail, Sounder commuter rail, and Sound Transit Express bus service. Sound Transit contracts with local transit agencies, including Pierce Transit, to maintain and operate its Express bus service.

Pierce Transit recently released a podcast episode on the various ways Pierce Transit and Sound Transit provide public transportation and the differences and similarities between the two. You’ll find it on Spotify.