What’s that at Martin Way and Pattison Street? A building 25 years in the making
Intercity Transit had plenty to celebrate last week when it finally unveiled a 75,000-square-foot expansion, including a new 50,000-square-foot administrative and operations building at the corner of Pattison Street and Martin Way in Olympia.
The building was 25 years in the making.
A party was held Thursday afternoon, offering food, tours, a ribbon-cutting with giant scissors and a few dignitaries, including Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland, who addressed about 100 people during the grand opening.
“As a former board chairwoman of two transit agencies, you tend to want to focus on hours of operation in your fleet,” Strickland said. And yet a transit agency also needs a “modern administrative and operations facility to maintain the fleet and take care of these crucial investments, so congratulations to Intercity Transit for getting this done and making it happen.”
The feasibility study for an expanded Pattison Street base of operations began in 1997, four years after current General Manager and CEO Ann Freeman-Manzanares joined the agency, she said.
Along the way, the goal of expanding was delayed by Initiative 695, which cut funding by reducing car tab fees, and later the federal government eliminated funding for bus and bus facility programs.
But, Freeman-Manzanares said, the third time was the charm because IT finally was able secure enough grant funding to pay for the $42 million project. In addition to the 50,000-square-foot administrative and operations building, there’s also a 25,000-square-foot building to the east of it, which will house facilities, fuel and washing, as well as Walk N Roll, a youth education program.
Why expand? Because the original facility was built in 1985 to serve a fleet of 80 vehicles. Now, IT has more than 400 vehicles, including its fixed-route buses, and about 500 employees, she said.
Olympia City Councilman Clark Gilman, who serves on IT’s Transit Authority, recalled a leaky roof in the board room, as well as employees who had to double up in a former uniform closet that was turned into two cubicles. Others walked to leased space that was off campus, he said.
“This facility is much more appropriate to meet the mobility needs that people have today,” Gilman said.
Strickland also gave IT a shout out, reminding the grand opening crowd that IT is the largest transit system in the country to have a zero-fare policy.
How is that possible? When the transit service looked at all the costs associated with fare collection — the cost to buy, install and repair fare collection machines, plus the conflicts that arose between driver and rider when they didn’t have money — it essentially wasn’t worth it to collect fares, Freeman-Manzanares said. Subtract all the costs from fare revenue and it was less than 2 percent of total revenue for Intercity Transit.
The zero-fare policy launched in January 2020 and ridership jumped 20 percent, then 40 percent before the pandemic arrived. A current ridership figure wasn’t immediately available, but the program has been successful enough to be extended to eight years from five years, she said.
Others areas of IT are still trying to bounce back from the pandemic.
IT bus service is still at 74 percent of pre-pandemic levels and still needs bus drivers, many of whom retired during the pandemic. Experience isn’t necessary, as IT offers eight weeks of paid training to those they hire, Freeman-Manzanares said. More important: They need drivers with good customer service skills, she said.
If unveiling an expanded campus wasn’t enough good news, Strickland said she was set to return to Washington, D.C., to begin work on securing $1.8 million for IT to update 140 transit stops.
Want to drive for IT? Learn more on the IT website.
This story was originally published November 13, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
