Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
'It's been a challenge ... for the last year and a half'
The Pickering Road Park & Ride, shown here last week, re-opened Dec. 1.
Mason Transit Authority has a lot to look forward to in 2022 after a big year in 2021.
One of the accomplishments for MTA in 2021 was the opening of most of the Park & Rides in Mason County. All of the Park & Rides are open other than the Belfair Park & Ride, which is slated to open in early 2022 after the building receives it’s electrical panel.
“It was ordered I think back in September or October and we’ve just been continually told it’s on order but we haven’t received anything,” MTA General Manager Amy Asher told the Journal. “So our contractors are looking for an alternative and waiting for approval on that so hopefully, we’ll be able to get that installed and power to the building and then final inspections done sometime in January, I’m hoping, and then maybe we can open January or February.”
Asher said MTA is still waiting to open the Shelton-Matlock Park & Ride. The lot received power last week but MTA is working with Hood Canal Communications to get the security cameras installed and turned on. She said MTA hopes to have it ready to go by January.
Pickering Road reopened on Dec. 1, even though it still needs a power pole after someone stole the previous one. There’s also some ponding in some parking spaces that needs to be addressed. Asher said they’re seeing daily use of the lot and are happy to have Pickering Road open.
MTA is still hiring drivers and three drivers that just completed training and will be out on the road doing road training for the next few weeks. MTA just closed recruitment and will have a class of five beginning the process of becoming drivers in January and another round of recruitment will begin in February for a class set to being in April.
“It’s been a challenge as it has been for the last year and a half,” Asher said. “We’re not getting as many applicants as we would like but we also have the constraint of the class sizes. We can’t pack people into this room, we’ve got to keep them spaced out and so our class sizes haven’t been able to be very big anyway.”
The goal is to bring back service to pre-pandemic levels. It will happen in phases as MTA adds staff throughout 2022.
COVID health protocols on buses are still necessary and the buses are planning to add new air filtration systems next year. Buses are cleaned regularly, and Asher said they have seen no outbreaks or cases related to people riding the bus.
Looking back on 2021, Asher said the year was great. Even with reducing service due to the pandemic and staffing levels, MTA is still in Mason County providing an essential service.
“We’re seeing an uptick in our community members using our door to door service, our dial-a-ride,” Asher said. “I think having a very convenient app to use to be able to schedule their own rides has helped with that. We’ve been working this last part of 2021 in upgrading some technology so passengers can see buses in real time and that will launch at the beginning of January.”
Asher said the 2022 budget looks good with a lot of basic things getting updated, including heating at the MTA Johns Prairie Road office and painting. Asher said MTA are hiring a mechanic and a maintenance manager.
“We prepared for a downturn in 2021, not knowing what COVID was going to do and not knowing what the impacts of Initiative 976 was going to bring but our sales tax, which is over half of our funding, is healthy and so 2022 looks good,” Asher said.
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