# Mason Transit Authority
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{{Short description|Public transit operator in Washington}}
{{Infobox bus company
| name = Mason Transit Authority
| logo =
| logo_size =
| image = Mason Transit Authority 306 in Olympia.jpg
| image_size =
| image_caption = MTA bus on route 6 in [Olympia](/source/Olympia%2C_Washington)
| commenced = {{start date|1992|12|01}}
| headquarters = 790 E Johns Prairie Road
[Shelton, WA](/source/Shelton%2C_Washington) 98584
| locale = [Mason County](/source/Mason_County%2C_Washington), [Washington](/source/Washington_(state))
| service_type = [Bus service](/source/Transit_bus)
| routes = 9
| stops =
| fleet = 18 buses, 23 [minibus](/source/minibus)es and 40 vans[{{cite web |date=October 21, 2014 |title=Mason Transit Authority Transit Development Plan 2014-2019 and 2013 Annual Report |url=http://www.masontransit.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2013-annual-report-and-6-year-transit-plan-tdp.pdf |format=[PDF](/source/PDF) |publisher=Mason Transit Authority |accessdate=June 16, 2015}}]{{rp|29}}
| ridership =
| annual_ridership = 585,534 (2014)[{{cite news |last=Shephard Bull |first=Arla |date=February 18, 2016 |title=Mason Transit GM resigns under pressure |url=http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/local/mason-transit-gm-resigns-under-pressure-2c0f3fd0-acbd-0637-e053-0100007fde49-369315371.html |newspaper=Kitsap Sun |accessdate=February 25, 2016}}]
| website = {{Official URL|https://www.masontransit.org/}}
}}
The '''Mason Transit Authority''' (MTA), formerly the '''Mason County Transportation Authority''', is the [public transit](/source/public_transit) authority of [Mason County](/source/Mason_County%2C_Washington), [Washington](/source/Washington_(state)), [United States](/source/United_States). It operates [free](/source/Free_public_transport) [bus service](/source/transit_bus) within the county, connecting the city of [Shelton](/source/Shelton%2C_Washington), Hoodsport, Grapeview, Allyn, [Belfair](/source/Belfair%2C_Washington), the native tribal reservations of the Skokomish and Squaxin people, and paid commuter service to [Olympia](/source/Olympia%2C_Washington) in [Thurston County](/source/Thurston_County%2C_Washington), Brinnon in Jefferson County, and Bremerton in Kitsap County. The agency also provides general public [dial-a-ride service](/source/Demand_responsive_transport), operates a [vanpool](/source/vanpool) fleet, a worker/driver program that provides commuter service to the [Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility](/source/Puget_Sound_Naval_Shipyard_and_Intermediate_Maintenance_Facility), volunteer driver program for senior transportation, a supplemental service that is an after school activity bus and a community van program.
==History==
Public transit in Mason County was conceived with the establishment of a [public transportation benefit area](/source/public_transportation_benefit_area) (PTBA) on September 22, 1987.[{{cite web |date=November 19, 2013 |title=Mason Transit Authority Resolution No. 2013-01 |url=http://www.masontransit.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Resolution-No.-2013-01.pdf |format=PDF |publisher=Mason Transit Authority |accessdate=June 16, 2015}}] After two unsuccessful attempts at approving the PTBA in 1985 and 1988, a countywide vote on November 15, 1991, approved the '''Mason County Public Transportation Benefit Area''' and a [sales tax](/source/sales_tax) of 0.2% to fund public transportation. Buses began operating on December 1, 1992.[{{cite web |title=History of MTA |url=http://www.masontransit.org/about-us-2/history/ |publisher=Mason Transit Authority |accessdate=June 16, 2015}}]
The Mason County Transit Authority officially changed its name to Mason Transit Authority in 2013.[{{cite news |last=Lucero |first=Jef |date=June 16, 2015 |title=Mason Transit Authority honored as 2015's best rural transportation system in America |url=http://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2015/06/mason-transit-authority-honored-as.html |work=WSDOT Blog |accessdate=July 15, 2016}}]
==Facilities==
===Transit-Community Center===
thumb|right|The Transit-Community Center in Shelton
The Transit-Community Center is a combined [community center](/source/community_center) and [transit center](/source/transit_center) located in [Shelton](/source/Shelton%2C_Washington) that opened on April 1, 2015. It was originally a [Washington National Guard](/source/Washington_National_Guard) [armory](/source/arsenal) built in the 1950s that was purchased by the MTA in 2006 and renovated at a cost of $9.9 million, funded by local sales tax and funding from the [Federal Transit Administration](/source/Federal_Transit_Administration).[{{cite web |title=About the Transit-Community Center |url=http://www.masontransit.org/the-project-2/ |publisher=Mason Transit Authority |accessdate=June 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617041013/http://www.masontransit.org/the-project-2/ |archive-date=June 17, 2015 |url-status=dead }}][{{cite press release |date=April 3, 2015 |title=Mason Transit Authority Opens Nation's First Transit-Community Center |url=http://www.masontransit.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/MTA-PRESS-RELEASE_T-CC-OPENS_02APR15.pdf |format=PDF |publisher=Mason Transit Authority |accessdate=June 16, 2015}}]
==Services==
===Fares===
Since its founding, MTA provided [fare-free service](/source/free_public_transport) for trips within Mason County; until 2023, it charged $1.50 for trips that traveled into neighboring counties.[{{cite web |title=Fare Information |url=http://www.masontransit.org/fareinformation/ |publisher=Mason Transit Authority |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108190449/http://www.masontransit.org/fareinformation/ |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |accessdate=April 19, 2023}}] Youth fares were removed in September 2022 as part of a statewide transit initiative.[{{cite news |last=Baide |first=Matt |date=September 15, 2022 |title=County Briefs: Youth ride free on Mason Transit |url=https://www.masoncounty.com/story/2022/09/15/news/county-briefs/1696.html |work=Shelton-Mason County Journal |url-access=subscription |accessdate=April 19, 2023}}] On January 1, 2023, MTA removed all fares for fixed route and dial-a-ride services as part of a three-year pilot; the $2.50 fare for worker/driver routes to the [Puget Sound Naval Shipyard](/source/Puget_Sound_Naval_Shipyard) remained in place.[{{cite web |date=December 20, 2022 |title=2023 Annual Budget & Compensation Plan |page=7 |url=https://www.masontransit.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/7A-2023-MTA-2023-Budget.pdf |publisher=Mason Transit Authority |accessdate=April 19, 2023}}][{{cite web |title=Worker/Driver |url=https://www.masontransit.org/workerdriver/ |publisher=Mason Transit Authority |accessdate=April 19, 2023}}]
===Routes===
[{{cite web |title=Bus Schedules |url=https://www.masontransit.org/busschedules/ |website=Mason Transit Authority |access-date=3 October 2024}}]
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Route
! class="unsortable" | Inbound terminus
! class="unsortable" | Outbound terminus
! class="unsortable" | Destinations served
! Saturday service
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1
| [Shelton](/source/Shelton%2C_Washington) Transit-Community Center
| [Belfair](/source/Belfair%2C_Washington)
| [Allyn](/source/Allyn%2C_Washington)
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| 3
| [Belfair](/source/Belfair%2C_Washington)
| [Bremerton](/source/Bremerton%2C_Washington)
| [Gorst](/source/Gorst%2C_Washington)
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| 4
| colspan=3 align=center | Loop around [Belfair](/source/Belfair%2C_Washington)
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| 5
| colspan=2 align=center | Loop around southern [Shelton](/source/Shelton%2C_Washington)
| [Shelton](/source/Shelton%2C_Washington) Transit-Community Center
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| 6
| [Shelton](/source/Shelton%2C_Washington) Transit-Community Center
| [Olympia](/source/Olympia%2C_Washington) Transit Center
| [Kamilche](/source/Kamilche%2C_Washington)
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| 7
| colspan=2 align=center | Loop around northern [Shelton](/source/Shelton%2C_Washington)
| [Shelton](/source/Shelton%2C_Washington) Transit-Community Center
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| 8
| [Shelton](/source/Shelton%2C_Washington)
| [Brinnon](/source/Brinnon%2C_Washington)
| [Hoodsport](/source/Hoodsport%2C_Washington)
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| 11
| [Shelton](/source/Shelton%2C_Washington) Transit-Community Center
| [Lake Cushman](/source/Lake_Cushman) Maintenance Office
| [Shelton](/source/Shelton%2C_Washington) Transit-Community Center, Walmart, [Hoodsport](/source/Hoodsport), [Lake Cushman](/source/Lake_Cushman) Maintenance Office
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| 21
| [Shelton](/source/Shelton%2C_WA) Matlock Park P&R
| [Belfair](/source/Belfair%2C_WA)
| [Allyn](/source/Allyn%2C_WA)
| {{no}}
| One inbound trip only.
|-
| 23
| [Belfair](/source/Belfair%2C_WA)
| [Bremerton](/source/Bremerton%2C_WA)
| [Belfair](/source/Belfair%2C_WA) Park and Ride
| {{no}}
| One round trip only.
|-
| Zipper
| colspan=2 align=center|Loop around northern Shelton.
| [Shelton](/source/Shelton%2C_WA) Transit Community Center
| {{no}}
|
|-
|Pilot
|[Shelton](/source/Shelton%2C_WA) Transit Community Center
|[McCleary](/source/McCleary%2C_WA)
|[Kamilche](/source/Kamilche)
|{{No}}
|Pilot
|}
===Connecting services===
[[File:SquaxinTransit.jpg|thumb|right|A [Squaxin Transit](/source/Squaxin_Transit) bus, one of the services that connects to MTA]]
*[Kitsap Transit](/source/Kitsap_Transit) and [Washington State Ferries](/source/Washington_State_Ferries) in [Bremerton](/source/Bremerton%2C_Washington) (via route 3)
*[Intercity Transit](/source/Intercity_Transit) and [Grays Harbor Transit](/source/Grays_Harbor_Transit) in [Olympia](/source/Olympia%2C_Washington) (via route 6)
*[Squaxin Transit](/source/Squaxin_Transit) in [Kamilche](/source/Kamilche%2C_Washington) (via route 6)
*[Jefferson Transit](/source/Jefferson_Transit_(Washington)) in [Brinnon](/source/Brinnon%2C_Washington) (via route 8)
*[Grays Harbor Transit](/source/Grays_Harbor_Transit) in [McCleary](/source/McCleary%2C_WA) (via Route P)[{{cite web |title=Regional Transit Connections |url=http://www.masontransit.org/ride-all-service-information/regional-transit-conections/ |publisher=Mason Transit Authority |accessdate=October 3, 2024}}]
==Fleet==
===Current Bus Fleet===
:''{{As of|2014|10|20|df=US}}''