Ben Franklin Transit


Ben Franklin Transit is the operator of public transportation in Franklin and Benton counties in the U.S. state of Washington. Seventeen routes provide local service for the three component urban areas of the Tri-Cities: Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco. Five routes connect the Tri-Cities metro area, as well as extend to the municipalities of Benton City, Prosser, and West Richland. Most routes run six days a week. Bus service runs between 6AM and 10:00PM, Monday-Friday and 7AM and 10:00PM on Saturdays and select holidays. Trans+Plus covers the Tri-Cities portion of the service area 8:30PM to 12:00AM Monday-Saturday and 7:30AM to 6:00pm on Sundays. There is also an ADA Paratransit service Dial-a-Ride for those who are physically unable to use the regular transit bus service.

History

The roots of public transportation in the Tri-Cities region can be traced back to the beginnings of the Hanford Site, which was opened in 1943 in the midst of World War II, and ultimately produced the plutonium used in the Fat Man bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan. General Electric, and later the Atomic Energy Commission, provided bus service as a way to bring its workers to and from the Hanford site to locales in the area, largely Richland.
In 1978, the voters of Benton County were asked to vote on a proposed county-wide bus system, but this measure was defeated, largely in part by the efforts of the Rockwell Hanford drivers, who feared that they would lose their jobs if the voters passed the proposal.. Two years later, a bus system proposal was brought to the voters again. However, this time officials largely scaled back the proposed service area to just Kennewick and Richland, and also included Pasco, located on the other side of the Columbia River in Franklin County. For a second time, the proposal was defeated. The next year saw better luck though, as the Benton-Franklin Public Transportation Benefit Area was officially formed on May 11, 1981 when voters in the service area voted to enact a sales tax levy of three-tenths of a cent to "finance a municipal corporation which would provide public transportation services in Benton and Franklin Counties."
May 10, 1982 saw the first day of passenger service for Ben Franklin Transit, ending with 2,043 total riders. Ridership continued to slowly grow after that, as more routes were launched and more buses were put into service. Ben Franklin Transit would later buy out the franchise of Bassett Transit who had been running commuter bus service to the unsecured portions of the Hanford site, primarily the Energy Northwest Nuclear Power Plant. In 1998, Prosser Rural Transit was absorbed into Ben Franklin Transit.
Originally operating with a fleet that largely consisted of used GM New Looks bought from the Minneapolis, MN MTC, Ben Franklin Transit put out a bid in 1987 for 30 new buses. After some delays, mainly due to cost and budgeting at the time, the $4.5 million bid was awarded to the Gillig Corporation, who would build a total of thirty-three Gillig Phantom coaches at a cost of $135,759 each. In 1992, Gillig also won the contract to provide Ben Franklin Transit with eight 40-foot coaches which had been specified in the original order, but delayed due to cost. All subsequent bids afterwards for town coaches have been awarded to Gillig, with the exception of the nine Optima Opus coaches purchased in 2003-2004.

Annexations

1996 Benton City and Prosser

2005 Finley

Accolades

In 2007, Ben Franklin Transit was awarded the Governor's Award for Sustainable Practices.
The new Administration building has received LEED Gold Certification

Experimental Projects

O2Diesel

In 2006 Ben Franklin Transit entered into an agreement with O2Diesel to test a blended fuel that included both bio-diesel and ethanol. This experiment lasted for approximately 1 year but was ended due to cost and supply problems.

ZEPS EBus

An electric bus from Complete Coach Works, converted from a 2005 Gillig Low Floor, was introduced into service in mid 2013. It primarily operated during weekday peak hours on the 23/26 pair. In a press release CCW announced a new battery pack that is being retrofitted into this bus.

Routes

There are 22 routes which serve a specific local area as well as routes which provide a connection between the cities.
No.Area servedTransit CenterRoute description
Cities Served 		Service DaysNotes
23Richland LocalKnight Street Transit CenterJadwinMonday to Friday
25Richland LocalKnight Street Transit CenterWright, StevensMonday to Saturday
26Richland LocalKnight Street Transit CenterGeorge Washington WayMonday to FridayPNNL/Battelle Peak Hours Only
27Richland LocalKnight Street Transit CenterJadwin, George Washington WaySaturday
39HRichland Local
Hills West		Knight Street Transit Center, Three Rivers Transit CenterHills West/Gage Blvd.Monday to Saturday
39KRichland Local
Keene Rd.		Knight Street Transit Center, Three Rivers Transit CenterKeene Rd./Gage Blvd.Monday to Saturday
41Kennewick LocalHuntington Transit Center, Dayton Transfer PointE. Kennewick/S. KennewickMonday to Saturday
42Kennewick LocalThree Rivers Transit Center, Dayton Transfer Point4th CrosstownMonday to Saturday
47Kennewick LocalHuntington Transit Center, Dayton Transfer Point27th CrosstownMonday to Saturday
48Kennewick LocalThree Rivers Transit Center, Dayton Transfer Point10th CrosstownMonday to Saturday
50Kennewick LocalThree Rivers Transit CenterVista District/Columbia Center LoopMonday to Saturday
60Pasco Local22nd Avenue Transit CenterJan StreetMonday to Saturday
62Pasco Local22nd Avenue Transit CenterCourt StreetMonday to Saturday
64Pasco Local22nd Avenue Transit CenterLewis Street, S ElmMonday to Saturday
65Pasco Local22nd Avenue Transit CenterSylvester, N ElmMonday to Saturday
66Pasco Local22nd Avenue Transit CenterSylvester, Road 88Monday to Friday
67Pasco Local22nd Avenue Transit CenterSandifur ParkwayMonday to SaturdayServes CBC loop Monday-Friday School days
110Inter CityWest Richland Transit Center, Three Rivers Transit CenterKennewick, Richland, West RichlandMonday to Friday
120Inter CityWest Richland Transit Center, Richland Transit Center, Three Rivers Transit Center, Huntington Transit Center, 22nd Avenue Transit CenterPasco, Kennewick, Richland, West RichlandMonday to Saturday
160Inter CityThree Rivers Transit Center, Dayton Transfer Point, 22nd Avenue Transit CenterPasco, KennewickMonday to Saturday
170RuralProsser Transit Center, Benton City Park & Ride, Knight Street Transit CenterRichland, Benton City, ProsserMonday to SaturdayNo ADA Paratransit on Saturdays
225Inter City22nd Avenue Transit Center, Knight Street Transit CenterPasco, RichlandMonday to SaturdayServes CBC loop Monday-Friday School days

Fares

Fares are either by exact cash or pre-purchased ticket or pass. Upon payment of fare, a transfer valid for 90 minutes after arrival at the next transit center can be requested. A day pass is also available from the driver.

Other Ben Franklin Transit services

Contracted Services

Finley Service

Coordinated Vanpool