City Line (Spokane, Washington) Explained

City Line
Bgcolor:
  1. 8d2a90
Routetype:Bus rapid transit
System:Spokane Transit Authority
Garage:Boone Northwest
Vehicle:New Flyer Xcelsior XE60 battery-electric articulated buses
Status:In service
Locale:Spokane, Washington
Start:Browne's Addition
End:Spokane Community College Transit Center
Length:6miles
Stations:25
Routes:Spokane Transit Route 1
Frequency:Weekday peaks: 7.5 minutes
Off-peak and weekends: 10-15 minutes
Early morning/late nights: 15-30 minutes[1]
Open:July 15, 2023
Operator:Spokane Transit Authority
Via:STA Plaza, University District, Gonzaga University, Chief Garry Park
Livery:Black and purple
Oplogo Width:170px
Dailyridership:2,400 (weekday, March 2024)[2]
Ridership:318,672* (2023, *partial year)[3]

The City Line is a bus rapid transit (BRT) line in Spokane, Washington, United States, that opened on July 15, 2023. The 6adj=midNaNadj=mid route, which is operated by the Spokane Transit Authority, runs from Spokane's Browne's Addition neighborhood, through Downtown Spokane and the University District, including the WSU Health Sciences campus and Gonzaga University, before ending at the Spokane Community College campus in the Chief Garry Park neighborhood. The project budget as of 2023 was $92.2 million.[4]

History

Origins and planning

Early fixed-rail streetcar concept

The idea of constructing a form of high-capacity transit system to serve central areas in and around Downtown Spokane began in the late 1990s with an updated visioning document for Downtown Spokane calling for the development of a modern streetcar line, harkening back to Spokane's early 20th century history when numerous streetcars and trolleys ran through the city's core.[5]

By the early 2000s three local agencies, the Downtown Spokane Partnership, the Spokane Regional Transportation Council, and Spokane Transit Authority, teamed up to advance discussions of developing a streetcar system in Downtown Spokane. The group was intrigued by the potential of a streetcar system spurring transit-oriented development in Spokane, similar to the market response to the Portland Streetcar in Portland, Oregon, which had opened a few years prior. Early visions had a streetcar system serving areas in and around the Downtown Spokane core, including the Browne's Addition neighborhood, Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Riverpoint Higher Education Park, and medical district on Spokane's Lower South Hill.[6]

Feasibility study

In 2005, the vision to develop a streetcar line was officially adopted as a project by Spokane Transit Authority[7] and the agency commissioned a streetcar feasibility study in partnership with other local transportation and planning agencies. The report, titled Spokane Streetcar Feasibility Study, was released in March 2006 and studied a number of topics related to installing a streetcar line in Spokane, including potential routes, alignments, vehicles, costs, and urban development potential.[8]

The study identified five potential alignments, many of which utilized multiple lines. All five options included a route running west to east, from Browne's Addition, through Downtown, to the University District, which is ultimately reflected in part of the City Line's final, single-line alignment.[8]

Concept development

Public workshops and a series of meetings with stakeholders were held from 2010 through early 2011 to identify preferred mode and route alternatives for the new line.[9] The Spokane City Council voted in July 2011 to identify a locally preferred alternative of implementing a tire-based electric trolleybus system, in lieu of a more expensive track-based streetcar system, and a route from the Browne's Addition neighborhood toward Spokane Community College through Downtown Spokane and the nearby University District.[10] The final alignment most closely resembles the southern west–east line identified in Alignment Alternative B.

Evolution to bus rapid transit

By 2014, plans to use a modern electric trolley as the mode of transportation shifted to using battery electric buses instead due to the lower costs—no overhead wires would need to be constructed—and the rapidly developing capability and reliability of electric vehicles.[11]

Funding and costs

The City Line's final estimated development costs of $92.2 million are funded through a variety of local, state, and federal sources.[12]

Costs during the project's earlier stages were initially estimated to be around $72 million. $3.575 million of that amount went toward the project's planning and design and were funded by state and federal sources.[12] In 2015, the Washington State Legislature allocated $15 million toward the project.[13] At the time, the intent was that the remainder of that $72 million would be covered through a federal grant, which Spokane Transit applied for in September 2017.[14] STA was awarded its $53.4 million request from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Small Starts Grant in April 2019,[15] which would have fully funded the project when combined with the earlier allocation by the Washington State Legislature in 2015.[16]

However, due to cost escalation since the initial planning and grant applications began, the cost estimate had increased to between $85.7 and $92.2 million. To address the shortfall, the Spokane Transit Authority board authorized in July 2019 a $20.2 million local match as part of the transit agency's agreement with the FTA to accept the federal grant.[17]

The line's operating costs are covered by fare revenue and sales-tax revenue approved in 2016 as part of STA's Proposition 1 to improve transit service throughout the Spokane area.

As of May 16, 2023, the project was projected to cost $78.3 million, $13.9 million under the $92.2 million budget.[18] In July 2023, the STA board voted to direct the unused local funds to the agency's next bus rapid transit project, Division Street BRT.[19]

Naming

The project was conceived under the working title "Central City Line" and was officially named the City Line at the FTA grant signing ceremony on January 21, 2020.[20] The line is numbered as route 1 with all high performance cooridors using single digit route numbers.

Construction

Major construction of the line's components, including roadway improvements along the route, supporting infrastructure, and boarding stations, began on May 1, 2020[21] [22] and continued through 2021.[23] Prior to start of this phase, Spokane Transit completed upgrades at some of its existing facilities that will ultimately enable and support City Line operations, including alterations to boarding zones at the STA Plaza,[24] reconstruction of the Spokane Community College Transit Center, and constructing a new garage[25] at STA's main campus that will house, service, and recharge the City Line's electric battery electric fleet when not in use.

Construction of City Line was divided into two phases. The first phase, which concluded in May 2022, addressed infrastructure including roadway improvements, communications conduit, and building the concrete station platforms. The second phase of construction began in July 2022, and focused on the construction of the station shelters and amenities.[26]

Delay

In October 2021, just 7 months before its originally-scheduled May 2022 opening,[27] Spokane Transit Authority announced that the opening of City Line would be delayed to July 2023 due to supply chain shortages in the materials, specifically rolled steel tubes, needed to construct the station shelters. Before the delay was announced, Spokane Transit had evaluated several options to open City Line on schedule, which included launching service without station shelters constructed[28] to changing the station designs to utilize materials not affected by the shortage. However, in order to preserve and deliver the original vision and rider experience of City Line that was presented to the Spokane community, it was ultimately decided to keep the station designs as-is and wait for the availability of the material to construct the station shelters.[29]

In late 2021, Spokane Transit installed a full-scale construction mockup of a protypical City Line station shelter at its Moran Station Park and Ride on Spokane's South Hill. The mockup provided opportunities to train installers on installation processes and conduct a design assessment before installation of the actual shelters along the route. Only minor design adjustments were determined to be necessary as a result of the mockup process, and the mockup was later repurposed into a functioning shelter for the Moran Station Park and Ride.[30]

Testing

Six months ahead of its launch, testing of City Line began in January 2023. Aspects that were evaluated included testing the line's real-time bus tracking system, real-time displays at stations, route timing, and range capabilities of City Line's battery-electric buses.

By the conclusion of the phase, Spokane Transit Authority estimated that it had put in more than 10,000 hours of testing to ensure as few issues as possible after launching the service.

Spokane Transit also engaged the public during the testing phase, seeking out test riders to participate in simulated trial runs of the route from May 10–11, 2023 to obtain feedback from users.[31]

Opening

The route began service on July 15, 2023.[32]

STA hosted simultaneous launch day celebration events in the Browne's Addition, Downtown/Riverside, University District, Logan, and Chief Garry Park neighborhoods with food and music. Three days later, the official ribbon-cutting ceremony occurred on July 18, 2023, on the campus of Gonzaga University with leaders from Spokane city council, Spokane county commissioners, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, and the deputy directory of the Federal Transit Administration, Veronica Vanterpool.[33] [34]

In April 2023, the STA board authorized an introductory fare free period for City Line. The fare-free period was set to run from the service launch date of July 15, 2023, to Labor Day on September 4, 2023, in order to encourage use of the new route and for the community to see the new electric busses and Eastern Washington's first bus rapid transit line.[35]

Although the City Line was planned with 7.5 minute headways during peak hours, due to coach operator staffing shortages, the route opened with a reduced peak frequency of 15-minutes. Spokane Transit announced plans to implement City Line's 7.5 minute peak headways the following year,[36] which ultimately commenced with the agency's January 21, 2024 service change.[37]

Route

City Line traverses a six-mile, east–west route across Spokane between the Browne's Addition neighborhood and Spokane Community College with one-way travel times of approximately 25–30 minutes, depending on time of day and traffic conditions. The route is served by 20 stations in each direction, which are typically spaced between 1/4 to 1/3 mile apart.

The route begins west of Downtown Spokane, circling Coeur d'Alene Park in Browne's Addition. After departing, it turns east along Pacific Avenue, one of the main roads serving the Browne's Addition neighborhood, with higher density apartment buildings and commercial nodes along the road.

From Browne's Addition, City Line proceeds through Downtown Spokane. Many stations in Downtown Spokane are split into station pairs along two separate parallel roadways due to the routing of City Line along one-way roads in Downtown. In Downtown's West End, which is home to numerous breweries, condominiums, apartment buildings, and the Davenport Arts District, the route runs along First Avenue in the eastbound direction and Sprague Avenue in the westbound direction. The eastbound and westbound paths briefly converge in the core of Downtown at the STA Plaza, where passengers have the opportunity to connect to nearly every other route in the Spokane Transit network. After the STA Plaza, the route splits again with eastbound travel running along Main Avenue, and westbound travel running along Riverside Avenue. Stations along this portion of the line serve Riverfront Park, Convention Center District, and Downtown's East End.

Exiting Downtown, City Line resumes its routing on two-way streets for the remainder of its route, entering the University District along a small north–south segment on Pine Street. At Spokane Falls Boulevard, the route turns east–west with a major station on the WSU Health Sciences Spokane campus. After crossing the Spokane River, the route turns north–south along Cincinnati Street, running through the Gonzaga University campus. Two stations along Cincinnati Street serve the Gonzaga Law School, Gonzaga's athletic facilities (including the McCarthey Athletic Center), University of Washington School of Medicine Spokane campus, the Centennial Trail, and the core of Gonzaga's campus.

At the north end of Gonzaga's campus, City Line continues east–west along Mission Avenue through the Logan neighborhood, serving destinations such as Mission Park, Witter Aquatic Center, Avista Utilities' headquarters, and another connection to the Centennial Trail.

From there, the route continues along Mission Avenue, crossing the Spokane River into the Chief Garry Park neighborhood. After passing through several stations, the City Line route reaches its eastern terminus at the Spokane Community College Transit Center, which provides riders transfer opportunities to other STA routes, a driver layover point, and rapid charging facilities for City Line's battery electric buses.[38]

Stations

All stops and stations feature near-level boarding, real-time information, fare validators, off-board fare collection, and either a shelter or windscreen. Spokane Transit also collaborated with the City of Spokane to implement transit priority at some intersections.[39]

Station nameNeighborhood / DistrictOpenedConnectionsStation typeclass=unsortable Points of interest served
Cannon & FourthBrowne's Additionalign=center 2023STA Routes 60, 61Bulbout
Spruce & Secondalign=center 2023SideCoeur d'Alene Park
Pacific & Hemlockalign=center 2023CenterNorthwest Museum of Arts and Culture
Pacific & Cannonalign=center TBD – future infillCenter
Pacific & Oakalign=center 2023Center
First & Adams (Eastbound)
Sprague & Adams (Westbound)
Davenport Districtalign=center 2023STA Routes 20, 661Bulbout
First & Monroe (Eastbound)
Sprague & Monroe (Westbound)
align=center 2023STA Routes 6, 20, 60, 61, 62, 66, 661BulboutFox Theater
STA PlazaDowntown Spokanealign=center 1995Numerous STA bus routes (see STA Plaza)
Travel Washington Gold Line
Bulbout (eastbound)
Transit Center (westbound)
Downtown Core
Main & Howard (Eastbound)
Riverside & Stevens (Westbound)
align=center 2023STA Route 11 (Eastbound)STA Routes 4, 6, 14, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 45, 74, 90, 94, 144, 172, 173, 190, 247, 724, 771 (Westbound)IslandRiverfront Park
Main & Bernard (Eastbound)
Riverside & Bernard (Westbound)
Convention Center Districtalign=center 2023STA Routes 6, 14, 25, 74, 90, 172, 173, 190, 724, 771 (Westbound)Island
Main & Division (Eastbound)
Riverside & Division (Westbound)
align=center 2023STA Routes 6, 25 (Eastbound)STA Routes 6, 14, 25, 90 (Westbound)Bulbout (eastbound)
Island (westbound)
Pine & MainUniversity District & Loganalign=center 2023Center
Spokane Falls & Shermanalign=center 2023STA Route 6People For People Route 108IslandWSU Health Sciences Spokane campus
Cincinnati & Springfieldalign=center 2023Center
Cincinnati & Desmetalign=center 2023SideGonzaga University
Mission & ColumbusLoganalign=center 2023STA Routes 26, 28Center
Mission & Perryalign=center 2023Side
  • Mission Park
  • Centennial Trail
Mission & NapaChief Garry Parkalign=center 2023STA Route 14Side
Mission & Cookalign=center 2023SideChief Garry Park
Mission & Regalalign=center 2023Side
SCC Transit Centeralign=center 2019STA Routes 32, 33, 34, 39Transit CenterSpokane Community College

Service

City Line operates for approximately 19 hours per day Monday through Friday, from about 5:00 am to 12:00 am, and approximately 18 hours per day on Saturdays, from about 6:00 am to 12:00 am. Operating hours on Sundays are reduced to about 16 hours, from around 6:00 am to 10:00 pm.

7.5-minute frequencies are provided during weekday commuter peak hours, approximately between the morning hours of 7 am to 9 am, and afternoon hours of 3 pm to 6 pm. Mid-day frequency on weekdays is approximately 10 minutes. Off-peak, City Line provides 10 to 15-minute frequencies throughout most of the service day Monday through Saturday, with frequencies dropping to 20 and 30 minutes in the early morning and late evenings. Sunday frequencies are 15 minutes during the day and 30-minute intervals in the early morning and at night.[40]

Fares

City Line busses support fares at each door via on-board fare collection unit that can accept QR codes via the STA Connect app, NFC via the physical STA Connect cards, and contactless payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.[41] Off-board validators are also available at several City Line stations for passengers to validate their fares before boarding.

Cash payments can also be made on-board buses at right-hand board stations using the front door of the bus, similar to Spokane Transit's regular buses. However, at left-hand boarding City Line stations, on-board cash payments are not possible due to lack of front door on the driver side of the bus. Instead, passengers must use on-platform ticket vending machines to make a cash purchase and scan their printed ticket on an on-vehicle fare validator when boarding.

Fares on City Line follow the fare structure of the rest of the Spokane Transit, costing $2.00 for a standard adult two-hour pass.[42]

Vehicles

The City Line utilizes 60-foot long New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE battery electric buses. A $13.9 million purchase for 10 buses was approved by the Spokane Transit Board of Directors on April 16, 2020.[43] Spokane Transit planned to take delivery of the first of the buses in Q2 2021 for testing with the remaining 9 vehicles delivered toward the end of 2021, in time for the start of City Line operations in 2022.[44] However, it took delivery of the first bus ahead of schedule in December 2020, publicly revealing it for the first time in March 2021.[45]

The buses feature a special black and purple livery and have five doors—three on the right and two on the left to support the interoperability between side-boarding platforms and center-boarding platforms along the route.[46]

Electric capability and rapid charging

The initial fleet of buses utilized on City Line are equipped with batteries that have a 320 kilowatt-hour (kWh) capacity, enabling a driving range of 120 to 150 miles. From an operational perspective, Spokane Transit projects the range of a fully-charged City Line bus to be sufficient enough to operate non-stop throughout the entirety of the line's 7.5-minute peak service frequency on weekdays, with each peak lasting a duration of two to three hours. After the initial peak, buses connect to rapid chargers during 15-minute layover periods at the line's eastern terminus, Spokane Community College Transit Center, before beginning another route run. The rapid charging strategy implemented on City Line allows its fleet to remain on-route throughout the day and as well as end each service day mostly charged, minimizing the time needed to finish its charging cycle overnight at STA's bus depot.[47]

Rapid charging on-route is accomplished through overhead charging stations. The equipment, by ABB Ltd., is equipped with a SAE J3105 pantograph that drops from above, making contact with the roof mounted-charger on the bus below.[48]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: City Line Schedule - Effective May 2024.
  2. Web site: STA Fixed Route System Performance Report 2023 data.
  3. Web site: STA Board of Directors March 2024 minutes.
  4. Web site: April 20, 2023 . May 17, 2023 . Spokane Transit Authority . en-US.
  5. Web site: Kershner. Jim. Spokane's Streetcars. Essay 8080. HistoryLink. January 25, 2007. December 7, 2014.
  6. News: Fixed-rail streetcars mulled . August 13, 2023 . Spokane Journal of Business . September 5, 2003.
  7. News: Walters . Daniel . Streetcar desired . May 2, 2020 . Inlander . September 24, 2013.
  8. Web site: Spokane Streetcar Feasibility Study . URS Corporation . May 2, 2020.
  9. Web site: Spokane Central City Transit Alternatives Analysis Process Summary Report . Spokane Transit Authority . CH2MHill . May 2, 2020.
  10. News: Brunt . Jonathan . Council prefers electric trolley . May 2, 2020 . The Spokesman-Review . July 16, 2011.
  11. News: Walters . Daniel . Repeat after me: The Central City Line is not a trolley. It's not a streetcar. It's a bus. . May 2, 2020 . Inlander . April 1, 2016.
  12. Web site: Spokane Transit Authority's City Line . University District . The University District . May 2, 2020.
  13. April 25, 2016 . Funding coming for bus line connecting Browne's Addition, SCC, University District and Gonzaga . Washington State House Democrats . May 2, 2020.
  14. News: Bjerken . LeAnn . Central City Line meets federal funding requisites . May 2, 2020 . Journal of Business . The Spokane Journal of Business . April 26, 2018.
  15. April 9, 2019 . U.S. Department of Transportation Announces $1.36 Billion Funding Allocation for 16 New and Existing Transit Projects Nationwide . . April 21, 2020.
  16. News: Deshais . Nicholas . Spokane Transit's Central City Line wins $53.4 million in federal money, fully funding the project . April 13, 2019 . The Spokesman-Review . April 9, 2019.
  17. News: STA Board fully funds local match for the central city line . May 2, 2020 . KHQ . July 25, 2019.
  18. Web site: April 20, 2023 . May 17, 2023 . Spokane Transit Authority . en-US.
  19. Web site: July 20, 2023 . Board of Directors Meeting Minutes July 2023 . July 22, 2023 . Spokane Transit Authority . en-US.
  20. News: McDermott . Ted . January 21, 2020 . It's official: Spokane gets $53M in funding for newly named City Line bus project . The Spokesman-Review . January 21, 2020.
  21. News: McDermott . Ted . Getting There: Work begins on long-awaited bus rapid transit City Line . May 7, 2020 . The Spokesman-Review . May 4, 2020.
  22. Web site: 2020 Construction . City Line Construction . Spokane Transit Authority . May 2, 2020.
  23. Web site: 2021 Construction . City Line Construction . Spokane Transit Authority . May 2, 2020.
  24. News: Deshais . Nicholas . Work on Central City Line infrastructure progresses . May 2, 2020 . The Spokesman-Review . August 31, 2019.
  25. News: Polevoi . Aaron . STA announces construction on new maintenance facility . May 2, 2020 . KXLY . March 8, 2018.
  26. News: Thomas . Virginia . Second phase of work begins on City Line stops . July 20, 2023 . Spokane Journal of Business . July 14, 2022.
  27. Web site: Central City Line Fact Sheet . January 21, 2020 . Spokane Transit Authority.
  28. News: White . Rebecca . Supply chain delays City Line bus rapid transit to 2023 . July 21, 2023 . Spokane Public Radio . October 8, 2021.
  29. News: Brown . Sydney . October 8, 2021 . Spokane's city transit line will have to wait another year, slated to open July 2023 . The Spokesman-Review . October 31, 2021.
  30. News: Spokane Transit Authority installs prototype BRT shelter . August 2, 2023 . Mass Transit Magazine . December 1, 2021.
  31. News: Finch . Janelle . Spokane Transit Authority hosts test rides of new city line buse . krem.com . July 21, 2023 . May 10, 2023.
  32. Web site: City Line . May 16, 2023 . Spokane Transit Authority . en-US.
  33. Web site: April 20, 2023 . May 16, 2023 . Spokane Transit Authority . en-US.
  34. Web site: June 16, 2023 . City Line Ribbon Cutting Ceremony . June 16, 2023 . Spokane Transit Authority . en-US.
  35. News: Dinman . Emry . Getting There: Spokane's City Line will be free for more than eight weeks after July 15 launch . July 21, 2023 . The Spokesman-Review . April 24, 2023.
  36. Web site: May 18, 2023 . May 16, 2023 . Spokane Transit Authority . en-US.
  37. Web site: Service Change – January 21, 2024 . Spokane Transit . Spokane Transit Authority . January 21, 2024.
  38. Web site: Central City Line - High Performance Transit | STA Moving Forward . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180109100300/http://stamovingforward.com/plan/projects/hpt-service-central-city-line#map . January 9, 2018 . January 9, 2018.
  39. Web site: Dinman . Emry . December 24, 2022 . Getting there: City Line bus route will use new system to shorten waits at red lights The Spokesman-Review . May 17, 2023 . www.spokesman.com.
  40. Web site: Spokane Transit . May 27, 2024 . City Line timetable (effective May 2024) . June 4, 2024 . Spokane Transit Authority . Spokane Transit Authority.
  41. Web site: McDowell . Trey . July 11, 2023 . Contactless Payments Now Live . July 22, 2023 . Spokane Transit Authority . en-US.
  42. Web site: Billingham . Eliza . Sandstrom . Summer . STA's new transit line begins operating this weekend, the Inland Northwest's first bus rapid transit system . The Inlander . Inlander . July 21, 2023.
  43. News: Deshais . Nicholas . April 17, 2020 . Rapid Transit Line Drives Toward Reality In Eastern Washington With Grant For Spokane Buses . . April 21, 2020.
  44. Web site: Spokane Transit Authority Board Meeting of April 16, 2020 - Agenda Item #4B . Spokane Transit Authority . Spokane Transit Authority . April 22, 2020.
  45. News: Sarles. Connor. March 17, 2021. STA unveils first ever zero-emission City Line bus, planned to launch in 2022. KXLY-TV. April 16, 2021.
  46. News: Kelety . Josh . March 5, 2020 . Take a gander at the new buses for the City Line, Spokane's bus rapid transit project . Inlander . March 6, 2020.
  47. News: Dinman . Emry . Getting There: Spokane Transit Authority finishing kicking the tires before City Line rollout . July 22, 2023 . The Spokesman-Review . April 17, 2023.
  48. Web site: Spokane Transit . March 17, 2022 . City Line Bus FAQs . May 16, 2023 . Spokane Transit.