Ben Franklin Transit
Ben Franklin Transit is the operator of public transportation in Franklin and Benton counties in the U.S. state of Washington. Eighteen 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 Richland, Washington|West Richland]. Most routes run six days a week. Bus service runs between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm, Monday-Friday and 7:00 am and 10:00 pm on Saturdays and select holidays. Trans+Plus covers the Tri-Cities portion of the service area 8:30 am to 12:00 am Monday-Saturday and 7:30AM to 6:00 pm 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. In, the system had a ridership of, or about per weekday as of.
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."
Ben Franklin Transit began service on May 10, 1982, and carried 2,043 total riders on its first day. 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. Residents of Benton City and Prosser voted to be annexed into the Ben Franklin Transit system in November 1997. Prosser Rural Transit, an independent system that began operation in 1977, continued to run until it was fully absorbed into Ben Franklin Transit in April 1998. The first buses to Benton City began operation on July 13, 1998 The annexation of Finley into the service area was approved in April 2005 after a campaign led by two high school students.
In 2007, Ben Franklin Transit was awarded the Governor's Award for Sustainable Practices.
Fleet
Originally operating with a fleet that largely consisted of used GM New Look buses 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.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 18 routes which serve a specific local area as well as routes which provide a connection between the cities.The KML file gives a rough approximation of the service area. The PTBA boundary is contiguous with the populated areas, as well as many voting precincts that fill in the gaps.
| No. | Area served | Transit Center | Route description Cities Served | Service Days | Notes |
| Metro 1 | Regional | Three Rivers Transit Center, 22nd Avenue Transit Center | Pasco, Kennewick | Sunday to Saturday | |
| Metro 3 | Regional | 22nd Avenue Transit Center, Dayton Transfer Point | Pasco, Kennewick | Sunday to Saturday | |
| 20 | Richland Local | West Richland Transit Center, Richland Transit Center | Thayer, Van Giesen | Monday to Saturday | |
| 25 | Richland Local | Knight Street Transit Center | Wright, Stevens | Monday to Saturday | |
| 26 | Richland Local | Knight Street Transit Center | George Washington Way | Monday to Saturday | |
| 40 | Kennewick Local | Three Rivers Transit Center, Dayton Transfer Point | Kennewick Avenue Crosstown | Monday to Saturday | |
| 41 | Kennewick Local | Dayton Transfer Point | Central Kennewick Circulator | Monday to Saturday | |
| 42 | Kennewick Local | Three Rivers Transit Center, Dayton Transfer Point | 4th Crosstown | Sunday to Saturday | |
| 47 | Kennewick Local | Three Rivers Transit Center, Dayton Transfer Point | 27th Crosstown | Monday to Saturday | |
| 48 | Kennewick Local | Three Rivers Transit Center, Dayton Transfer Point | 10th Crosstown | Monday to Saturday | |
| 64 | Pasco Local | 22nd Avenue Transit Center | Lewis Street, S Elm, Lakeview, Amazon | Sunday to Saturday | |
| 65 | Pasco Local | 22nd Avenue Transit Center | Sylvester, N Elm, Tierra Vida | Monday to Saturday | |
| 67 | Pasco Local | 22nd Avenue Transit Center | Sandifur Parkway | Monday to Saturday | |
| 110 | Rural | West Richland Transit Center, Three Rivers Transit Center | Kennewick, Richland, West Richland | Monday to Saturday | |
| 123 | Regional | Three Rivers Transit Center, Knight Street Transit Center | Richland, Kennewick | Sunday to Saturday | |
| 170 | Rural | Prosser Transit Center, Benton City Park & Ride, Knight Street Transit Center | Richland, Benton City, Prosser | Monday to Saturday | |
| 225 | Regional | 22nd Avenue Transit Center, Knight Street Transit Center | Pasco, Richland | Sunday to Saturday | |
| 268 | Regional | 22nd Avenue Transit Center, Knight Street Transit Center | Pasco, Richland | Monday to Friday |