EVERETT — The Everett City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve a consolidation between Everett Transit and Community Transit, a move that will likely mark the end of the city’s 57-year-long operation of a municipal transit system.
The significant vote means that Everett Transit, operated by Everett since 1969 as one of the few remaining city-run transit systems in Washington, may cease to exist on April 1 of next year. Community Transit will vote Thursday afternoon on whether to approve the interlocal agreement with the city of Everett, which would finalize the consolidation.
If Community Transit approves that interlocal agreement Thursday, the Snohomish County transit agency will begin to operate within the city of Everett’s borders, in place of Everett Transit, starting on April 1, 2027, and the public transit sales tax in the city will increase from 0.6% to 1.2% that same day. Community Transit is expected to significantly ramp up bus service within Everett over the next few years.
As part of the agreement, Community Transit plans to implement a 50% increase in bus service within the city by 2031, and would introduce a new Zip microtransit zone in the city by 2028. Paratransit services would remain in operation throughout the city of Everett, per the agreement, but its eligibility requirements will change. Everett Transit provides the service to more people than it is required to, offering paratransit to riders over 65 even if they don’t typically qualify for paratransit under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Under the proposal, paratransit services would continue to be available to current paratransit users that are over 65, but those who turn 65 after the merger goes into effect would need to qualify under the ADA requirements, which states that paratransit services must be provided to those who can’t use a traditional fixed-route bus due to a disability.
The agreement also states that Everett Transit employees that are identified for transfer would become Community Transit employees as of April 1. Unionized workers in the Amalgamated Transit Union 883, which represents Everett Transit drivers and mechanics, would work under the terms of their current collective bargaining agreement with their current pay and benefits until they negotiate a new contract with the ATU 1576, which represents Community Transit workers, and Community Transit itself.
Some aspects of how workers’ positions would change with the merger, including how the two unions will handle merging the seniority of employees, will be handled through the collective bargaining agreement, including an arbitration process if necessary, officials have previously said.
Proponents of the measure have argued that the merger would bring a needed increase in transit service to Snohomish County’s largest city, improve connections for those going into and out of Everett’s borders, and improve frequency and hours of operation in areas lacking adequate bus service.
“Tonight’s vote is about dramatically increasing public transportation, reducing transfer wait times, reducing congestion and serving our residents and our community,” said Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin during Wednesday’s meeting.
“City administration and Community Transit staff have done their due diligence to establish a strong ILA. Now is the time to move forward with the next chapter of Everett Transit,” said Brock Howell, the head of the Snohomish County Transportation Coalition.
Opponents argued that the tax increase that would come with consolidation would be a burden to residents and would be unnecessary because Everett Transit already provides quality service. Employees in the ATU 883, along with other unionized employees at the agency, also raised concerns over the proposed agreement, worrying if they would be able to retain their hard-earned seniority that helps determine the routes and vacation days employees can choose. Union members Wednesday called on the council to protect seniority in the interlocal agreement itself.
“Seniority is everything for people in a union,” said Steve Oss, the president of the ATU 883. “… You spend years working up that ladder. And now we’ve got nothing.”
Others also decried the fact that citizens would not be able to vote on the measure after a 2025 state law allowed public transporation benefit areas like Community Transit to annex city transit agencies via an interlocal agreement, rather than a public vote.
“Our voices don’t matter in this decision, and our votes have been taken away. You may have the legal authority, but just because you can, doesn’t mean you should,” Shanine Chapman told the council Wednesday.
A merger between Everett Transit and Community Transit has been studied multiple times over a period of decades. In the early 1990s, the Everett City Council had voiced their opposition to the idea of a merger, citing the higher sales tax rate.
In 2019, Everett again began considering the possibility of consolidating the two transit agencies again as Everett Transit was facing financial challenges. Community Transit and the city of Everett spent years studying it — eventually coming up with a 2023 report outlining how a merger might look in the city — but work on the merger halted in 2024 as both agencies focused on near-term transit improvements, a city document read.
Officials at the city and Community Transit announced in April that they were going to try and move forward with a merger again, after a 2025 state law allowed public transporation benefit areas like Community Transit to annex city transit agencies via an interlocal agreement, rather than a public vote. Mayor Cassie Franklin put her support behind the measure, and both the city and Community Transit spent months working out an interlocal agreement, which they released in September.
That agreement outlined some of the details of the merger, including timelines for service growth and payments between the two government bodies. Community Transit would pay Everett about $54 million for transit property and assets, while Everett would transfer about $16 million in transit reserves to Community Transit.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
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