Social media sleuths solve transit photo mystery
Puget Sound public transit buses, from left to right: Kitsap Transit, Pierce Transit, Everett Transit, Community Transit, King County Metro. Background: The Washington State Ferries’ vessel Walla Walla.
There have been a lot of photos taken over the course of Kitsap Transit’s 40-year history. We here at Headways like to dig through them occasionally, for nostalgia.
Yesterday, we discovered this black-and-white shot of five regional transit agencies parked in front of a Washington State Ferries (WSF) vessel. Buses from Kitsap Transit, Pierce Transit, Community Transit and King County Metro buses were all clearly marked, as was WSF’s Walla Walla in the background.
The photo didn’t have a date or location written on it, and we couldn’t quite place the bus in the middle of the lineup. We posted to social media in the hopes of getting some context, and the transit community delivered.
Using a combination of institutional knowledge, license plates and well-directed questions, several folks on Twitter successfully identified the Orion coach in the center of the frame as belonging to Everett Transit:
According to Les Bagley, a former Kitsap Transit driver and one-time marketing manager at Washington State Ferries, the photo was taken in 1985 at Colman Dock in Seattle. The local transit agencies around Puget Sound had begun offering regional passes and gathered the buses together for a photoshoot.
Here’s the backstory from Les (via Facebook):
On top of everything, Western Washington was in the middle of a drought that year. The specific way the buses are aligned in the photo was intentional, as transit agencies weren’t allowed to use water to wash the buses.
Thanks to all the intrepid transit historians that helped piece together the backstory of this photo! We agree with this sentiment: