Whatcom Transportation Authority


The Whatcom Transportation Authority is the public transit authority of Whatcom County in northwestern Washington, based in the city of Bellingham. It provides bus service on 31 fixed routes, including branded "GO Lines" with 15-minute frequencies on weekdays, to cities in its service area. In addition to bus service, the WTA offers paratransit service and a vanpool programs.
The WTA is funded by a 0.6% sales tax within the Whatcom County public transportation benefit area and grants from the state and federal governments. Service began on January 1, 1984, using equipment bought from the Bellingham municipal transit system after a countywide authority was established a year earlier. The WTA carried 5 million total riders on fixed bus routes in 2014, averaging out to 17,000 weekday boardings.

History

The Whatcom Transportation Authority was created in 1983 and service in western Whatcom County, including the cities of Bellingham, Ferndale and Lynden, began on January 1, 1984. The city of Bellingham began operating its own municipal transit system in 1971 by taking over a failing private operator, funding it with a 0.3% sales tax within the city beginning in 1975. The system was absorbed into the new countywide public transportation benefit area, which adopted the same sales tax rate in 1983.

Services

Bus routes

GO Lines

The "GO Lines" are four corridors where local service combines for 15-minute headways on weekdays and are branded with a specific color by the WTA beginning in 2005.
A fifth GO Line, the Red Line from Bellingham Station to the Fairhaven Transportation Center, was removed in March 2017.

County Connector

WTA Route 80X, known as the County Connector, is an inter-county route operated by the WTA and Skagit Transit that makes 9 daily roundtrips on weekdays and 5 daily roundtrips on Saturdays and Sundays between Bellingham Station and Skagit Station in Mount Vernon, with intermediate stops at park and rides along Interstate 5. There is also a shuttle bus that connects Route 80X to Western Washington University with 3 weekday roundtrips.

Fleet

The WTA operates a fleet of 64 full-size buses, 52 paratransit vehicles, and 35 vanpool vans.

Current Bus Fleet

Manufacturer
and model		ImageYearFleet NumbersSeatsNotes
Gillig Low Floor2004864–86632
Gillig Low Floor2007826–82733
Gillig Low Floor2007851–85540
Gillig Low Floor2008867–86930
Gillig Low Floor2009856–85940
Gillig Low Floor2009871–88040
Gillig Low Floor2010809–81033
Gillig Low Floor2010828–83033
Gillig Low Floor2010881–88640
Gillig Low Floor2011887–89440
Gillig Low Floor2012801–80840Diesel-electric hybrid bus
Gillig Low Floor2016831–83737