LAKEWOOD, Wash. Pierce Transit is eliminating 16 bus routes starting Sunday as part of budget cuts and nearly 200 employees are being laid off.
Pierce Transit is dealing with a $51 million budget shortfall as a result of the recession. This is the second round of cuts Pierce Transit has been forced to make this year. There was a 20 percent reduction in June. This one is a 15 percent cut.
The route eliminations will affect riders in parts of Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Key Peninsula, Buckley, Sumner, Bonney Lake, Parkland, Spanaway, Puyallup and East Pierce County.
In addition, fewer buses will run during the day and some routes will start later and end earlier in the day.
It's really affecting a whole lot of people, not just me. People who live in Pierce County, people who work at McChord Air Force Base and others. I think it's going to hurt people really bad. Not only that, but the cuts in the bus drivers, too, said bus rider Bernard Edwards.
The eliminated routes include:
- 26
- 59
- 60 (Eliminated June 12)
- 61 (A modified route is now provided with Route 62)
- 113
- 207 (Eliminated June 12)
- 220 (Segments of this will merge with Route 51)
- 406
- 407
- 408
- 413
- 444
- 446
- 490 (Now connected via Route 400)
- 601
- 602
- Orting Loop
There will also be some reductions in Pierce Transit s paratransit service for people with disabilities.
With the elimination of routes comes the closure of some bus stops. If you see a yellow bag covering the sign at your stop, that means the stop is closed.
