Bus ridership follows gas prices as more people use Spokane's public transit

May 24-Sixth-grader Lucius Russell rides the bus every day to get home from Greenacres Elementary School.

At his home in Spokane Valley, it's just Russell, his 16-year-old sister, mom and grandma. His grandma typically takes him to school every morning, but because there's only one car for the four of them, it's easier for the family if Russell takes public transportation to get home.

"I have no problem with it. It's great riding the bus," Russell said, letting his black backpack hang off of one shoulder at the bus stop.

More and more people are riding the bus instead of driving their cars. And that includes Russell's older sister and mom, who board the bus around 7 a.m. every morning to get to school and work.

Spokane Valley routes saw a 5.8% increase in ridership in March and April this year compared with last year, according to Spokane Transit Authority spokesperson Carly Cortright. And system wide, STA has seen a 2% increase in ridership.

"We can contribute some numbers to the increase in gas prices," Cortright said. "We started tracking ridership in March and April because of the Iran conflict."

STA tracks ridership closely, but typically doesn't release monthly data and sticks to annual ridership reports. Monthly data is posted online on the U.S. Department of Transportation monthly ridership report.

In May, the average price for a gallon of gas in Washington inched closer to $5.75, according to AAA reports. The average price of gas in Spokane is around $5.30 a gallon now, but at the beginning of March prices hovered around $3.89.

"We got a lot of people in this town and economically, it's more feasible to take the bus than it is to drive," Gary Lee said, flicking a cigarette between his fingers as he waited for his bus to arrive at a Spokane Valley stop.

The high gas prices and subsequent increase in bus ridership comes right before STA runs a measure on the August ballot to renew a 0.2% sales tax to fund the organization for another 20 years. If the measure is approved, the sales tax will remain until the end of 2048. Roughly 75% of the agency's operating revenue comes from sales taxes.

"I think everything in life is pretty expensive right now, whether that is gas prices or cost of living," said Spokane City Councilwoman Sarah Dixit. "Affordability is a conversation everybody is having. Bus access is something that people rely on. It's not just nice to have, it's a need to have."

STA runs more than 50 routes across its system, Cortright said.

The organization is one of the only transportation systems in the country to get ridership numbers to exceed pre-pandemic numbers, according to Emily Poole, the chief planning and development officer.

Part of the reason for that is because STA did not lay off its drivers during the pandemic, so it had routes available and were able to hit the ground running after the pandemic, according to Spokane Valley City Councilwoman Pam Haley.

In 2016, there were 10.2 million rides on Spokane public transportation and in 2025, there were 10.4 million rides across the network, Poole said. From 2024 to 2025, STA saw a 2.6% increase in ridership, Poole said.

Those numbers are no surprise to Haley, who also serves on the STA board of directors. She said more convenient transit systems and gas prices have something to do with the increase in Spokane Valley riders.

"It gets people to work and to fun things to do, but it's also, there's a lot of people who can't necessarily afford to do those things," Haley said.

Parking can be expensive, and riding the bus means people can dodge that cost if they're commuting from Spokane Valley to work in Spokane, like Haley does, or if they're coming to a show downtown after work.

The transit system also gives handicap people an easy way to travel independently, Haley said.

"We've had a lot of people come in and say, I had a seizure and I can't drive a car. And this has been amazing that I have this availability now," she said. "As STA increases routes, it increases the area for paratransit."

One of her fears is that if money runs low and STA terminates some routes in the Valley, para transportation would decrease in the city.

"I don't want to see them lose their paratransit," she said.

Lee, who uses a wheelchair, said he rides the bus every day.

Lee lives in an adult home in Spokane Valley and has been on hospice for several months now, with cancer in his right lung and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The bus is the only way he can get around town.

"It's pretty accessible for me," Lee said, tipping his American-themed cowboy hat up. "I'm just waiting for the bucket to tip over anyway. I go downtown every day."

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This story was originally published May 25, 2026 at 8:26 AM.