Everett transit consolidation plan pairs more bus service with higher sales tax

Everett and Community Transit have proposed combining their bus systems, setting out a trade for city residents: a higher transit sales tax from April 2027, if the plan is approved, in return for a phased expansion of bus service and easier connections across Snohomish County. The agencies say service in Everett would grow by 50% through 2031. Neither governing body has approved the annexation, and the extra service is not in place.

Under the proposed agreement, Community Transit would become Everett’s primary transit provider. The city says the change is intended to reduce difficult transfers between its own routes and the wider county network. Everett City Council and the Community Transit Board of Directors must each vote on the plan before the city can join the agency’s service district.

When the tax and service would change

If approved, annexation would take effect on April 1, 2027. On that date, Community Transit’s 1.2% transit sales tax would replace Everett’s 0.6% transit sales tax within the city. The city calculates the difference as six cents on a $10 taxable purchase. The tax change would therefore arrive before the proposed increase in bus service.

The city expects routes and schedules to remain largely as they are during preparations in 2027. The agreement’s executive summary says Community Transit would have to maintain or exceed Everett Transit’s service when it takes over, including routes, frequency and operating hours. Community Transit chief executive Ric Ilgenfritz told The Urbanist that riders should initially see the same service, with improvements following a planning process.

Mayor Cassie Franklin told The Urbanist the plan could bring longer operating hours, shorter waits and more direct connections within Everett and across the county. Those benefits remain projections. Everett Transit operator Daryle Sullivan had raised a different concern at an August council meeting, according to The Urbanist: that local service needs could fall through the cracks under a county operator.

Fares, paratransit and staff

The agreement’s executive summary says existing Everett Transit fares would stay in place for at least 12 months after annexation. A subsequent change would require staff analysis, public engagement and approval by the Community Transit board. The city’s announcement says fares would remain unchanged while a board with Everett representation considers longer-term options.

For people who already qualify for Everett paratransit, the summary promises service equal to what Everett Transit provides immediately before the transfer. The Urbanist reported a narrower rule for future applicants: people who would previously have qualified solely on age would no longer be able to enroll under the proposed arrangement. That distinction matters because protection for current customers does not establish the same eligibility for every future rider.

Everett Transit employees identified for transfer would become Community Transit employees under the proposal. The agreement summary says the receiving agency would assume applicable labor agreements and protect wages, benefits, retirement and working conditions. The city also says current employees would retain employment either through a transfer or by staying with the city.

Assets and oversight

Community Transit would pay Everett $54.5 million under the agreement. The city breaks that down into $42.5 million for transit property and assets, including Everett Station, buses and equipment, and $12 million for impacts and transition costs to city services. Everett would separately transfer $16 million in existing transit capital reserves for future equipment and vehicle replacement.

The executive summary says Everett would retain its operations and maintenance center and lease it to Community Transit for $300,000 a year for five years. It also says Everett would receive at least one seat on a reconstituted Community Transit board, with the board’s composition settled after annexation. Those terms show how city assets and a measure of local representation would move into the combined arrangement.

How residents can weigh in

Everett says an August 18 open house drew nearly 100 attendees and that it received 217 online and written comments while developing the proposed agreement. The agencies now face a further approval process. The city lists September 30 for a council action and October 1 for a Community Transit board action to set public hearing dates. It anticipates hearings on October 28 and 29, followed by final votes on November 4 and 5. Those dates are proposed, and the governing bodies have yet to act.

Residents can comment through the online form, email, voicemail or postal address listed on the city’s transit consolidation page. The city’s September announcement says comments received by October 21 will be shared with both governing bodies, while its consolidation page gives a later October 28 date for summarizing comments. Residents seeking to comment before the votes can use the city’s published channels and check the hearing schedule as the council and board set it.

The proposed merger follows years of discussion about how Everett’s city-run service should connect with the county network. The city says it studied a combined system in 2023 and resumed consolidation talks in April 2026. Approval would begin a new operating arrangement in 2027, but the promised expansion would depend on the later network plan and phased implementation.