STA reducing bus service beginning April 6

Erin Robinson by Erin Robinson

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane Transit Authority announced it will reduce its bus services starting on April 6.

STA will be moving to Service Level 3 of its Emergency Response Plan, effectively suspending express routes that typically carry morning and evening commuters.

System-wide ridership is down 30 percent compared to March 2019, which STA attributes to Governor Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Health” order.

Express routes impacted by implementing Level 3 Service include:

Route 124 – North Express

Route 144 – South Express

Route 172 – Liberty Lake Express

Route 173 – Valley Transit Center Express

Route 190 – Valley Express

“STA’s ridership levels continue to be a metric demonstrating public adherence to the Governor’s executive order. Based on recent data, we feel comfortable adjusting to Service Level 3 because lower ridership will still allow proper social distancing between those making essential trips,” said E. Susan Meyer, STA’s Chief Executive Officer. “We will continue to monitor this service reduction and adjust as needed according to our emergency response plan.”

More info on STA’s Service Level 3 can be found here.

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