Intercity Transit

Intercity Transit is a public transportation agency organized as a municipal corporation in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It serves Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and Yelm and Lakewood: an area of approximately 94 square miles (240 km²). It operates 19 bus routes,^[3] the Dial-A-Lift door-to-door service, a vanpool program, and specialized van programs.

Intercity Transit

Headquarters	510 Pattison St. SE Olympia, Washington
Service area	Thurston County, Washington
Service type	Bus, paratransit
Routes	21[1]
Daily ridership	11,688
Annual ridership	4,242,904 (2024)
Fuel type	B20 Diesel (Biodiesel)
General Manager	Emily Bergkamp[2]
Website	www.intercitytransit.com

In FY 2024 the system had an annual ridership of 4,242,904, or about 11,688 daily boardings.

In 2009, the American Public Transportation Association gave Intercity Transit the America's Best Public Transportation System award for the mid-size category.^[4]

Routes and services

All of Intercity Transit's fixed route services were suspended on April 13, 2020, and replaced temporarily by an on-demand system with advance reservations limited to only passengers with "essential business" as part of the local response to the pandemic.^[5] Limited fixed route service resumed in June alongside the advance reservation system but ridership remained 70 percent below its 2019 levels.^[6][7] Intercounty service to Lakewood resumed in June 2021.^[8]

Intercity Transit previously maintained a free shuttle route called Dash, which provided service between the Capitol Campus and downtown Olympia via Capitol Way.^[9] Dash ran every fifteen minutes on weekdays, every ten minutes on weekends, and was close to several public parking lots. However, this service was retired during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fleet

Intercity Transit "Dash" Bus 951 running in the Lakefair parade

Intercity Transit operates 77 coaches, 33 Dial-A-Lift vans, and 221 vanpool vans.^[10] Intercity Transit purchased six new hybrid electric buses in 2010,^[11] and nine new hybrid electric buses in 2014. Intercity Transit is one of the first transportation systems in the country to use an all-biodiesel fleet.

All of Intercity Transit's coaches are Gillig Low Floor buses.^[12] They are equipped with wheelchair accessibility, kneeling doors, automatic stop announcements, and surveillance cameras.

Fares

Intercity Transit began a five-year zero-fare pilot project in January 2020 as part of its service expansion approved in a 2018 ballot measure.^[13][14] The agency also launched a zero-fare express bus route connecting Capital Mall to Lacey in September 2019.^[15] The pilot was extended to 2028 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which also forced the suspension of the express route and Dash.^[16]