Ben Franklin Transit
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| Founded | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 1000 Columbia Park Trail Richland, Washington |
| Service area | Tri-Cities, Washington |
| Service type | Transit, Paratransit |
| Routes | 22 |
| Hubs | 7 |
| Fleet | 66 (fixed-route) |
| Annual ridership | 5.5 million (2008) |
| Fuel type | Diesel, Battery-Electric |
| Chief executive | Gloria Boyce |
| Website | www.bft.org |
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 6:30PM, Monday-Friday and 8AM and 6:30PM on Saturdays and select holidays. Trans+Plus covers the Tri-Cities portion of the service area 6:30PM to 2:00AM 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.
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. (The Public Transportation Benefit Area (PTBA) officials later passed a resolution that the bus system would not compete with Rockwell Hanford). 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."
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Wikipedia