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Nine Ways You Can Fit Transit Into Your Busy Life

Written by Eric West

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

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.

1. Try using your car just one or two days a week. Use these days to run errands before or after work, or at lunch.

2. Are you dropping kids off at daycare? Find out if your daycare is on a bus route (many are) and see if you can leave your car there for the day, and take the bus from your daycare to your work location, and back again at the end of the day.

3. Plan a trip on a Saturday to Leavenworth or Chelan. Get a few friends together, and take the day to go play. You won’t have to worry about parking, and you can even imbibe if you wish and not have to worry about driving home. Maybe once you try transit for something like this you will realize that it is something you can try on a more regular basis.

4. No service where you live? There are several park and ride lots (most communities we serve have one) where you can leave you vehicle and catch a bus to your work location.

5. If you work in downtown Wenatchee and have errands to run during lunch, or want to go somewhere for lunch too far to walk, try taking the trolley. It runs every 15 minutes, and travels through downtown as far as Valley North Center, so it hits most everyplace you might want to go anyway.

6. Try fitting transit into your kid’s lives too. It teaches them independence and responsibility. Instead of playing taxi driver for their every need, have them find one place they can go on the bus and encourage them to try it out. Go with them the first time or two just to give you some peace of mind that they can do it. It might even give you some extra time and stretch your gas budget too.

7. Are you having trouble fitting a little more exercise into your daily routine? Maybe the walk to and from the bus stop is just what you need. It is cheaper than a gym membership, and lets you get out in your neighborhood and into the fresh air. What more perfect way to get out this spring, which is just starting to appear (albeit infrequently).

8. Ask your employer if they would support your use of public transportation by either paying for your bus pass, or allowing you to pay for it yourself using pretax dollars. Either of these options are allowable under IRS rules, and result in tax savings for you and your employer.

9. If you have absolutely no idea how to ride the bus, including how to read a schedule, or what fare to pay, you are not alone. We are here to help. You can call our Guest Services representatives at 662-1155 and they will walk you through the whole process. You will be surprised at how easy it is!

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How Much Can You Save By Riding Transit?

Written by Eric West

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

If you live in Chelan and travel to Wenatchee, that is a distance of roughly 70 miles each day. If your vehicle gets an average of 20 miles per gallon, you will use 3.5 gallons of gas each day. By the time you are reading this, you may be paying $4.00 for a gallon of gas, which means that drive each day is costing you $14. Multiply that by 5 and you just spent $70 a week, or $280 a month. Yearly costs are over $3300.

Currently, a Link Transit pass that gives you unlimited rides for a month between Wenatchee and Chelan, Leavenworth, or Waterville costs just $50. You will more than pay for that in fuel saved in less than one week. If you don't ride every day, a single ride costs $2.00 and a day pass costs just $4.00, less than a third of what that trip would have cost you in fuel. We have proposed to our Board of Directors that we increase the cost of a single ride between Wenatchee and Chelan, Leavenworth, or Waterville to $2.50, $5 for a day pass, and $80 for a monthly pass. Even with these increases, the savings realized over what fuel would be for a personal vehicle are in excess of $2000 over a years time. I know I wouldn't mind having saved that much just in gas in a year. It's kind of like getting a raise!

Use this link to figure your own costs of commuting.

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Welcome to our new blog!

Written by Eric West

Monday, April 11, 2011

Welcome to Link Transit’s blog!

After several months of contemplation on whether or not to enter the world of blogging, I finally made the jump. We all know that there are a lot more sexy or exciting things to read or write about than public transit, but we can leave that stuff for the other guys. This blog will be a forum for learning about Link Transit, asking questions, making suggestions and generally creating awareness about what it is Link Transit does and why it is important to our communities. Occasionally I will share information about transit on a national level, including legislation affecting transit and how it may impact Link Transit, as well as other interesting news about public transportation and the contribution it plays in all of our lives.

Comments are welcomed and encouraged. Happy reading!

Eric

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SkiLink

SkiLink service will begin operation on Friday, November 25, for the 2011-2012 ski season, with the same fares as last season.

Click here for schedule & full details.

WENATCHEE ROUTES

Route 1 : South Wenatchee Ave., Viewdale, Terminal, Crawford, Miller, Russell, Methow

Route 5 : Cherry St., Western Ave., 5th St., Mission St., Maple St., McKittrick St., Stella, Maiden Lane

Route 7 : Mission Ave., 8th St., Western Ave., Castlerock St., Elliott St., Washington St., Orondo St.

Route 8W : Orondo St., Okanogan St., Red Apple Road, Miller St., Springwater St., Princeton St., Maple St., North Wenatchee Ave, Easy St., Olds Station, Cascade Ave., 19th St., Baker St., 11th St., Eastmont Ave., Valley Mall Parkway, South Wenatchee Avenue

Route 9 - Wenatchee Trolley: Wenatchee Ave., Maple St., Valley North Center, Chelan St., 5th St., Wenatchee Ave.

EAST WENATCHEE ROUTES

Route 8E : South Wenatchee Avenue, Valley Mall Parkway, 11th St., Eastmont Avenue, Baker St. 19th St. Cascade Ave., Olds Station, North Wenatchee Avenue, Maple St., Princeton, Springwater, Miller St. Red Apple Road, Fuller, Crawford, Okanogan St.

Route 11 - East Wenatchee: Valley Mall Parkway, Grant Road, Highline, Pace, 4th SE, S. Kentucky, 3rd St., Eastmont Ave., 5th St., N. Kentucky, 8th St., 9th St., Baker

Route 12 - East Wenatchee: Baker, 9th St. NE, N. Kentucky Ave., 5th St. NE, Eastmont Ave., 3rd St. NE, S. Kentucky Ave., 4th St. SE, Pace, Highline, Simon St., Rock Island Road, Valley Mall Parkway

Route 19 - East Wenatchee Trolley: Yakima St., Chelan Ave., S. Mission Ave., Valley Mall Parkway, Fred Meyer, Mission St., Orondo St

Route 23 - Rock Island: S. Wenatchee Ave., Valley Mall Parkway, Simon St., Highline Dr., Eller, Leslie, Rock Island Rd.

Route 25 - Waterville: S. Wenatchee Ave., Valley Mall Parkway, 9th St. NE, Baker Ave., 27th St. NE, Sunset Highway, SR 2, Orondo, Pine Canyon, Central Ave., Locust St., Monroe St., Birch St., Chelan Ave.

INTERCITY ROUTES

Route 20 - North Wenatchee, Olds Station, Orondo, Sun Cove, Chelan Falls, Chelan, Manson: Mission St., North Wenatchee Ave., Penny Rd., Euclid Ave., SR 2, Orondo, Sun Cove, Chelan Falls, SR 150, Chelan

Route 21 - North Wenatchee, Olds Station, Entiat, Chelan, Manson: Mission St., North Wenatchee Ave., Penny Rd., Euclid Ave., SR 97A, Entiat, Chelan, Manson

Route 22 - North Wenatchee, Olds Station, Monitor, Cashmere, Dryden, Peshastin, Leavenworth: Mission St., North Wenatchee Ave., Easy St., Penny Rd., SR 2/97, Cashmere, Peshastin, Dryden, Leavenworth

Route 23 - Rock Island: S. Wenatchee Ave., Valley Mall Parkway, Simon St., Highline Dr., Eller, Leslie, Rock Island Rd.

Route 24 - Malaga: Yakima St., Mission Ave., Orondo St., Cherry St., Miller St., Crawford St., S. Wenatchee Ave., Malaga/Alcoa Highway, Saturday Ave., Dixie Lane, West Malaga Rd.

Route 25 - Waterville: S. Wenatchee Ave., Valley Mall Parkway, 9th St. NE, Baker Ave., 27th St. NE, Sunset Highway, SR 2, Orondo, Pine Canyon, Central Ave., Locust St., Monroe St., Birch St., Chelan Ave.

Route 26 - Ardenvoir: North Wenatchee, Olds Station, Entiat:
Mission St., North Wenatchee Ave., Penny Rd., Euclid Ave., SR 97A, Entiat, Ardenvoir

Route 31 - Chelan and Manson: Johnson, Woodin, SR 150, Green Ave., Boetzkes Ave., Manson Blvd., Pedoi St.

Route 37 - Plain/Lake Wenatchee: Leavenworth, Chumstick Hwy., Plain, Lake Wenatchee Hwy., Parkside Grocery, Chiwawa Loop Rd.

SMALL CITY ROUTES

Route 28 - Olds Station to Cashmere

Route 31 - Chelan and Manson: Johnson, Woodin, SR 150, Green Ave., Boetzkes Ave., Manson Blvd., Pedoi St.

Leavenworth DART

TROLLEY ROUTES

Route 9 - Wenatchee Trolley: Wenatchee Ave., Maple St., Valley North Center, Chelan St., 5th St., Wenatchee Ave.

Route 19 - East Wenatchee Trolley: Yakima St., Chelan Ave., S. Mission Ave., Grant Rd., Simon St., Valley Mall Parkway, 9th St., Mission St., Orondo St