Spokane Transit Authority, more commonly Spokane Transit or STA, is the public transport authority of central Spokane County, Washington, United States. STA provides public transportation within the Spokane County Public Transportation Benefit Area (PBTA), encompassing and includes the cities of Spokane, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Cheney, Airway Heights, Medical Lake, Millwood, and unincorporated areas between and around those cities. As of 2025, STA's PTBA has a population of approximately 482,000. Originally conceived in 1980, and authorized by voters on March 10, 1981, STA traces its origins to multiple private transit operators serving Spokane as early as 1888.
In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . STA serves are primarily oriented within the Spokane urbanized area, one of 147 medium-sized urbanized areas with a population between 200,000 and 1,000,000 as of the 2020 US Census. Among these medium-sized urbanized areas and based on 2024 ridership data, the Spokane urbanized area ranks 45th in population (447,279), 12th in total transit ridership (10,225,648), and 10th in transit ridership per capita (22.86).
Services
Spokane Transit provides multiple services: Fixed Route Bus Service. Spokane Transit operates 51 bus routes throughout its service area on published schedules. Most routes run 365 days a year. Additionally, STA operates routes during major community events such as the Lilac Bloomsday Run, Hoopfest, and the Spokane County Fair & Expo. Paratransit. Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Spokane Transit provides accessible transportation to persons with disabilities within of every fixed route. Rideshare. Previously Vanpool. A service which matches people traveling to or from similar locations and provides a publicly owned car or van at a fixed price per month.
Fixed routes
Spokane Transit has 51 fixed routes operating year-round on published schedules. Routes are numbered to reflect service class by the number of digits as described in the table below. Key geography is reflected in the first digit of regular service, while numbering of target service with triple reflects key markets and underlying geography through the combination of digits. Routes have distinct weekday, Saturday and Sunday schedule patterns. Most national holidays operate on a Saturday schedule with New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day operating on a Sunday schedule. +Route color organizationRoute type and colorExplanationRoutesBus Rapid Transit(Purple)Frequent rapid transit service on key corridors. Daytime headways of 7.5-10 minutes. Evenings and weekends 15-30 minutes.1, 5* (Future Division BRT)Frequent Routes(Red)"Local service at frequent intervals: every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 15-60 minutes on weekends."4, 9, 20, 21, 25, 28, 33Regular Routes(Blue)"Local service every 30-60 minutes. Night and weekend service varies by route."14, 22, 23, 27, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 43, 45, 61, 62, 63, 65, 68, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98Regional Routes(Gray)"High-speed regional links, traveling via freeways and also serving local stops on selected surface streets."6, 7, 66, 173, 190, 661, 662, 663, 664, 722, 724, 771Commuter Routes(Pink)"Service connecting major destinations via direct, high-speed routing during peak commute times, with some midday trips."124, 144, 223, 247, 294, 633Downtown Shuttles(Green)"Targeted shuttle services in the downtown core."11, 12
Bus rapid transit As of 2023, Spokane Transit has one bus rapid transit line within the region as part of its planned High Performance Transit network, with a second in development.
The first line, the City Line, began service in July 2023 and traverses from east–west through Downtown Spokane and the University District, running between the Browne's Addition neighborhood and the Spokane Community College Transit Center.
A second line, with a working project name of Division BRT, is currently in design and planned to run north–south through Spokane along Division Street, with a goal of starting construction in 2026 and commencing service between 2027 and 2029 dependent on the opening of the North Spokane Corridor.
Passenger facilities and amenities
Transit centers Spokane Transit operates four transit centers as of 2026: STA Plaza, in downtown Spokane Pence-Cole Valley Transit Center (VTC), in Spokane Valley Spokane Community College Transit Center, in Chief Garry Park in East Spokane West Plains Transit Center, near Four Lakes Mirabeau Transit Center in Spokane Valley
Park-and-ride lots Spokane Transit operates a total of 14 park-and-ride facilities throughout its service area, several of which are operated through cooperative agreements with other property owners to allow parking access to transit services.
Bus stops At the end of 2025, Spokane Transit served 1,676 bus stops throughout its service area.
Bicycle accommodation All fixed routes have buses with racks that can fit three bikes on the exterior of the bus. Most park and ride lots feature bike lockers that can be rented on a monthly basis. The New Flyer Xcelsior 60' articulating electric buses implemented on the City Line accommodate bikes on board the bus via the rear doors.
Fares and passes Fare structure Fare structure as of May 2023: Type Standard Fare Daily Fare Capping Monthly Fare Capping Standard $2.00 $4.00 $60.00 Paratransit $2.00 $4.00 $60.00 Honored RiderSeniors 60 and older and individuals with disabilities (Honored Rider card required) $1.00$2.00$30.00 Stars and StripesActive-duty military personnel and veterans (Stars and Stripes card required) $1.00$2.00$30.00 OpportunityPilot reduced fare program for low-income individuals meeting certain eligibility and verification requirements (Opportuniy card required) $1.00$2.00$30.00 StudentAges 19 or old (Honored Rider Card required) $1.00$2.00$30.00 YouthAges 6–18 years old(Rider's License or equivalent institutional card required) zero-fare zero-fare zero-fare Children5 and underchildren must be accompanied free free free
As of October 2022, the standard fare costs $2.00 and permits the rider to board any route for a period of two hours from initial purchase or validation on the bus. On October 1, 2022, Spokane Transit inaugurated a new accounted-based fare collection system, known as the Connect fare system. The fare system includes online account management, a smart card known as the Connect card, and a mobile app, STA Connect. The new system caps fares collected on a daily and monthly basis and includes several discount programs . A "Rider's License" allows youth ages 6–18 to ride with zero fare. Traditional fareboxes remain on all fixed route coaches, allowing riders to pay with cash or older media as described below.
Fare media As of 2021, fares on Spokane Transit can be paid in cash, or with pre-paid passes and transfers programmed to magnetic stripe cards or RFID smart cards. The fare payment platform went live on December 4, 2006, after a three-day transition period with no fares collection while new fare boxes were installed. STA's prior system, while also accepting cash, utilized paper transfers and metal coin tokens.
STA launched the Connect Card with a companion eConnect app on October 1, 2022. The fare collection system, developed by INIT, can accept the Connect Card via NFC and the mobile eConnect app. The Connect Card and mobile eConnect app are linked to an online account-based fare management system. Users can reload balances via the app, at the STA Plaza, or partnered retail locations. The pass allows for fare-capping and allows users to lock the cards if a card is lost or stolen.
In July 2023, the system began accepting contactless payments including Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and digital wallets (Apple Pay and Google Pay) with onboard fare collection boxes as well as off-board fare validators and fare vending machines.
Pass programs Spokane Transit provides multiple fare instruments, including employee, youth, and college passes. Additionally, organizations may participate in the Universal Transit Access Pass (UTAP) program with a "utility charge" for each ride taken by eligible participants. Spokane Transit currently maintains UTAP contracts with Eastern Washington University, Washington State University Spokane, Community Colleges of Spokane, Whitworth University, Gonzaga University and the University of Washington School of Medicine in Spokane (via Gonzaga University); City of Spokane for employees and elected officials; and, Spokane County for employees and elected officials.
Governance Spokane Transit is governed by a board of directors which includes nine positions filled by elected officials who must be appointed by the municipal jurisdictions that form the agency, and one position appointed by the Board upon recommendation by the labor organizations representing the public transportation employees within the local public transportation system pursuant to state law.
Originally, the board consisted of 2 members from the City of Spokane, 2 members from the Spokane County Commission, 1 member from each of the Cities of Airway Heights, Cheney, Medical Lake, and the Town of Millwood, and one additional member alternately held by an official from the City of Spokane and Spokane County. The City of Liberty Lake was incorporated in August 2001, and the City of Spokane Valley was incorporated in March 2003, necessitating a change in board membership.
Currently the board consists of: City of Spokane, 3 members Spokane County, 2 members City of Spokane Valley, 2 members The small cities, 2 members (combined) Labor representative, 1 member (non-voting) The board of directors is also advised by the following committees:
Board Operations Committee Planning & Development Committee Performance Monitoring & External Relations Committee Citizen Advisory Committee
The executive team for Spokane Transit Authority consists of the following positions:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chief Operations Officer (COO) Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Chief Planning and Development Officer Chief Human Resources Officer Chief Communication and Customer Service Officer
Ridership +Annual ridership by service typeYearTotal RidershipFixed RouteParatransitRideshare20069,179,0678,408,678493,981276,408200710,218,5029,436,662506,710275,130200811,904,52011,110,476516,516277,528200911,883,77311,152,408521,578209,787201011,441,91310,710,528517,192214,193201111,550,36310,831,987485,551232,825201211,771,88011,031,338490,106250,436201311,811,34411,087,049483,038241,257201412,045,93611,324,434475,171246,331201511,499,76210,815,736 464,448219,578201610,922,87210,261,816 468,050193,006201710,920,43810,264,971 477,010178,457201810,703,05210,069,599 476,020157,433201910,569,1049,971,798 442,044155,26220206,114,3615,817,776 205,81590,77020215,560,6345,238,135 252,20170,29820227,013,2226,595,319 327,32790,57620239,403,3478,947,157360,53595,655202410,661,10210,166,876390,956103,270202510,940,66610,432,622402,176105,868
Fixed route fleet
As of December 2024, Spokane Transit has 187 buses in its fleet.
ImageModelLengthSeatsYearQuantityFleetNotes Diesel New Flyer D60LF60'62200762661–2666200942961–2964New Flyer Xcelsior61'62201731761–1763201871861–1867Gillig Low Floor35'32200732701–270340'392007142704–27172008142801–2814200992901–2909201481401–1408201671601–1607201861801–1806201961901–19062021162101–2116New Flyer Xcelsior40'422022102201–221040'4220242024101–2412040'422025725101–25107 Diesel–Electric Hybrid Gillig HEV40'39200868001–800620101010701–107102012612701–1270629'26200939031–9033 Battery Electric New Flyer Xcelsior Charge60'41202111E6001–E6011Dedicated use for City Line40'4020212E4001–E400240'4020239E4005–E4010,