A bus route between Cowlitz County and Lewis County may launch later this summer.
A partnership being worked out between the local RiverCities Transit and Twin Transit, based in Centralia and Chehalis, would fill one of the final gaps for public transit along the entirety of Washington’s Interstate 5 corridor.
Both transit agencies are planning to create a new route into Castle Rock in August and coordinate the times of bus drivers to provide public transportation from Centralia to Kelso and back.
The Cowlitz Transit Authority Board is holding a public hearing Wednesday before making a decision to approve RiverCities’ side of the expansion. The route needs the board approval because the proposed path goes outside the public transportation district boundaries.
The cooperation was proposed by Twin Transit and talked out over the last year through the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Planning Organization, a subgroup of transit agencies overseen by the Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments.
“The biggest gap in the region is the area between Castle Rock and south Lewis County. This will address it,” Council of Governments executive director Bill Fashing said.
The agencies see potential demand for the route in both directions. Workers from Cowlitz County will receive an alternative way to get to the growing industrial parks around Winlock and Toledo. Residents of southern Lewis County will get an easier trip to medical offices and other businesses in Longview and Kelso.
Twin Transit expanded north a few years ago, providing a highway route to Olympia to fill another interstate gap. Twin Transit Director Joseph Clark said the route had slowly built up popularity to now serve dozens of riders a day and the agency is considering adding a weekend trip.
“The Olympia route has proven for us that people need transit and more and more are using it to get between these I-5 corridor cities,” Clark said.
The newest proposal isn’t the first attempt to provide public transit on this stretch of I-5. Lower Columbia CAP launched an interstate transit service in the mid-2000s to connect rural residents with the public transit agencies at multiple stops between Vancouver and Chehalis. CAP stopped running the northern section of the service after a few years.
On the new proposed route, Twin Transit buses would arrive at the Castle Rock Park & Ride, off Huntington Avenue North, on weekdays at about 7 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
RiverCities Transit Director Jim Seeks said that on the Cowlitz County side, the route would go from Castle Rock directly to the Three Rivers Mall in Kelso before returning straight back to minimize the waiting time for Twin Transit’s bus. Once the next bus leaves for Lewis County, Seeks said the RiverCities bus could make additional stops in Castle Rock if there was interest.
Route maps, fee proposals and exact starting dates for the service are expected to be released in July.
Clark said if the RiverCities piece is not approved, Twin Transit’s side of the route will still go forward and could expand all the way into Kelso. Twin Transit plans to apply for regional mobility grants to support the route, similarly to how it funded the expansion to Olympia.
“It would help to get that but if not, we have the reserves to continue it,” Clark said. “It’s very important to put this in place now because of the growth in south Lewis County.”
Seeks said RiverCities has the funds to support the route for a two-year pilot program. If the new service proved successful, the company could ask Castle Rock residents to vote on officially joining the public transportation benefit area.
“We will see after the first year of development and demand; if they want more trips and different times and what does the interest look like,” Seeks said.
