The STA Plaza (The Plaza or Spokane Transit Authority Plaza), is a

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

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

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 ...

. It is the main hub of customer service and transit operations for the

Spokane Transit Authority Spokane Transit Authority, more commonly Spokane Transit or STA, is the public transport authority of central Spokane County, Washington, United States, serving Spokane, Washington, and its surrounding urban areas. In , the system had a ridershi ...

(STA), with 29 out of its 44

bus routes A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for ...

beginning and terminating at The Plaza. Transit operations through the Plaza resemble that of an

airline hub An airline hub or hub airport is an airport used by one or more airlines to concentrate passenger traffic and flight operations. Hubs serve as transfer (or stop-over) points to help get passengers to their final destination. It is part of the ...

, with banks of buses arriving and departing in waves (as frequently as every 7 minutes), providing timed transfer opportunities for passengers. It is one of Spokane Transit's three primary transit centers, along with the

Spokane Community College Spokane Community College is a public community college in Spokane, Washington. It is part of the Community Colleges of Spokane and was established in 1963. Academics SCC offers associate degree, bachelor's degrees, and certificates. SCC's h ...

and Pence-Cole Valley transit centers. The facility opened in the summer of 1995 and was designed by Tan Boyle Heyamoto Architects.

History

Prior to the construction of the STA Plaza, Spokane Transit's downtown bus operations were dispersed outdoors along downtown streets obstructing storefronts and congesting sidewalks. As early as the 1970s, discussions were in place to centralize operations and create an indoor facility for passengers to wait and make transfers. The initial proposal was a public-private partnership that would have built the transit center on the ground floor of a new high rise office and retail building. However, after the deal collapsed, the plan evolved into a two-story building to be developed by Spokane Transit Authority. The interior of the STA Plaza underwent a major renovation in 2017. Open space within the plaza atrium was expanded and improvements such as electronic arrival monitoring boards were added.

References

External links

* {{Transportation in the Spokane, WA–Coeur d'Alene, ID region Transit centers in the United States Transportation in Spokane, Washington Spokane, Washington Transport infrastructure completed in 1995 Bus stations in Washington (state) Transportation buildings and structures in Spokane County, Washington