Link Transit is the public transit authority of Chelan and Douglas counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates fixed bus and paratransit services between 17 communities in the Wenatchee–East Wenatchee metropolitan area, including the cities of Chelan, Leavenworth, Waterville and Wenatchee. In 2014, Link Transit carried 987,376 passengers on its 18 bus routes.
It is one of only two public transportation benefit areas, along with Ben Franklin Transit in the Tri-Cities, to cover more than one county. The Chelan-Douglas Public Transportation Benefit Area was founded in November 1989 and a 0.4% sales tax was approved by voters in September 1990 to fund a bus system. The Link Transit moniker was adopted shortly before bus service began on December 16, 1991. Link Transit was initially a fare-free system until February 2000.
Routes
Link Transit operates 18 bus routes, with service operating from Monday through Sunday. Three of these routes are "trolley" routes using trolley-replica buses branded as "The Current", running electric battery buses and not charging fares; six are intercity routes connecting Wenatchee to outlying communities via major highways; and one is a season route to the Mission Ridge Ski Area, branded as "SkiLink", which is free for pass holders to the resort. Link Transit also operates one dial-a-ride service in Leavenworth.
Most of these bus routes connect to the three main transit centers in Wenatchee and its suburbs: Columbia Station, Wenatchee Valley Mall in East Wenatchee, and Olds Station Park & Ride. Most routes also operate in loops with one-way segments.
Bus routes Route Inbound terminus Outbound terminus Via Bi-directional Saturday service Notes 1 Columbia Station Methow Street, Crawford Avenue, Miller Street, Russell Street, Ferry Street 5 Columbia Station Walmart Cherry Street, Western Avenue, Fifth Street, Wenatchee Valley College, Maple Street 7 Columbia Station Ninth Street, Wenatchee Valley College, Western Avenue, Washington Street 8W/8E Columbia Station Wenatchee Valley Mall, Olds Station Park and Ride, Central Washington Hospital Routes split by direction 11 Wenatchee Valley Mall Eastmont Avenue, 4th Street, Kentucky Avenue, 3rd Street, 5th Street, 8th Street Running in opposite direction as route 12 12 Wenatchee Valley Mall 8th Street, 5th Street, 3rd Street, Kentucky Avenue, 4th Street, Eastmont Avenue Running in opposite direction as route 11
Intercity routes Route Inbound terminus Outbound terminus Via Off-peak service Saturday service Notes 20 Columbia Station Manson Orondo, Chelan 21 Columbia Station Manson Entiat, Chelan 22 Columbia Station Leavenworth Olds Station, Cashmere, Peshastin 23 Columbia Station Rock Island East Wenatchee 24 Columbia Station Malaga 25 Columbia Station Waterville East Wenatchee, Orondo 26 Columbia Station Ardenvoir Olds Station, Entiat 28 Columbia Station Cashmere Olds Station 40 (SkiLink) Olds Station Columbia Station, East Wenatchee Mission Ridge Ski Area Seasonal route, only operates from November to April primarily on weekends
Shuttle and urban routes
Shuttle routes are fare-free and run at higher frequencies.
Route Inbound terminus Outbound terminus Via Saturday service Notes A Columbia Station Wenatchee Valley Mall Mission Street Replaced route 19 B Columbia Station Wenatchee Valley College Worthen Street, Riverside Drive, Fifth Street C Columbia Station Wenatchee Valley Medical Center Wenatchee Avenue Replaced route 9 D Wilkommen Park and Ride Icicle River Road Highway 2 E Johnson and Columbia (Chelan) Lakeside Park, Don Morse Park Seasonal service during summer
Fleet
Link Transit operates electric buses, powered by batteries, on its "Current" frequent routes in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. The first batch of five buses manufactured by EBus was delivered in 2014 and funded by a $2.9 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). In 2016, the FTA awarded a $3.8 million grant to Link Transit to purchase additional electric buses to replace older diesel vehicles; Link Transit awarded a four-bus order to BYD Auto for their K9 electric buses.
Link Transit received its BYD electric buses in 2017 and outfitted one with an experimental wireless 200 kW charger, the first of its kind in the United States.
Current Bus Fleet
YearManufacturerModelFleet numbersFuel typeNotes1999GilligPhantom327–332Diesel329 is retired.2000ChanceAH-28504, 507DieselFormerly used on trolley routes2003GilligLow Floor333–337Diesel2004GilligLow Floor305–308Diesel2005GilligLow Floor309–312Diesel2007GilligLow Floor313–315Diesel2008GilligLow Floor316–326Diesel2010EBus22T803–806Electric batteryBranded for "The Current" trolley routes
References
External links