MultiCare, Pierce Transit partner

Pierce Transit is planning the South Sound’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line along a 14.4-mile section of Pacific Avenue / SR-7 between downtown Tacoma and Spanaway.

Pierce Transit and MultiCare Health System announced today that MultiCare, as the official sponsor of the BRT line, will support the agency’s work to ensure that residents have easy access to public transport along the route. Transportation can affect access to health, social, employment and educational opportunities. In line with the missions of both organizations, their agreement will improve the quality of life and help build healthy communities.

“Not only is Transit a great way to travel, it also promotes a healthy lifestyle so the partnership between Pierce Transit and MultiCare is a natural one,” said Mike Griffus, CEO of Pierce Transit, with convenient access to medical appointments, workplaces and other key destinations and at the same time to support a clean environment. “

Bus Rapid Transit is a new service from Pierce Transit that carries a larger number of passengers faster, more reliably and more frequently than a standard bus. Often referred to as “light rail on wheels”, the service has many features that move passengers faster and offer additional amenities, such as signals that prioritize local transport, larger buses with space for bicycles, easier access for wheelchair users and real-time arrival information BRT systems usually also include new safety features such as improved lighting at train stations and additional zebra crossings along the entire route.

“Building healthy communities is about more than just access to health care,” said Bill Robertson, President and CEO of MultiCare. “Therefore, we pledge to do everything in our power to ensure that the spiritual, physical, economic and other social needs of the people we serve are met, including access to transportation.”

This BRT line, slated to open in 2025, will service a corridor currently served by Pierce Transit’s Route 1, which has the agency’s highest passenger count. The line will travel through six government-recognized opportunity zones and serve a very diverse community; Almost 22 percent of people living in the region live below the poverty line and 7 percent speak a language other than English at home. The new line also passes three medical MultiCare facilities for easy access to health services.

As the name sponsor of the BRT line, MultiCare’s name will appear on BRT buses, at train stations and on other BRT items such as tickets and ticket machines. The organization will also have naming rights to two BRT stations near MultiCare locations and the Tacoma Dome Station transit hub. Other organizations may sponsor stations along the line, but MultiCare will remain the exclusive sponsor of the line itself. MultiCare will also work with Pierce Transit on an official name for this BRT line. The name will be different from the name “Stream” selected by the Pierce Transit Board of Commissioners to apply for Pierce Transit’s BRT system as a whole, including this and future BRT lines.

The contract, signed by Pierce Transit and MultiCare, runs for 28 years, with MultiCare making annual payments of approximately $ 300,000 through year 28 of approximately $ 512,000. Pierce Transit will use the funds for the general operation and maintenance of the BRT line.

In late May, the Federal Transit Administration recommended this BRT project for $ 75.2 million and it was included in President Biden’s draft budget. Remaining funding for the project has already been secured from other sources, including $ 60 million in Sound Transit 3 funding.

For more information on the Stream Bus Rapid Transit system, see RideStream.org.

Pierce Transit was founded in 1979 and is a nationally recognized leader in the public transportation industry. The agency’s service covers 292 square miles of Pierce County, which is approximately 70 percent of the county’s population. Pierce Transit serves Washington’s second largest district and offers three types of services: regular buses, SHUTTLE paratransit, and vanpools that take passengers to jobs, schools, and appointments. In 2019, the agency provided 9.4 million trips with its combined services.

MultiCare is a non-profit health organization with more than 20,000 team members, including staff, providers and volunteers. MultiCare has cared for our community for more than a century, since the inception of Tacoma’s first hospital, and is now the largest community-based, locally-administered healthcare system in Washington State.

MultiCare’s comprehensive healthcare system encompasses a wide variety of primary, emergency, and specialty services – including MultiCare Indigo Urgent Care, Pulse Heart Institute and MultiCare Rockwood Clinic, the largest multi-specialist clinic in the Inland Northwest.

MultiCare’s supply network includes 11 hospitals:

MultiCare Allenmore Hospital, Tacoma

MultiCare Auburn Medical Center, Auburn

MultiCare Capital Medical Center, Olympia

MultiCare Covington Medical Center, Covington

MultiCare Deaconess Hospital, Spokane

MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital, Puyallup

Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, Tacoma

MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital, Tacoma

MultiCare Valley Hospital, Spokane Valley

Behavioral Health Hospital in Navos

Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital