BY Braden DenHerder
Staff Reporter

Central Transit will no longer be providing free bus service to the Ellensburg community due to budget issues. The Washington State Legislature took longer than usual to finalize the state budget, which contributed to the lack of funds alloted to Central transit.

“Right now we are working on getting contracts established with CWU, the CWU BOD and with the DOT for Central Transit” said Ellensburg’s Mayor, Bruce Tabb. “The city council needs to approve the contract and MOU with Central.”

The city of Ellensburg and Central have full intention of getting the bus service back up and running in time for this upcoming school year with only a few new changes such as different routes and longer service hours.

“We would like to have it where we could maintain a 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. schedule so that the service would be useful to more people” said Tabb. “We would also like to extend some of the routes so more students and community members can be served.”

The next possible time the Ellensburg City Council can meet to discuss the issue is August 15. Tabb has high hopes that Central Transit will return quickly.

“Our goal is to be back on the roads providing the bus service by September ninth running consistent routes on a routine schedule,” said Tabb.