Headways Newsletter: July 2024
The new Silverdale Transit Center is visible at sunset on June 22, 2024.
After a decade of planning and more than a year-and-a-half of construction, we were excited to finally open our new Silverdale Transit Center on June 24! You can read about the grand opening event in this month’s Headways newsletter, alongside an important update to our fare policy, the announcement of a $17 million grant award, and the launch of the ORCA card for Google Wallet. Enjoy!
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1. The new Silverdale Transit Center is open!
Kitsap Transit Executive Director John Clauson, center, cuts the ribbon on the new Silverdale Transit Center on Monday, June 24, alongside representatives from the Federal Transit Administration, the Suquamish Tribe, Gov. Jay Inslee’s office, Rep. Derek Kilmer’s office and Kitsap Transit’s Board of Commissioners.
On June 24, Kitsap Transit celebrated the opening of its new transit center in Silverdale, the culmination of a decade-long process to find a permanent home for public transit in Central Kitsap.
The $25 million Silverdale Transit Center (STC) is one of the first transit centers in western Washington with in-ground inductive chargers for electric buses and features accessible, covered waiting areas for passengers, a dedicated on-ramp for buses to travel onto Highway 303, an operator comfort station, bicycle storage and edible plants.
2. Fast-ferry fares, parking fees will increase on Oct. 1
Passengers wait for the fast ferry on March 19, 2024.
Starting on Oct. 1, 2024, one-way fares on Kitsap Fast Ferries will increase for the first time since the service launched in 2017 in response to ongoing inflationary conditions and growing urgency to preserve the long-term sustainability of Kitsap Transit’s marine fleet and facilities.
3. $17 million grant for new maintenance facility in Poulsbo, five double-decker electric buses
Rendering of a proposed new heavy duty maintenance facility at Kitsap Transit’s North Base in Poulsbo.
Kitsap Transit will receive $17 million in federal funding to construct a full-service maintenance facility at its North base in Poulsbo and procure five double-decker battery-electric buses, accelerating the agency’s efforts to transition its fleet toward a zero-emissions future.
4. ORCA Card now available in Google Wallet
A customer taps an Android phone on an ORCA card reader.
On June 24, ORCA announced the ability to save and access ORCA transit cards in Google Wallet from Android and Wear OS devices. ORCA customers with Android and Wear OS devices can easily add their ORCA cards to their Google Wallet, enabling them to pay for transit, fund their accounts, purchase a pass, view transactions, and see trip history all within the Google Wallet app.