Link Transit - Connecting Our Communities - Chelan and Douglas Counties, State of Washington

A Washington State DOT project to stabilize a rock slope above a portion of SR 97A is scheduled to begin February 22 and last until mid July. This work will take place between MP 204 (Rocky Reach Dam) and MP 205 (Swakane Canyon Road). During this work, traffic may flow freely or it may be delayed up to 20 minutes by flaggers. Work will take place Monday through Thursday. Traffic will not be impacted on Fridays.

Link Routes 21 and 26 will be affected by these delays. Link is requesting from WSDOT that buses receive priority in moving through traffic delays, but there will very likely still be delays on most trips

This project requires that there will be several days that the roadway will be closed completely from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM, with a brief opening between 12:00 and 12:30. According to the WSDOT, as of March 11, closure dates are:
Mar. 22, 23, 24, 25 
Apr. 12, 13, 14, 15
May 10, 11, 12, 13

The contractor is required to give WSDOT at least two weeks’ notice of the firm closure dates.

On the days of complete road closure, there will be no service on Routes 21 and 26 between 8:30 AM and 4:00 PM. All Route 21 buses will operate on the Douglas County side of the Columbia River, traveling through Orondo to Chelan. Commuter service on Route 21 will not be affected, with the exception of the inbound trip leaving Manson at 7:55 AM. The Route 26 to Ardevenvoir will not operate the outbound trips at 9:30 AM, 12:30 PM and 3:00 PM, or the inbound trips at 10:45 AM, 1:45 PM, or 4:15 PM.
Here is a detailed outline of how service will operate on the dates of complete closure.

LINK TRANSIT WILL OPERATE AS FOLLOWS ON THOSE DATES AND ANY OTHER DATES DESIGNATED CLOSED BY WSDOT.

ROUTE 20 WILL NOT BE AFFECTED AND NO IMPACT TO SEVICE ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.

COMMUTERS: OUTBOUND 21 COMMUTER ROUTES IN THE MORNING AND AFTERNOON WILL OPERATE AS USUAL. 21 COMMUTER ROUTES ARE AS FOLLOWS:  5:30AM, 6:30AM, 7:00AM WILL TRAVEL 97A.  7:55AM AND 9:00AM WILL TRAVEL INBOUND ON THE ORONDO SIDE.
ALL AFTERNOON INBOUND 21C’S WILL OPERATE AS USUAL.

LOCAL: OUTBOUND ROUTE 21 LOCAL AT 8:00AM WILL TRAVEL 97A, HOWEVER, ALL OTHER LOCAL OUTBOUIND RT 21’S AT 10:30AM, 1:30PM, AND 3:30PM WILL TRAVEL ON THE ORONDO SIDE. INBOUND ROUTE 21 LOCAL AT 11:45AM AND 2:45PM WILL TRAVEL ON THE ORONDO SIDE.
THE 4:45PM INBOUND WILL TRAVEL ON 97A. 

ROUTES TRAVELING IB AND OB ON DIFFERENT HIWAYS:  21C AT 6:30AM AND 7:30AM TRAVEL OUTBOUND ON 97A AND INBOUND ON THE ORONDO SIDE.  3:30 OUTBOUND ROUTE 21 TRAVELS OUTBOUND ON THE ORONDO SIDE AND INBOUND ON 97A.

97A OUTBOUND:
4:20AM, 5:20AM, 5:40AM, 6:30AM, 7:30AM, 8:00AM
4:10PM, 4:40PM, 5:10PM

97 (ORONDO SIDE) OUTBOUND:
10:30AM, 1:30PM, 3:30PM

97A INBOUND:
5:30AM, 6:30AM, 7:00AM, 4:45PM, 5:25PM, 5:30PM, 6:00PM, 6:30PM

97 (ORONDO SIDE) INBOUND:
7:55AM, 9:00AM, 11:45AM, 2:45PM

THE ONLY SERVICE ON ROUTE 26 WILL BE INBOUND FROM ARDENVOIR AT 6:30AM, AND OUTBOUND FROM COLUMBIA STATION AT 5:40PM AND INBOUND AT 6:45PM. 

For more specific information, please call Guest Services at 662-1155

All the winning students who took place in the ArtLink program last fall have gotten their awards. There were over 35 classes that participated in this project, with over 500 total students taking part. This program has students do the artwork that we use on our monthly bus passes. 

Check out the pictures of the winners on our Facebook page. Go to www.facebook.com/linktransit

Link Transit is asking the public, particularly those who use transit service within East Wenatchee, to comment on some service changes currently under consideration. Routes 11, 12, and 19 are under consideration for some fairly significant changes to take effect July 5, 2010.

The link to the survey is at the bottom of this article. This survey will remain open until 12:00 AM, March 16.

To download a PDF file of the fact sheet on this proposal, click here>> Fact_Sheet-2010_EW_Route_Restructure

We know that not many people are ready to permanently park their car and start using transit for all their travel. But here are a few tips that might help you loosen the grip on your steering wheel, and help you begin using transit every now and then. A little change by many can result in positive changes in carbon emissions, congestion, and quality of life.

Download the complete list by clicking here>>nine_ways

Link Transit is considered a major overhaul to its fare policy and structure. We have devloped two different options that will be considered by the Board of Directors at the March board meeing. Along with these proposals is also the option of "no change".For complete information on these options under consideration, please download the MS Word fact sheet by clicking 2010_Fare_Change_Proposal Fact Sheet

This fact sheet is also available as a PDF file by clicking 2010_Fare_Change_Proposal Fact Sheet

We have created a short questionnaire that asks some questions about your riding habits, how you pay your fare and your thoughts on a couple of different options for fare restructuring. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey. Your responses are absolutlely anonymous and confidential. Your input will help us greatly in our efforts to develop a fare structure that works for everyone.

The survey will be available until March 15, 2010.

Take the survey by clicking here>>

You may submit comments concerning these fare change proposals by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or by regular mail to Link Transit, 2700 Euclid Avenue, Wenatchee WA 98801. Comments will be accepted through March 15, 2010.

Do you know what it really costs to drive your vehicle to and from work every day? There are a lot more costs than gas and oil when it comes to vehicle ownership, such as depreciation, insurance, taxes, etc.  Even if you are a transit user, you are probably going to own a vehicle anyway, but you might be able to get more years out of your car or truck, or cut back your vehicle ownership from two cars per household to just one, or from two down to three. When you make these kind of cuts, the savings really start to add up.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) publishes a brochure on the cost of driving. You can download the 2009 Edition of this (the most current edition) by clicking here.

Balance the cost of riding transit at a few dollars a day (or less) against the cost of vehicle ownership, or at the very least, filling your tank week after week.

Link Transit is a favorite place on Google. According to Google, between July 1 and September 30, Google users found Link Transit's business listing 2310 times, and requested driving directions or other information about Link Transit 87 times.

Google provides a window sticker to go on the door of businesses that are favorite places. This sticker includes a special bar code that potential customers can scan with the camera on their smartphone. To make this work, you will need to download a QR reader for your phone. After scanning the code, the user is taken to a Google page where there are links to that particular business, including reviews, hours of operation, etc.

To get your business set up on Google, create an account at www.google.com.

Here is a list of schedule adjustments that have been made since the last schedule book was printed in July, 2009

The Route 21 inbound trip departing the Chelan Chamber of Commerce at 5:10 has been discontinued effective January 2. This change was made because the trolley operating in Chelan has been cancelled, and the trolley was the vehicle used on this trip. There is still an inbound trip at 5:25.