WA: Getting There: First double-decker bus rolls out from Cheney

After months of route preparation, driver training and public anticipation, the Spokane Transit Authority provided its first official public double-decker bus ride on Saturday.

More than 50 people gathered for the noon ribbon-cutting ceremony at Cheney's Eagle Station — most sporting matching red shirts featuring Eastern Washington University's mascot, Swoop — posing in front of a double-decker bus.

Behind the red ribbon, the bus stood 131/2 feet tall as several kids recorded EWU President Shari McMahan and STA CEO Karl Otterstrom sharing a pair of large, blue scissors from the bus' second-deck windows.

Spokane Transit board members Cheney Mayor Chris Grover and Spokane City Council President Betsy Wilkerson stood alongside McMahan and Otterstrom as they cut the ribbon. Swoop the eagle stood by as well, though his experience with regional transit systems remains unclear.

In an opening speech to the crowd, Grover said that the buses wouldn't be a possibility without the partnership between the city, STA and Eastern Washington University.

"On behalf of the citizens of Cheney and the community, I want to thank Karl and your team for providing wonderful service and providing for the community's transit needs," he said. "Thank you so much — go Eags!"

Otterstrom spoke next, highlighting the historical transit milestones in Cheney.

Cheney neighbors Bill Lewis and Mike Mulholland were among the bus-viewing crowd, drawn out by "just the excitement of the double-decker, and how pretty it is and the fact that we're going to have access to ride it to town." They were fans of the shirts — "red for eagles," Lewis, 79, said.

"I feel Eastern doesn't get the print and publicity that it deserves," Mulholland, 69, said. "We're always in the shadow of Gonzaga, always in the shadow of Wazzu, and it's nice to have something where we're the center of attention, because we deserve it. This is a great university and a great asset to the community."

Many Spokane transit employees are graduates from EWU, McMahan said, including Otterstrom who earned his bachelor's in urban and regional planning from the university in 2002. McMahan said STA was "like an Eastern family."

While riding the bus is fun, McMahan said, joking that being able to see into people's backyards was the most exciting part of her ride up top, the overall necessity is for accessibility and affordability. Many college students cannot afford cars, and if they can, sometimes driving isn't always ideal.

"A lot of our students are able to go to the town if they need things, so that's a huge part of it," McMahan said, going on to compare her experience with that of students.

"When I first came here, I was a little nervous about driving in the snow so I would take the bus into town to get things to do holiday stuff, because I didn't want to drive. I was more of a liability on the road, so I appreciate the faithful bus drivers."

After the crowd made its way onto the bus for their first official ride, what is so often "the quiet drive home" became a space where strangers turned to one another to chat about the new experience. When a driver spoke over the intercom, everyone sitting on the second level responded they could hear him.

Kids up front held onto the seat backs in front of them like they were roller coaster safeties, sparing a hand to record the roads from up high on their cellphones every so often. When one group got off, another moved forward to take their front-row seats.

Karlee Ludwig-Phillips, an EWU master 's student studying public health, said that the double-decker buses were "not something I ever would have expected, for sure. It's a pleasant surprise."

Access to public transportation, she said, is often a determining factor for the health and wellness of a society.

Her husband, Silas Phillips, said he is a fan of public transportation. Recently moving to the area from the no-bus town of Athol, he hopes to ride the bus more often now that it is available.

"I think it's really cool that they unveiled something like this," he said. "It's unique and can fit a lot more people."

The double-decker buses will run during busy hours on EWU school days.

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