Breaking Down WTA’s Proposed 2026 Bus Service Changes

The Whatcom Transit Authority is currently seeking feedback on proposed service changes it is looking to finalize this fall and implement next summer.

The changes mostly impact routes serving Western Washington University via the Blue GO Line — where the 100-series bus routes currently converge to offer frequent service through Western’s campus every 15 minutes, Monday-Saturday — and neighborhoods south and east of Downtown Bellingham, including Edgemoor, Fairhaven, Happy Valley, Puget, Sehome, South Bellingham, and York. 

You can peruse the route-by-route proposals on WTA’s engagement portal but below, you'll find my breakdown of this proposed summer 2026 restructuring, which WTA’s Board of Directors would first need to approve this winter. If you’re not familiar with the nuances and complexities of current WTA bus service south and east of downtown, this suite of proposed changes may be hard to understand only looking at individual route proposals. But when you examine the overall transit network impacts, there’s a lot to like, especially since this is simply reallocating existing service instead of adding new service hours.

Overall, WTA is looking to untangle and simplify the current configuration of Blue Line service while also creating a stronger north-south transit corridor connecting Downtown Bellingham and South Bellingham via the Samish Way Urban Village, Sehome Village, and 32nd Street. As a result, while some Western students and others living in Happy Valley may have a more direct route downtown, they will need to transfer buses at Bill McDonald Parkway & Samish Way — adjacent to the Sehome Village location of Haggen, or at Western’s Wade King Recreation Center — in order to reach the upper part of campus, near the Viking Union and Haggard Hall stops. WTA notes that the majority of transfers would take place at Bill McDonald Parkway & Samish Way, with the “majority of transfers between routes are timed to be between 3-7 minutes.” These transfer points would see additional amenities at bus stops, including real-time arrival information displays. 

• Route 190 (Downtown to Lincoln Street via WWU) would become the “backbone” frequent service of the Blue GO Line and see four buses per hour, Monday-Saturday, with two buses per hour on Sundays. WTA notes a “possible shift in schedule to 3 buses per hour on Saturdays and during out-of-session periods.” With the 190’s boosted frequency, the Blue Line would also be extended to the Lincoln Street & Lakeway Drive shopping area, where there’d be connections to Plum Line routes and the new Route 6 (Puget-York).
• To continue to meet ridership spikes on Route 190 when Western classes are in session, WTA would provide supplemental bus service with the new Route 90. This "Viking Circulator" route would travel clockwise and counterclockwise through campus and around Sehome Hill Arboretum. 

• WTA's proposal would untangle Route 105, which currently connects Downtown Bellingham and Fairhaven via WWU, replacing it with the new Route 5. Instead of following the Blue GO Line through Western’s campus, the new Route 5 would offer a more direct way to and from downtown through the Samish Way Urban Village. The main transfer point to WWU-bound buses would be at Bill McDonald Parkway & Samish Way, adjacent to Haggen. The new Route 5 would terminate at the Fairhaven Transportation Center, along with Route 1, instead of looping through Edgemoor. While this neighborhood south of Padden Creek would be the only area to lose fixed-route transit service, WTA notes that Edgemoor’s bus stops see especially low ridership. This service change presents an opportunity to improve the outbound bus stop at Harris Avenue & 9th Street in Fairhaven, given that, with recent bus stop consolidation along Route 1, it is the only spot besides the Amtrak station where folks in Fairhaven wanting to go downtown will be able to choose whatever bus — the 1 or the 5 — comes first.

• Route 6, connecting Bellingham Station with the Puget and York neighborhoods via Meador Avenue and the Civic Athletic Campus, would replace the portion of the current Routes 196 and 197 between downtown and the Puget neighborhood, with transfers available to other routes, including the Blue and Plum GO line buses, in the vicinity of Lincoln Street & Lakeway Drive. Like the routes it would replace, the new Route 6 would see service once an hour, Mondays-Saturdays. Let’s hope the City of Bellingham can improve sidewalks, crosswalks, and street infrastructure to make bus transfers at Lincoln & Lakeway far more appealing than it currently is. (I’d encourage City of Bellingham officials, especially its WTA representatives, to participate in the upcoming Week Without Driving and navigate this area on foot to better understand the needs of transit users here.) 

• The new Route 7, connecting Bellingham Station with WWU via Happy Valley, introduces a new transit routing that, when combined with Route 5, creates a north-south transit corridor between downtown and South Bellingham via 32nd Street and Samish Way. Instead of following Route 5 to Fairhaven, Route 7 would take a jug-handle pathway through Happy Valley terminating in Western’s South Campus area, near the Wade King Recreation Center. This route would see service once an hour, Mondays-Saturdays. 
• Route 14, which currently connects Bellingham Station and Fairhaven via WWU and Happy Valley, would see some of its service reallocated and would be left with one bus an hour seven days a week. (Currently, the 14 sees two buses per hour Mondays-Saturdays and one bus per hour on Sundays.) This reduction in frequency would impact WTA riders in the 21st Street and Harris Avenue corridors in Happy Valley and result in Fairhaven riders having fewer buses that will take them to Western’s campus. 

WTA planners are making these service recommendations with data from March 2025 collected via the agency’s new Automated Passenger Counter (APCs), which were installed across the bus fleet this past winter. The APCs “use infrared sensors to detect when riders board and alight buses, calculating bus load, distance traveled, and a range of other factors,” according to WTA. “This system provides much more insight into rider patterns than was previously available to the WTA through the use of fare box data.”