Tips for riding the bus to the Pasco Aquatic Center this summer
With the new Pasco Aquatic Center opening this week, plenty of teens will want to start making summer memories. Here’s what parents need to know if their kids ride the bus.
The aquatic center officially opens on June 27, and passes are on sale now. Because the aquatic center is expected to see huge demand this year, families will want to plan their trips to be sure they can get in.
The transit agency is also celebrating America’s 250th birthday by letting everyone ride free during the month of July.
Know before you go
The first thing families will want to do before their aquatic center trip is set up an account at SwimPasco.com. Then you can reserve time at the center for morning programs or open swim hours.
You can buy single entry tickets or passes for the summer or even year. The outdoor section of the center is seasonal, so it will close in fall, but the indoor swim area is open year round.
General hours Monday through Friday will be 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends, with lap swim and open swim times carved out.
Lap swim and programming runs from opening until 10:45 a.m. daily. Those morning hours will be 50% of the regular rate.
The first open swim block will be 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the second is 4-8 p.m.
How to get to the center
Youth ride free with Ben Franklin Transit year round. If your child doesn’t have their pass, they can visit BFT’s website for more information.
The transit agency just launched two new routes directly to the aquatic center in the Broadmoor development.
Route 66 runs Monday through Saturday and Route 67 is for Sundays.
The routes have three key stops: the 22nd Ave Transit Center in Pasco, Road 68 at Burden Boulevard, and the aquatic center.
Until the center opens on June 27, the new routes will make a loop at the end of Sandifur Parkway.
They’ll also pick up and drop off at bus stops along the route. The BFT app will let families check to see where their bus is in nearly real time. It will also help riders plan their routes.
Chief Planning Officer Kevin Sliger told the Tri-City Herald that riders coming from Richland will probably want to take the 225 Richland to Pasco bus, and transfer over at Sandifur Parkway.
For Kennewick riders, it may be quickest to take a route to the Knight Street transit center in Richland to catch the 225. Otherwise, they can connect at Pasco’s 22nd Ave Transit Center or anywhere along the new aquatic center route. The 240X route runs from the Dayton transfer point in Kennewick up Highway 240 to Knight Street.
Sliger said riders need to remember to completely dry off before getting back on the bus. They also need to be wearing a top, bottom and shoes when boarding.
There are currently bus stops on either side of the new Road 108 for riders, and the Pasco Public Facilities District plans on giving the transit agency an easement to construct a bus turnaround.
Sliger said BFT also is still working on plans for a future far west Pasco transit center.
