Public invited to comment on new 6-year plan
On paper at least, TranGO plans to expand its service in the coming years. But a draft of the Okanogan County Transit Authority’s six-year plan, released this month, suggests that service in the Methow Valley and the rest of the county can’t improve until the agency builds a new headquarters in Omak and services its own vehicles.
The new transit development plan is up for public comment and is available online at tinyurl.com/46fe2x9n.
TranGO’s goal over the next six years is to expand its hours of operation and increase route frequency, “to meet ridership demands for more employment opportunities,” according to the draft plan. Buses in the Methow Valley now run every two hours, Monday through Saturday, ending all runs by 7:30 p.m.
TranGO General Manager Brent Timm said last year he would like to see hourly service restored to the Methow. Service between Twisp and Winthrop had to be reduced from one bus an hour to one every two hours after the route was extended to Mazama in 2023.
TranGO’s intent is to open its own maintenance facility in Omak in 2028, as part of a new headquarters and transit center. That project is still under federal environmental review, and the location has not been announced yet.
Currently, TranGO’s office space and transit hub is a former bank building on Second Avenue in Okanogan. And the agency relies on private businesses for bus repairs and routine maintenance, including oil changes. Work that could be completed in hours now takes days, keeping part of the system’s fleet off the roads.
With a handful of buses out of circulation at any given time, any plans to expand service are on hold for now, Timm has said.
Other service improvements are in the works for the Methow Valley. The transit agency intends to add a bus shelter at the Mazama Store in 2027 and would like to find a site for a park and ride in Twisp by 2028.
TranGO has provided bus service in Okanogan County since 2015 and the Methow Valley since 2016, after voters approved a 0.4% sales tax that provides about two thirds of the agency’s revenue. Only 2% of its funding comes from the farebox and vanpool fees. The fare is $1 for people over 18 and free for those 18 and under. The rest of TranGO’s money comes from grants and investment income, according to the draft plan.
TranGO’s 6-year plan: some highlights
Methow Valley
The plan does not propose an immediate change to existing Methow Valley routes or schedules. TranGO currently operates three routes centered on Twisp:
• Twisp-Winthrop-Mazama, generally every two hours from about 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Twisp-Pateros, every two hours from about 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Twisp-Okanogan, every two hours from about 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Twisp is one of TranGO’s three system “pulse points,” where schedules are coordinated to permit transfers. TranGO says its network allows passengers to travel across the county and return the same day, including between such distant points as Mazama and Oroville. Fares remain $1 per boarding, with each route treated as a separate fare zone; a one-zone monthly pass costs $30.
Mazama bus shelter
The most definite Methow-specific improvement is a proposed shelter at the Mazama Store, anticipated for installation in 2027. TranGO already has a shelter in Twisp and installed western-themed bus-stop signs in Winthrop in April 2025. The agency says future shelter, bench and sign locations will be selected partly according to ridership.
Twisp park-and-ride
TranGO lists finding a location and developing a design for a park-and-ride in Twisp by 2028 as a performance target. Similar facilities are contemplated in Tonasket and Brewster. This is a planning target, rather than a funded or site-specific project: the document does not identify a Twisp location or give a separate cost estimate.
Possible expansions
The plan says TranGO wants to consider:
• Earlier and later service on existing routes.
• More-frequent trips in higher-demand areas.
• Modest extensions of existing routes.
• Specialty service to recreation sites and special events.
Those are broad policy intentions, however. The operating plan says expansions beginning in 2028 would be made “as needed for ridership demand;” it does not commit to a specific Methow Valley schedule expansion. Public comments asking for later service, commuter-oriented schedules, Sunday service, additional Mazama trips or particular stops could therefore influence later decisions, but none of those changes is promised in this draft.
Methow connections
The Twisp-Okanogan route connects Methow passengers to the wider TranGO network. Riders can also reach Pateros and transfer to the Okanogan-Chelan route, which connects with Link Transit for travel toward Wenatchee. Apple Line intercity service is available at Pateros, Brewster, Okanogan and Omak, with onward connections toward Wenatchee and Ellensburg. The practical limitation is that long trips require several coordinated transfers and can consume much of the day.
How to comment on the plan
The new transit development plan is up for public comment and is available online at tinyurl.com/46fe2x9n. The public may comment in writing on the plan by emailing clerk@okanogantransit.com by Aug. 19. Copies may also be requested at that email address or by calling (509) 557-6177.The Okanogan County Transit Authority board of directors will hold a public hearing on the plan at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 19 at 303 Second Ave. S., Suite A, Okanogan. Those wishing to comment at the hearing may also attend via Zoom.
