Whatcom Transportation Authority

The Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA) is the public transit authority of Whatcom County in northwestern Washington, based in the city of Bellingham. It provides bus service on 28 fixed routes, including branded four "GO Lines" with 15-minute frequencies on weekdays. In addition to bus service, the WTA offers paratransit service and a vanpool programs.

The WTA is funded by a 0.6% sales tax within the Whatcom County public transportation benefit area (PTBA) and grants from the state and federal governments. Service began on January 1, 1984, using equipment bought from the Bellingham municipal transit system after a countywide authority was established a year earlier. The WTA carried 4,451,508 total riders on fixed bus routes in 2019, and 4,703,807 across all its services. Average weekday boardings on fixed routes was 15,935.

History
The Whatcom Transportation Authority was created in 1983 and service in western Whatcom County, including the cities of Bellingham, Ferndale and Lynden, began on January 1, 1984. The city of Bellingham began operating its own municipal transit system in 1971 by taking over a failing private operator, funding it with a 0.3% sales tax within the city beginning in 1975. The system was absorbed into the new countywide public transportation benefit area, which adopted the same sales tax rate in 1983.

Predecessors
Public transportation in Whatcom County has a rich history dating back to the late 19th century. The first significant mode of public transit was the streetcar, which began operating in the 1890s. The Bellingham Bay Improvement Company ran the electric streetcars, connecting various neighborhoods to the central business districts of Bellingham. This system expanded in the early 20th century, playing a crucial role in the urban development of the area.

The streetcar system continued to be the main form of public transportation until the 1920s and 1930s when automobiles and buses began to take over. In 1938, the last streetcar line was discontinued and replaced with diesel buses, signaling the end of the streetcar era.

Private bus operators initially filled the void left by the streetcars. However, these private services struggled financially and operationally. By the 1940s and 1950s, several attempts to stabilize and improve bus transit were made, but with limited success.

In 1971, Bellingham took over a failing private bus company, establishing a municipal transit system funded by a 0.3% sales tax introduced in 1975. This system laid the foundation for a more extensive regional approach to public transportation.

GO Lines
The "GO Lines" are four corridors where local service combines for 15-minute headways on weekdays and are branded with a specific color by the WTA beginning in 2005.


 * Blue Line (routes 107, 108, 190, 196, and 197): Bellingham Station to Sehome Village, via Western Washington University
 * Green Line (route 232): Bellingham Station to Cordata Station and Whatcom Community College
 * Gold Line (route 331): Bellingham Station to Cordata Station and Whatcom Community College, via Bellis Fair Mall and Roosevelt
 * Plum Line (routes 512, 525, 533 and 540): Bellingham Station to Lakeway Drive; originally added in 2008, cut in 2010, and re-instated in 2017.

A fifth GO Line, the Red Line from Bellingham Station to the Fairhaven Transportation Center, was removed in March 2017.

County Connector
WTA Route 80X, known as the County Connector, is an inter-county route operated by the WTA and Skagit Transit that makes 9 daily roundtrips on weekdays and 5 daily roundtrips on Saturdays and Sundays between Bellingham Station and Skagit Station in Mount Vernon, with intermediate stops at park and rides along Interstate 5. There is also a shuttle bus that connects Route 80X to Western Washington University with 3 weekday roundtrips.

The shuttle bus 80S also takes students from Western to Lincoln Creek Park and Ride so they can transfer to the 80X to Mount Vernon. To ride on Skagit Transit buses, WWU and WCC students can show their IDs to the driver and board for free. On WTA buses, WWU and WCC IDs issues before 2022 can be swiped in the fare box as a bus pass. New IDs are NFC-enabled, meant to be tapped on the Umo readers as a bus pass.

Fleet
The WTA operates a fleet of 64 full-size buses, 52 paratransit vehicles, and 35 vanpool vans. , their entire bus fleet consist of Gillig Low Floor 40 ft buses that seat 32 to 40 passengers. Eight units ordered in 2012 are diesel-electric hybrids.