Cantwell Helps Secure $15 Million for New Kitsap Transit Bus Driver Training Facility

Cantwell Helps Secure $15 Million for New Kitsap Transit Bus Driver Training Facility

Federal grant will cover almost half of the project cost; Training facility will ease driver shortages and help ensure Kitsap Transit's 3.5 million annual riders can get to where they need to go

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, alongside Patty Murray (D-WA), vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Rep. Emily Randall (D, WA-06) announced $15 million in federal funding for Kitsap Transit to construct a new regional bus-driver training facility. The funding comes from the Federal Transit Administration's Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Grant Program.

"Investing in a dedicated bus operator training facility will help Kitsap Transit more efficiently train drivers and strengthen transit service across Western Washington," said Sen. Cantwell. "Kitsap Transit ridership is surging, with 3.3 million rides last year. This federal investment will help meet rising ridership demand while ensuring operators have the skills and resources they need to keep passengers safe."

"Transit helps reduce traffic congestion, improve road safety, and promotes regional economic growth, but it doesn't work without a well-trained corps of bus drivers," said John Clauson, Kitsap Transit's Executive Director. "This training facility will help us recruit and retain outstanding bus drivers and dispatchers who provide safe, reliable service to passengers riding on transit in Kitsap County and beyond. It also gives us classroom space to train our mechanics who are critical to our vehicles' reliability."

Sen. Cantwell has been a strong supporter of robust increases to competitive transit grant programs such as the Buses and Bus Facilities Grant Program, as well as the Capital Investment Grant Program, the Low or No Emission (Low-No) Grant Program, and the Passenger Ferry Grant Program.

According to Kitsap Transit, without a central dedicated training facility, new bus operators and dispatchers currently train in a scattered assortment of maintenance yards, classrooms, and office spaces that aren't reliably available or may require equipment from another location. There are also no dedicated bus-driver training facilities in Pierce, Mason, Jefferson, Clallam, or Lewis counties.

The current plans call for an 8.4-acre training site to be located on a vacant parcel in the Puget Sound Industrial Center next to an Amazon distribution center. Kitsap Transit is in the process of acquiring the property and plans to seek construction bids next year for a 10,000-square foot building that will include classrooms, a simulator training room, locker rooms, and office spaces.

More information about the project is available HERE.