The Mason Transit Authority (MTA), formerly the Mason County Transportation Authority, is the

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

authority of Mason County,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It operates

free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

bus service Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications ...

within the county, connecting the city of

Shelton Shelton may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Shelton, North Bedfordshire, in the parish of Dean and Shelton, Bedfordshire *Lower Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire *Upper Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfor ...

, Hoodsport, Grapeview, Allyn, Belfair, the native tribal reservations of the Skokomish and Squaxin people, and paid commuter service to

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

in Thurston County, Brinnon in Jefferson County, and Bremerton in Kitsap County. The agency also provides general public dial-a-ride service, operates a

vanpool Vanpools or Vanpooling is an element of the transit system that allow groups of people to share the ride similar to a carpool, but on a larger scale with concurrent savings in fuel and vehicle operating costs and thus usually a lower cost to the ...

fleet, a worker/driver program that provides commuter service to the

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted u ...

, volunteer driver program for senior transportation, a supplemental service that is an after school activity bus and a community van program.

History

Public transit in Mason County was conceived with the establishment of a

public transportation benefit area A public transportation benefit area, abbreviated as PTBA, is a type of public-benefit corporation for public transit operators in the U.S. state of Washington. Description Public transportation benefit areas are defined by Revised Code of Washin ...

(PTBA) on September 22, 1987. After two unsuccessful attempts at approving the PTBA in 1985 and 1988, a countywide vote on November 15, 1991 approved the Mason County Public Transportation Benefit Area and a

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...

of 0.2% to fund public transportation. Buses began operating on December 1, 1992. The Mason County Transit Authority officially changed its name to Mason Transit Authority in 2013. In 2015, the agency was named the Rural Transit System of the Year by the Community Transit Association of America, citing the completion of the county's transit-community center.

Facilities

Transit-Community Center

The Transit-Community Center is a combined

community center Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

and

transit center A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...

located in

that opened on April 1, 2015. It was originally a

Washington National Guard The Washington National Guard is one of the four elements of the State of Washington's Washington Military Department and a component of the National Guard of the United States. It is headquartered at Camp Murray, Washington and is defined by its ...

armory Armory or armoury may mean: * An arsenal, a military or civilian location for the storage of arms and ammunition Places *National Guard Armory, in the United States and Canada, a training place for National Guard or other part-time or regular mili ...

built in the 1950s that was purchased by the MTA in 2006 and renovated at a cost of $9.9 million, funded by local sales tax and funding from the

Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...

Services

Fares

Since its founding, MTA provided fare-free service for trips within Mason County; until 2023, it charged $1.50 for trips that traveled into neighboring counties. Youth fares were removed in September 2022 as part of a statewide transit initiative. On January 1, 2023, MTA removed all fares for fixed route and dial-a-ride services as part of a three-year pilot; the $2.50 fare for worker/driver routes to the

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted u ...

remained in place.

Routes

Connecting services

Kitsap Transit Kitsap Transit is a public transit agency serving Kitsap County, Washington, part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The system is based in Bremerton and operates bus service on 40 fixed routes, a foot ferry, a vanpool system, worker-driver servi ...

and

Washington State Ferries Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a government agency that operates automobile and passenger ferry service in the U.S. state of Washington as part of the Washington State Department of Transportation. It runs ten routes serving 20 terminals loca ...

Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...

(via route 3) *

Intercity Transit Intercity Transit is a public transportation agency organized as a municipal corporation in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It serves Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and Yelm: an area of approximately . It operates 21 bus routes, the Dial ...

and Grays Harbor Transit in

(via route 6) * Squaxin Transit in Kamilche (via route 6) * Jefferson Transit in Brinnon (via route 8)

Fleet

Current Bus Fleet

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.masontransit.org/ Bus transportation in Washington (state) Transit agencies in Washington (state) Transportation in Mason County, Washington