Apr. 3—A new rideshare service run by Pierce Transit started in Gig Harbor this week.
The Gig Harbor Runner service is similar to Uber or Lyft in that riders use an app to request a ride from point A to B in the Gig Harbor area.
"This innovative micro-transit service option will transform the daily lives of many of our residents," the city posted on Facebook Monday, following a ribbon cutting for the service. "Whether it means scheduling a door-to-door trip to the doctor or making it to class on time at TCC Gig Harbor, this service offers equity and independence."
The service runs from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, according to Pierce Transit's website, and rides are $2 or less.
Youth 18 and under ride for free with a youth ORCA card or student ID.
Riders can use the agency's app on their smartphones to request trips. Those without a smartphone can call 253-581-8000 and choose option four to request a ride.
"Use your phone to tell Pierce Transit Runner where you are and where you want to go," the agency's website says. "Runner pairs riders headed in the same direction to ensure faster service. Also, with your ORCA card, you can transfer easily to or from a bus."
The Gig Harbor service won't take cash. Riders without an ORCA card can pay with the Transit app.
Pierce County spokesperson Rebecca Japhet told the Gateway Tuesday that the Gig Harbor Runner service has two vans to start.
"We'll see what demand looks like," Japhet said. "We may need to add more."
Japhet said Pierce Transit officials have been talking for years about how to extend public transit to the Gig Harbor campus of Tacoma Community College and to St. Anthony Hospital.
"There just wasn't a way to safely serve those two locations with a bus," Japhet said. "They couldn't make the turns or there were blind corners or something."
The new service reaches those locations.
Asked about the cost of the Gig Harbor Runner service, Japhet said Pierce Transit is funding it with about $57,000 per month.
Pierce County bus route changes
The Gig Harbor Runner service isn't Pierce Transit's first microtransit zone.
The Puyallup Runner service started Nov. 14, The News Tribune reported, and the agency also has Runner service for the Ruston area, the Tacoma Tideflats, Spanaway and Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
As a result of the microtransit services, certain bus routes in some of those areas ended March 31.
The agency cut route 13 in Ruston, route 63 on the Tideflats and route 425 in Puyallup, according to its website.
Route 409 in Puyallup was shortened.
The agency "is working towards more frequent bus service, and expanded hours of service," the website said.
To do that, they "looked at lower-ridership routes and determined how we can continue serving riders in those areas in a more efficient way, while reallocating resources to provide more frequent service and expanded hours on higher-ridership routes," the website said. "Pierce Transit's on-demand Runner service is an efficient way to move people when a big bus isn't a practical option."
Japhet told the Gateway no route changes are planned in the Gig Harbor area.
Asked how many riders are using Pierce Transit's Runner services, Japhet said they gave 3,312 rides last month, and that 31 riders requested trips on the Gig Harbor Runner in its first couple days.
The Runner services provided 15,787 rides in 2023, which only included the first couple months of the new Puyallup service. They gave 4,419 rides in 2022.
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