Former services Blue Line
bus rapid transit service on the
State Route 99 corridor was preceded by decades of transit services traveling through southwestern
Snohomish County, which ranged from an
interurban railway to local
buses. The
Seattle–Everett Interurban Railway ran
interurban service from 1910 to 1939 along the
Pacific Highway, later
U.S. Route 99 and State Route 99. During its heyday, the interurban ran at 30-minute
headways throughout the day, and only made automatic stops at its terminals in Everett and Seattle. The railway was dismantled and later used as
right of way for
overhead power lines, until it was converted into a
rail trail in the 1990s and 2000s, named the
Interurban Trail.
Community Transit was founded in 1976 as the public transit agency for Snohomish County, and introduced local service from Everett to
Aurora Village via State Route 99 on route 750. By 1991, the State Route 99 corridor had the highest ridership on both Community Transit and Everett Transit. Route 750 was later renumbered to route 610, which was later upgraded to 15-minute headways in the 1990s, and itself split into two routes, 100 and 101, in 2003. Community Transit route 100 ran during
peak hours along the full length of the corridor from Aurora Village to Everett, while route 101 only ran the southern portion of the route to South Everett, with all-day service that required a transfer to
Everett Transit to complete trips to downtown Everett.
BAT lanes and BRT studies Planning for
limited-stop bus service, which later evolved into
bus rapid transit, began in the 1990s, with proposals to build
bus lanes on State Route 99 between 145th Street NE in
Shoreline and Casino Road (near
State Route 526) in Everett.
Sound Transit was established in 1996 as a
regional transit authority, and selected the State Route 99 corridor as a route for
its express bus system, but later replaced it, before service began, with an express route on Interstate 5 from Everett to
Northgate, while leaving SR 99 to Community Transit. Sound Transit funded the construction of
business access and transit lanes on State Route 99 through
Lynnwood from 244th Street to 148th Street in 2002, converting former parking lanes, and widening the highway in some areas, improving existing bus service, and laying the ground for a future bus rapid transit line. Community Transit's Strategic Planning Group published a recommendation in 2004, calling for bus rapid transit service on the State Route 99 corridor between
Everett Station and
Aurora Village Transit Center, featuring off-board fare collection, limited stops, and
transit signal priority. The route alternatives proposed included express service from Aurora Village to
Downtown Seattle via Aurora Avenue North or Interstate 5, as well as express service on Interstate 5 in Everett, if a partnership to share costs with Everett Transit for the Evergreen Way segment was not viable. In December 2005, the CT Board of Directors approved an accelerated planning schedule for a bus rapid transit project, to cost an estimated $15–20 million, and to begin service as the first such system in the
Puget Sound region in 2008.
Planning, design and construction Community Transit unveiled detailed plans for its bus rapid transit system, including the "Swift" name and logo, on July 26, 2006. The first line, located on State Route 99 between Everett and Aurora Village, would begin operating in 2008, with 10-minute
headways and limited stops. The agency envisioned
real-time arrival signs at stations, and
transit signal priority, among other improvements over existing bus service. The following year, CT purchased its fleet of 15
hybrid diesel-electric buses from
New Flyer, at a cost of $879,028 per vehicle, to be paid for with state and federal
subsidies. Community Transit signed an agreement on December 5, 2007 with Everett Transit, which allowed for Swift to operate within Everett
city limits with
sales tax revenue from Everett funding stations, and
transit signal priority within Everett. In exchange, Everett Transit would be allowed to expand its services into neighboring
unincorporated areas that do not have CT service. A
groundbreaking ceremony for the first Swift station, located at Airport Road in south Everett, was held on December 3, 2008, and was attended by Community Transit CEO Joyce Eleanor,
U.S. Senator Patty Murray, and the mayors of Everett and
Marysville. Stations were constructed in two phases: the first consisting of utility relocation and pouring of the concrete shelter pad; the second being the installation of the shelters, beacons, and other amenities beginning in June 2009. The first station to be completed, a training facility at the Merrill Creek
bus base, was opened during a media event on May 5, 2009; in September 2009, the first station on the line was completed at 196th Street in Lynnwood. The project cost a total of $29 million (equivalent to $ in ), of which $15 million was paid for by grants from the
Federal Transit Administration,
Washington State Department of Transportation, as well as the partnership with Everett Transit. The grants also paid for the majority of the cost to operate Swift for its first three years of service, estimated at $5 million annually, allowing it to maintain 10-minute headways, while the rest of Community Transit service was reduced in 2010.
Launch and additional stations Swift launched on November 29, 2009 with a
ribbon-cutting ceremony at Crossroads Station, and a day of
free rides from 4:00 p.m. to midnight. The following day marked the beginning of regular service, with the first runs departing their termini at 5:00 am, and the new service attracted more than 1,500 riders, with end-to-end trips taking 20 minutes less compared to local buses on the same corridor. Swift debuted as the first
bus rapid transit line in the state of
Washington, ahead of
King County's RapidRide, opening a year later in 2010, and one of the longest lines in the country when it opened. Everett Transit reduced weekday headways on route 9, running from Airport Road Station to the
Everett Community College, from 20 minutes to 30 minutes. The successful launch of Swift, which saw
ridership grow to 3,000 daily boardings in its first five months of service, earned Community Transit a Vision 2040 Award from the
Puget Sound Regional Council in May 2010. The agency also received two bronze
Summit Creative Awards for the launch of Swift, as well as
instructional videos on riding Swift that were published on
YouTube. Four
infill stations located in Everett were added to Swift in December 2010 and January 2011: a split pair at Madison Street and Pecks Drive, filling a nearly gap between Casino Road and 50th Street, An additional southbound Swift station, College Station at 204th Street SW in Lynnwood, was opened on February 3, 2016. It has no matching northbound station and serves
Edmonds College. It was originally proposed with the rest of the Lynnwood stations, but was delayed while waiting for the City of Lynnwood to extend 204th Street and build a
traffic signal at its intersection with State Route 99.
Later developments Swift stations were given a number of small improvements after the line opened. Curb bumpers were installed in June 2010 to help guide buses closer to the raised platform, and reduce the gap at the door. In June 2015, the
Washington State Department of Transportation removed part of the
refuge island at the intersection of State Route 99 and Airport Road to create a through lane exclusively for Swift buses. Bus service on Aurora Avenue North, the continuation of State Route 99 in
Shoreline and
Seattle, was upgraded to bus rapid transit with the introduction of the
RapidRide E Line in February 2014. The line terminates at
Aurora Village Transit Center, allowing for transfers to Swift. On August 12, 2016, Community Transit announced a rebrand for Swift to the "Swift Blue Line", while the planned Swift II line would become the
Green Line. The Green Line opened on March 24, 2019, and connects with the Blue Line at Airport Road Station. The Blue Line was extended through
Shoreline to connect with
Link light rail at
Shoreline North/185th station on September 14, 2024. Community Transit selected the Meridian Avenue corridor for the extension in June 2020 to prioritize connections at the existing transit center over two other options on Aurora Avenue. ==See also==