PORT ANGELES — Would you take a bus to Hurricane Ridge if Clallam Transit offered the service?
Transit officials are asking the public to complete an online survey that will inform an operational analysis that could lead to service changes, including new routes to Olympic National Park.
The 19-question survey is available at www.clallamtransitfuture.com.
“We want to see if our current service is satisfying everybody’s needs within the community and what we can do in the future to improve on that, which could include changing current services or actually adding more services if funding allows,” Clallam Transit General Manager Kevin Gallacci said Thursday.
Those who take the survey are eligible to win a $25 gift card from a local merchant.
Last October, the Clallam Transit board awarded a $109,660 contract to Walker Consultants to produce the comprehensive operational analysis.
The firm will collect data on every Clallam Transit fixed route and look for efficiencies in the system.
“We want to be able to collect the detailed information of how people use the system on stop-by-stop basis and time-of-day basis for each route,” said Manuel Soto, Walker Consultants project manager, in a Clallam Transit board meeting Wednesday.
Walker Consultants may recommend service adjustments or alternative fare structures in a final report in June.
Information from the analysis will be used to update Clallam Transit’s five-year plan.
“That will be perfect timing for us to have better information as we put together our Transit Development Plan,” Gallacci said in a Thursday interview.
“Certainly, some of the things that could improve our service are going to cost extra dollars, and we need to ensure that we’re maintaining our financial stability throughout the future in doing that.”
A new service to Hurricane Ridge, Sol Duc Falls or the Hoh Rainforest would require coordination with Olympic National Park and an interlocal agreements with the National Park Service.
Other transit agencies around the country serve national parks.
“It’s something we really need to look at and see if it could be done,” Gallacci said.
Clallam Transit buses have been running at about half capacity since COVID-19 restrictions began last spring.
Walker Consultants was scheduled to conduct the ride checks from Jan. 30 to Feb. 6.
“It won’t be 100 percent perfect,” Soto said, “but I think having 50 to 60 percent of what the ridership was (before COVID-19) is good enough to give us a good idea, or representation, of how each of the routes are being used.”
Gallacci said a project advisory committee would review the comprehensive operational analysis as it takes shape.
“That (committee) is made up of a pretty diverse group of folks throughout the community,” Gallacci said.
“The consultants will bring a series of recommendations based off of their expertise, and then it’s up to Clallam Transit and the board to decide if we want to act upon those or not.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at rollikainen@ peninsuladailynews.com.
