Editing Community Transit (section)

=== Early years (1970s) ===

Snohomish County established its [[public transportation benefit area]] (PTBA), the first in the state,<ref>{{WSDOT Public Transit Summary |year=1996NTL |page=27 |chapter=Community Transit (Snohomish County) |link2=yes |access-date=July 6, 2016}}</ref> after [[municipal corporation]]s for public transportation were added to the [[Revised Code of Washington]] by the [[Washington State Legislature]] in 1975.<ref>{{cite news |last=Aweeka |first=Charles |date=July 20, 1975 |title=Meeting set on public transit |page=A22 |work=[[The Seattle Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-last=White |editor-first=Richard O. |date=July 1, 1975 |chapter=Chapter 270 (Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill No. 2280): Public Transportation |title=1975 Session Laws of the State of Washington – 1st Extraordinary Session, Forty-Fourth Legislature |chapter-url=http://www.leg.wa.gov/CodeReviser/documents/sessionlaw/1975pam1.pdf |edition=1975 |location=Olympia, Washington |publisher=[[Washington State Legislature]] |pages=979–993 |oclc=42336168 |access-date=September 1, 2014}}</ref> The PTBA plan for a countywide bus system was approved during a general election on June 1, 1976, funded by a three-tenths increase of the [[sales tax]] rate in member cities.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lane |first=Bob |date=June 2, 1976 |title=Snohomish County bus system OK'd |page=A10 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |date=October 3, 2011 |title=Community Transit Marks 35th Anniversary |url=http://www.communitytransit.org/newsrelease/1470 |location=Everett, Washington |publisher=Community Transit |access-date=September 1, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722122250/http://www.communitytransit.org/newsrelease/1470 |archive-date=July 22, 2015 }}</ref>

Snohomish County had previously been served by an [[interurban]] railway from Everett to Seattle and coach lines operated by private companies under the [[Puget Sound Power Company]], which were later absorbed by [[Greyhound Lines|Greyhound]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Haigh |first=John |date=February 21, 1965 |title=The Early Days of Bus Transportation |pages=4–5 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Two previous attempts to establish a bus system, under the Snohomish County Transportation Authority (SNOTRAN) in 1974,<ref name="SeaTimes-SNOTRAN">{{cite news |last=Brooks |first=Diane |date=December 30, 1994 |title=Sno-Tran Has Met Goals, Calling It A Day – Tomorrow Ends Decade Of Success For Transit Agency |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19941230/1949884/sno-tran-has-met-goals-calling-it-a-day----tomorrow-ends-decade-of-success-for-transit-agency |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=September 1, 2014}}</ref> were rejected by voters from the entirety of Snohomish County.<ref>{{cite news |last=Daniel |first=Linda |date=September 18, 1974 |title=Snohomish County: Bus-system proposal defeated |page=A15 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=November 6, 1974 |title=Transit fails again in Snohomish County |page=A18 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Heavy opposition came from the residents of [[Everett, Washington|Everett]] because of the high sales tax rate and planned absorption of [[Everett Transit]], acquired by the city in 1969,<ref>{{cite news |date=November 5, 1969 |title=Everett Voters Approve City Transit Venture |page=43 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> forcing the SCPTBA to exclude Everett in its successful attempt at creating a bus system.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lane |first=Bob |date=October 24, 1974 |title=Snohomish County again to try transit plan |page=A26 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> SCPTBA Public Transit began operating in the cities of [[Brier, Washington|Brier]], [[Edmonds, Washington|Edmonds]], [[Lynnwood, Washington|Lynnwood]], [[Marysville, Washington|Marysville]], [[Mountlake Terrace, Washington|Mountlake Terrace]], [[Snohomish, Washington|Snohomish]] and [[Woodway, Washington|Woodway]] on October 4, 1976,<ref>{{cite news |last=Lane |first=Bob |date=May 30, 1976 |title=Part of Snohomish County to vote on transit Tuesday |page=E4 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> using 18 leased [[GMC (automobile)|GMC]] buses on seven routes carrying 6,414 passengers [[Free public transport|without fares]] during the first week.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lane |first=Bob |date=September 26, 1976 |title=Bus service to begin Oct. 4 in Snohomish County areas |page=A14 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=October 5, 1976 |title=New bus system works 'pretty well' on first day |page=D16 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref>

SCPTBA Public Transit, whose service was known colloquially as the "Blue Bus" for its blue [[livery]],<ref name="SeaTimes-CT1979">{{cite news |last=Aweeka |first=Charles |date=June 20, 1979 |title=County transit finally ends name game |page=H1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> carried 951,200 passengers in its first year of service on 15 local routes and 16 [[Commuter bus|commuter express routes]] to [[Downtown Seattle]] and [[Northgate, Seattle|Northgate]],<ref name="SeaTimes-1977">{{cite news |last=Cartwright |first=Jane |date=October 5, 1977 |title=Snohomish Co. transit system in successful year |page=H3 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> contracted through [[King County Metro]] as a continuation of service provided by the [[Metropolitan Transit Corporation (King County)|Metropolitan Transit Corporation]] to southern Snohomish County before its merger with [[Seattle Transit System]] in 1973.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lane |first=Bob |date=December 20, 1972 |title=2 OK's ease way for Metro busses in Snohomish |page=D2 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Bergsman |first=Jerry |date=January 2, 1973 |title=In Lynnwood: Here it comes—there it goes |page=A14 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The buses ran for 16 hours a day, charging a base fare of 20 cents (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|0.20|1976}}}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}}).{{Inflation-fn|US}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Lane |first=Bob |date=November 17, 1976 |title=Snohomish County public transit is going places |page=B12 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Early on, the busiest local line was Route R14, accounting for 21 percent of system ridership in the first three months, running from the Edmonds waterfront to Lynnwood and the [[Boeing Everett Factory]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Lane |first=Bob |date=January 26, 1977 |title=One blessing: New bus system can only be measured in months |page=H9 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The agency acquired its first federal funding from the [[Urban Mass Transportation Administration]] for the 1978 [[fiscal year]], to be used on the purchase of 18 new buses as well as bus stop amenities, such as stop signs and shelters.<ref name="SeaTimes-1977" />