WELCOME —

or Welcome Back

Happy summer. In these chaotic times, it’s more important than ever to give ourselves respite, so I hope you all are finding ways to relax, play, or whatever best helps you recharge.

EVENT

Transit Trekking with Futurewise

A 2-part event in partnership with Futurewise is coming up. On Tuesday, August 12th 5-6:30pm join from anywhere via Zoom for a dash of car-free adventure and more-than-usual policy talk. The following Sunday, August 17, King County, Washington-based folks and visitors can join us on a transit trek Tolt-MacDonald Park in the Snoqualmie Valley. Register here. Seats for the August 17 outing are limited.

VOLUNTEER*

Seeking Nondrivers in Rural Washington State

If you are

• a nondriver — someone who cannot drive and for whom it is not a choice due to a disability or financial status or similar
• live in a rural region of Washington state, and
• want to be on a panel with other rural nondrivers to talk to elected and other community leaders in rural communities across the state about your mobility experience and challenges

please get in touch via the contact form. Share a few sentences about your mobility situation and why you don’t drive (if you are comfortable sharing), and the city and/or county you live in.

If you know nondrivers in these regions, please copy and share this call out to them. I have plenty of folks from the Puget Sound region in western Washington, so I’m especially looking to connect with nondrivers east of the Cascades, Central, and SE and SW parts of the state.

*I have secured a small budget to pay a $75 stipend each for up to five nondriver panelists who are selected and participate. The online webinar takes place Wednesday, September 17, Noon to 1:30 and is part of the National Week Without Driving. I will provide panel questions in advance to help panelists prepare.

VOLUNTEER

Be a Beta Reader

I’d love the eyes and thoughtful comments of a few subscribers to read draft sections of The Transit Trekker Manual: Washington State and share their feedback about how clear and helpful the content is. What’s in it for you: an early glimpse at the book or sections of the book, acknowledgement in the book if you want, and my appreciation. Interested? Reach out using the comment form and tell me in two or three sentences why you are excited about the book, your zip code, your driving status, and if you are willing to look at the entire book or prefer a few sections. (You can write more if you want but don’t feel obligated to provide more than this basic info.)

No editorial experience is needed (and may, in fact, be preferable) since the aim is make sure the kind of information I’m sharing and how I am sharing it works well for the intended audience. I’d love to include some folks who are less familiar with Washington, so no need to live in the state.

Plan for me to acknowledge your interest by the end of August and know that in the fortunate event I am inundated with volunteers, I may not take everyone up on their offer.

SPEAK UP

Say Yes to Ross Lake and Diablo Shuttle Service

The National Park Service is looking at ways to manage visitation to the Ross Lake Area and mentions shuttles as a possible solution.

• Take some time to look at their storymap, in particular the Potential Strategies tab, to learn about possible options (including beyond shuttles)
• Provide feedback using this page by August 11, 2025. (I’d appreciate it if you shared your comments with me.) UPDATE: The deadline for feedback has passed but you can email the public information officer noted on the comment page — it can’t hurt for NPS to hear from anyone and everyone interested in car-free access to our public parks. Consider including the following talking points:
  • Shuttles are a must and will do the most to reduce human impacts to the area while increasing access for people who cannot drive. Shuttles should run seven days a week given heavy park usage and to maximize access while minimizing impact. (Virtually all of the benefits I list in this op-ed about expanding transit to Mt. Rainier apply here.)
  • Any communication to visitors should include transit and multimodal information and should encourage visitors to use those modes, including offering incentives for doing so. Transit and multimodal options should always be communicated first and visitors should be actively discouraged from driving to the area unless they have mobility or similar limitations that require driving.
  • Make sure shuttles are available to local residents along the route, as these are regions currently underserved by transit, so that the local community benefits from shuttle services beyond the reduction in traffic.
  • Shuttles need to be equipped for recreational user needs, such as ample cargo space for gear, including larger bike capacity. See Cascades East Transit’s Transit to Trails route in Bend, OR for a good example of one way to offer bike capacity.
  • Improve multimodal options for biking, walking, and rolling both as transportation options and for recreation.
  • Avoid adding parking capacity as our green space is a finite resource and we need to start trying new ways to welcome visitors and improve on those. Increasing parking capacity only generates more car trips and more car infrastructure imposes on the scenic and natural beauty of the park.

CELEBRATE

Rider Rep Victory in Washington State

Thanks to those of you who called, wrote, faxed, or otherwise communicated with your Washington state legislators in support of HB 1418, which passed! HB 1418 changes state law governing transit agencies funded by PBTAs to explicitly allow their governing boards to appoint voting members to those boards who are transit-reliant. As I’ve said before, I believe that transit agencies will better serve all riders and improve recreational access when transit-reliant folks are in the room and have voting power when key decisions are being made. Thanks to Anna Zivarts of Disability Mobility Initiative for leading this charge and Representative Joe Timmons for sponsoring the bill and shepherding it through the legislative process.

ACTION ITEM: “Disability Rights Washington is putting together a training program and convening for transit riders from across the state who live in communities where transit is provided by PTBA governed transit agencies.” To see if you live in one of the PBTA areas and get involved, see the list and contact info at the bottom of this page.

ENDORSEMENT

Katie Wilson for Mayor of Seattle

If you live in Seattle, you may know there is a mayoral contest happening right now. I am officially endorsing Katie Wilson. Read why here. UPDATE: as of August 12, Wilson is leading by 9.5 points. On to the general election! Seattle registered voters can donate Democracy Vouchers to support the campaign.

Put your primary ballot in a drop box before 8 p.m. on August 5 — or drop it in a mailbox at the post office in time to make sure it is postmarked by August 5. Ballots for the November general election go out in October and are due in a drop box before 8 p.m. on November 4. Mark your calendar and make a plan to vote.

TRANSIT TREK

Seasonal Services are Full Swing

Washington state

King County: Trailhead Direct delivers city folks from Seattle light rail stops directly to at least seven trailheads in the Issaquah Alps, Cougar, Squak and Tiger Mountain areas on weekends and holidays for the mere cost of Metro fare. King County Eastsiders! Both routes stop at the new Link light rail S. Bellevue Station.

Port Angeles/North Olympic Peninsula: The Hurricane Ridge shuttle offers daily, hourly service several times a day from Port Angeles up to Hurricane Ridge, has capacity for two or three bikes (call the agency to confirm), and puts some epic hiking in Olympic National Park (ONP) into reach for car-free folks. You’ll need to purchase a permit to visit the park to board (info and links on the shuttle schedule site above), plus $1 Clallam Transit fare in each direction.

In Canada and around the U.S.

The seasonal On-It shuttle runs between Banff National Park and Canmore spring and summer on Fridays, weekends, and holiday Mondays.

The Sequoia Shuttle runs seasonally, usually beginning July 1, running through early September.

Boulder, Colorado offers several free seasonal shuttles to popular hiking destinations, beginning in late May and running through early September.

A free, seasonal shuttle serves Acadia National Park during the summer.

Alger Transit Authority operates a seasonal backpacker shuttle along the Lakeshore Trail in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Glacier National Park has a park shuttle system July 1 through Labor Day, with some limited shuttle service sometimes running beyond Labor Day.

Cascades East Transit in Bend, Oregon offers a transit to trails service seven days a week in the summer.

These and more are listed on the Resource page, with more to come. If you know of a service not listed, get in touch.

SUPPORT

A New Way to Support Transit Trekker — Cooperatively

In addition to one-time support you can now pledge monthly via the cooperatively owned and operated Camradery, an alternative to Patreon.