As Everett weighs transit merger, paratransit riders want same service

EVERETT — Alice Hedges stood outside her south Everett apartment on a cloudy June morning, waiting for the phone call.

The call was automated, coming because an Everett paratransit bus was scheduled to pick her up in the next 30 minutes. She got the call, and after a short wait, climbed onto the bus with a few other passengers and took a 20-minute ride from her home to a Fred Meyer in Mill Creek to get groceries.

Hedges is one of the many Everett residents that depend on the paratransit service to get around, not just to the grocery store, but to doctor’s appointments, to work, or to see family and friends.

Some paratransit riders, however, worried that access to the service could be at risk, or its quality could be reduced, after the city of Everett and Community Transit announced in April they would be resuming talks over a potential merger of the two transit agencies. Under the possible deal, Everett Transit would cease to operate and Community Transit would take over its services, collecting a higher sales tax rate than Everett Transit does.

https://www.heraldnet.com/2026/06/26/as-everett-weighs-transit-merger-paratransit-riders-want-same-service/