The Jefferson Transit Authority is a

public transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of wh ...

agency serving

Jefferson County, Washington Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,977. The county seat and only incorporated city is Port Townsend. The county is named for Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson County ...

, United States. It provides fixed route buses, dial-a-ride paratransit, vanpools, and ridesharing.

History

Transit services around

Port Townsend Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition ...

began in 1915 with the debut of passenger "jitney" buses operated by private companies. The Stevens Stage Line, successor to the original jitney in Port Townsend, was contracted by the Clallam-Jefferson Community Action Council in 1979 to operate a pilot transit route using funds from the

Urban Mass Transportation Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...

. A

public transportation benefit area A public transportation benefit area, abbreviated as PTBA, is a type of public-benefit corporation for public transit operators in the U.S. state of Washington. It was authorized in 1975 along with a funding mechanism that uses sales taxes levied w ...

was approved by voters in Jefferson County on November 4, 1980, leading to the establishment of Jefferson Transit. The agency began operating routes in May 1981 and bought out the Stevens Stage Line on September 17, 1981. Jefferson Transit expanded its operations to include connections to

Forks In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from 'pitchfork') is a Eating utensil, utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tine (structural), tines with whic ...

on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula in 1995. The system was initially funded by a 0.3 percent

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...

that was increased to 0.6 percent in 2000 and 0.9 percent in 2011 following voter referendums. Following the boarding of a private bus near Port Townsend by U.S. Border Patrol agents, Jefferson Transit allowed the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

to post English and Spanish signs in buses with information on civil rights in early 2009. In June 2015, Jefferson Transit opened their new administrative headquarters on Four Corners Road and a transit center in Port Townsend to replace their existing facilities. The headquarters also includes a public

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

lot that was expanded in 2018 to add a

bicycle parking station A bicycle parking station, or bicycle garage, is a building or structure designed for use as a bicycle parking facility. Such a facility can be as simple as a lockable bike cage or shed or as complex as a purpose-built multi-level building: th ...

. Jefferson Transit ceased collecting its fares in March 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and continued to operate fare-free for most routes. It resumed fare collection with the launch of its

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

express route in 2022. Jefferson Transit became a fully fare-free system on January 2, 2024, when it stopped collecting fares on all routes.

Routes

*Route 1 Brinnon/ Quilcene/ Tri Area -

to Brinnon *Route 6 Tri Area Loop - Port Townsend to Tri Area *Route 7

Poulsbo Poulsbo ( ) is a city on Liberty Bay in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is the smallest of the four cities in Kitsap County. The population was 11,970 at the 2020 census and an estimated 10,927 in 2018. The Suquamish people hav ...

/ Port Ludlow/ Tri Area - Port Townsend to Poulsbo *Route 8

Sequim Sequim ( ) is a city in Clallam County, Washington, United States. It is located on the north side of the Olympic Peninsula between the Dungeness River and Sequim Bay. The city is south of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and north of the Olympic Mo ...

- Port Townsend to Sequim *Route 11 Downtown Shuttle - Port Townsend Downtown Loop *Route 12

Fort Worden Fort Worden Historical State Park is located in Port Townsend, Washington, on originally known as Fort Worden, a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps base constructed to protect Puget Sound from invasion by sea. Fort Worden was named afte ...

- Port Townsend Loop via Fort Worden *Route 13 Castle Hill - Port Townsend Loop via Castle Hill *Route 14 North Beach - West Port Townsend Loop *West Jefferson Olympic Connection -

to Amanda Park (

Lake Quinault Lake Quinault ( or ) is a lake on the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington state. It is located in the glacial-carved Quinault Valley of the Quinault River, at the southern edge of Olympic National Park in the northwestern United States. One ...

)

Buses

Jefferson Transit bus outside Kalaloch Lodge

Jefferson Transit operates eight fixed route buses within Jefferson County. It also operates, in conjunction with Clallam Transit and

Grays Harbor Transit The Grays Harbor Transportation Authority, doing business as Grays Harbor Transit (and abbreviated as GH Transit), is a public transit agency serving Grays Harbor County in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates eleven fixed bus routes traveli ...

, an Olympic Connection service, which goes from Forks to Grays Harbor.

References

External links

* Bus transportation in Washington (state) Transportation in Jefferson County, Washington Transit agencies in Washington (state) Free public transport {{Washington-transport-stub