The Sound Transit Board voted Aug. 28 to purchase the Bonney Lake Park and Ride from Pierce Transit.

Pierce Transit discontinued service to the Bonney Lake Park and Ride in June 2012 by stopping the route 496 bus, which ran between the Park and Ride and Sumner Sounder Station. Sound Transit then picked up the route as ST Express Route 596, which will continue to take riders to the train station.“We had some concern when we were cut out of Pierce Transit,” said Don Morrison, city administrator for Bonney Lake. “But we were able to maintain the bus service through Sound Transit. We are really happy we can retain a park and ride here. It is good for Sumner, Puyallup and Bonney Lake that Sound Transit made the purchase.”

Sound Transit agreed to purchase the Park and Ride from Pierce Transit for $2,810,000.  However, Sound Transit will receive a credit against the purchase price for $123,135 from Pierce Transit for repair work.

If Sound Transit had not agreed to the purchase, Sound Transit would have discontinued its service to the Park and Ride. Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow, who is also on the Sound Transit Board, said that the purchase “means that East Pierce County can depend on its availability for the future.  We all owe a big thank you  to Sound Transit.”

Sound Transit reported that 416 boardings on average for route 596 per day.

Between April and June of this year, Sound Transit reported there were more than 27,000 boardings on Route 596, a 24 percent rise from the same time period last year.

Sound Transit Route 596 currently runs from Bonney Lake to Sumner in the mornings between 4:55 and 8:00, and runs from Sumner to Bonney Lake in the evening from 3:52 to 6:52.