STA closes most waiting areas in the downtown Plaza, sees sharp ridership drop

The Spokane Transit Authority closed most waiting areas in the downtown Plaza on Tuesday morning, complying with a Sunday order from Gov. Jay Inslee banning gatherings of more than 50 people statewide.

The Plaza’s paratransit waiting areas, customer service counter, restrooms and businesses will remain open, and customers will also be able to walk through the building to check bus-information monitors, said Brandon Rapez-Betty, STA’s director of communications and customer service.

The Plaza was home to a temporary downtown branch of the Spokane Public Library until Saturday, when the library system closed all of its branches to the public for six weeks.

Inslee’s ban against large gatherings is in place until March 31, and Rapez-Betty said STA will re-evaluate whether to fully reopen the Plaza to the public at that time.

Rapez-Betty said the Plaza was reportedly “very quiet” with “very few people outside” as of mid-day Tuesday.

“I think that’s a reflection of people taking this very seriously,” Rapez-Betty said of the coronavirus pandemic that has led to state, local and federal officials to make a number of drastic orders and recommendations designed to reduce transmission of the virus. “And people who have the ability to stay home, they are.”

Ridership on the STA system has declined sharply over the last week, Rapez-Betty said. As of Tuesday, 15% fewer riders had taken buses and paratransit over the previous seven days.

The transit agency has bolstered its cleaning protocols in an effort to reduce transmission on the system. The STA also plans to run a new recording on buses “in next day or two” advising customers to stand several feet behind existing yellow lines on buses to create additional distance between riders and drivers.

STA has no plans to alter or reduce service levels, Rapez-Betty said.