Mason Transit Authority

Mason Transit Authority

250px MTA cutaway on layover in Belfair
Slogan	MTA's vision is to serve people through world-class transit.
Commenced operation	December 1, 1992 (1992-12-01)
Headquarters	790 E Johns Prairie Road Shelton, WA 98584
Locale	Mason County, Washington
Service type	Bus service
Routes	9
Fleet	18 buses, 23 minibuses and 40 vans
Annual ridership	585,534 (2014)
Fuel type	Diesel and Gasoline
General Manager	Danette Brannin (Interim)
Website	masontransit.org

The Mason Transit Authority (MTA), formerly the Mason County Transportation Authority, is the public transit authority of Mason County, Washington, United States. It operates free bus service within the county, connecting the city of Shelton, Hoodsport, Grapeview, Allyn, Belfair, the native tribal reservations of the Skokomish and Squaxin people, and paid commuter service to Olympia in Thurston County, Brinnon in Jefferson County, and Bremerton in Kitsap County. The agency also provides general public dial-a-ride service, operates a vanpool fleet, a worker/driver program that provides commuter service to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, volunteer driver program for senior transportation, a supplemental service that is an after school activity bus and a community van program.

History

Public transit in Mason County was conceived with the establishment of a public transportation benefit area (PTBA) on September 22, 1987. After two unsuccessful attempts at approving the PTBA in 1985 and 1988, a countywide vote on November 15, 1991 approved the Mason County Public Transportation Benefit Area and a sales tax of 0.2% to fund public transportation. Buses began operating on December 1, 1992.

The Mason County Transit Authority officially changed its name to Mason Transit Authority in 2013.

Facilities

Transit-Community Center

The Transit-Community Center is a combined community center and transit center located in Shelton that opened on April 1, 2015. It was originally a Washington National Guard armory built in the 1950s that was purchased by the MTA in 2006 and renovated at a cost of $9.9 million, funded by local sales tax and funding from the Federal Transit Administration.

Services

Fares

As of 2015

Fare Type	Adult	Youth	Reduced/Senior
In-County	$0	$0	$0
Out-of-County	$1.50	$1.50	$0.50

Routes

Route	Inbound terminus	Outbound terminus	Destinations served	Saturday service	Notes
1	Shelton Transit-Community Center	Belfair	Allyn	Yes
2	Shelton Transit-Community Center	Belfair	Skokomish, Union	Yes
3	Belfair	Bremerton	Gorst	Yes
4	Loop around Belfair			Yes
5	Loop around southern Shelton		Shelton Transit-Community Center	Yes
6	Shelton Transit-Community Center	Olympia Transit Center	Kamilche	Yes	Route 6X trips do not serve the Capital Mall
7	Loop around northern Shelton		Shelton Transit-Community Center	Yes
8	Shelton	Brinnon	Hoodsport	Yes
9	Loop around central Shelton		Shelton Transit-Community Center	No

Connecting services

File:SquaxinTransit.jpg

A Squaxin Transit bus, one of the services that connects to MTA

• Kitsap Transit and Washington State Ferries in Bremerton (via route 3)
• Intercity Transit, Grays Harbor Transit and Sound Transit Express in Olympia (via route 6)
• Squaxin Transit in Kamilche (via route 6)
• Jefferson Transit in Brinnon (via route 8)

Fleet

Current Bus Fleet

As of October 20, 2014

Year	Manufacturer	Model	Fleet Numbers	Fuel Type	Notes
1980	MCI	MC-5C	904	Diesel
1999	Gillig	Phantom 40'	805–806	Diesel
2002	Gillig	Phantom 35'	807	Diesel
2003	Gillig	Phantom 30'	808	Diesel
2005	Gillig	Phantom 35'	809–810	Diesel
2005	Gillig	Phantom 40'	811–812	Diesel
2007	Gillig	Advantage 35'	300–302	Diesel
2010	Gillig	Advantage 35'	303–305	Diesel
2013	Gillig	Advantage 35'	306	Diesel

External links

• Official website