State rules Yakima-Ellensburg bus service is legal

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The buses will keep chugging between Yakima and Ellensburg.

The state Utilities and Transportation Commission has ruled that the service provided by Yakima Transit and HopeSource, a social services agency in Ellensburg, does not break the law.

Richard Johnson, the owner of Central Washington Airporter, had argued that the service illegally overlapped his, violating state law about competition between transit agencies.

Following a hearing late last month, the state commission ruled that the Yakima-HopeSource route was authorized under state law that says the competitive exemption does not apply to service provided under state grants.

The state Department of Transportation gave the two agencies a grant for about half of the $528,000 needed to fund the two-year project.

Yakima Transit manager Ken Mehin said commissioners decided that the Yakima-Ellensburg route was different than the commercial Airporter service, which runs between Yakima and Seattle.

Johnson said he remains concerned that government is subsidizing service for a limited number of customers.

Public transit has historically been a subsidized service.

Mehin said the Yakima-Ellensburg route is becoming more popular.

With just two months on the road, its buses are carrying nearly 1,000 passengers a week, mostly students at Central Washington University. The buses make eight round trips daily Monday through Friday. Ridership has been steadily increasing, and Mehin said he expects that trend to continue.

"As people get more familiar with the service, they'll make plans to ride it more often," Mehin said.