Riding the New KP Bus, For Now

I looked around the large open field pushing up against the tree line at the Longbranch Improvement Club. The community garden on one end, the clubhouse on the other. It was only my fourth time coming here since moving to the KP two years ago. I’d been meaning to come down and get involved, to see more of the area, but with the busy nature of work and settling in, the thought came and went. But putting excuses aside, I told myself today would be different.

This would be my first time riding the free KP to Gig Harbor bus since it started operating on Black Friday. I rode the whole route for seven days straight and met other community members who told me what the bus has done for them in just a few short weeks.

When the shuttle pulled up to the pavilion in the Safeway parking lot in Gig Harbor, Lindsay and her niece hopped up off the bench and climbed aboard with a few bags. They were out on a Christmas shopping trip together, dressed in casual, bright clothes that matched their cheerful energy.

Lindsay spoke of the freedom and opportunities the bus brought her and her loved ones. She said that before the bus came, she needed to rely on friends and neighbors to get around, or for rides across the Purdy Spit. But after the route started, she and a couple of others took a trip to the Galaxy Theater and enjoyed themselves without worrying about intruding on someone else’s free time.

I asked her if she could add another stop, what it would be. “Closer to work. It’s close to medical, too.” A stop at the Peninsula Community Health Services would bring her closer to her job, the gym, and the clinic. She talked about how beneficial a stop like that could be for other members of the community.

At the Purdy Park & Ride, next to the blue Peninsula Transit sign, stood a woman in a bright pink raincoat, phone clutched in her hand, squinting through the drizzle. She looked up and down the bus, then approached the driver’s side. “Is this the Purdy bus?”

This was Renee, who does most of her commuting between Kitsap County and Tacoma. She’d heard about the bus from the Community Council and was looking forward to a chance to ride it and see the whole route. “We live separated,” she said about the limitations of transportation on the Key Peninsula. “What I love about a bus ride, you can talk to people.”

Renee talked about how she’d find herself on this side of the Tacoma Narrows without anything to do before her next task. Her car is older, and she has concerns about just driving for leisure with the cost of gas, poor cell reception on the KP, and the surrounding area hidden behind trees. It’s hard to takechances. It’s hard to visit friends. It’s hard to stay connected.

But the bus lets people get around a rural area while keeping it rural, she said. There’d be fewer cars driving around, less spent on gas, more people shopping local, and more people making memories together on the route to their next stop.

One of the drivers I met was James, a U.S. Navy veteran, who, after his service, spent a career at the shipyard. He grew up in a small town of 700 in Mississippi, so the realities of rural, small-town living were familiar to him. “Being out here reminds me of home,” he said.

We spoke about the impact of a bus service like this, especially for those, like him, who grew up without a car. “It’s the same today. You want a good job to support your family, you’re gonna have to travel.”

We also talked about the impact on seniors. As we pulled into KP Community Services, he mentioned a group of about 10 who hopped on earlier with Council Member Robyn Denson. “Driving is intimidating, creates anxiety,” he said when I asked what those seniors shared with him. “They’d love a shuttle. To not have to worry about driving, just enjoy shopping without stress.”

There was one person I met briefly who didn’t want his name shared, but said I could share his story. It was on one of those rainy winter mornings when I ran into him; in fact, I had noticed him on many rainy days going up and down 302.

“I bike 14 miles just to catch the bus. It takes me about two hours to get to the Park & Ride,” he said.

If he didn’t ride his bike, he said, he’d have to try to find a ride or hitchhike to get around. He’s not the only one, though.

I also met Stef Warren at the LIC shuttle stop. She was part of a local transportation research project back in 2023, conducted by the KP Partnership for a Healthy Community. It was nice to get the opportunity to speak with someone doing the work.

The survey painted a picture of the reality for many living here with unreliable or limited transportation. Kids couldn’t socialize or participate in after-school activities. Adults and retirees couldn’t complete errands or commit to a job, or participate in community activities, like volunteering. There were near-daily discussions on and off social media about road safety for pedestrians, accidents, close calls for cyclists, and aggressive or impaired drivers. What I saw was a need for affordable and accessible public transit in rural areas like the KP. I mean, our Zillow score is literally 0/100.

This pilot program is funded through the 2024-25 Pierce County Biennial Budget by Pierce County and WSDOT. The total of $575,000 will provide transportation on the KP for nine months. That’s 0.017% of our county’s $3.4 billion budget.

What this will look like at the end of the nine months is for the community to decide.

OnJanaé Jordan is a creative who lives in Longbranch.