Intercity Transit moving ahead with two new routes to Lakewood 

Two new routes from Olympia to Lakewood are going to debut next month.

The Intercity Transit Authority approved the new routes, which will replace the existing Route 620 or the Olympia/Lakewood Express, at a meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 6.

Route 600 will be a weekday-only, direct route to Lakewood. Unlike the existing Route 620, it will not stop at Lacey Transit Center. The route terminates at the SR-512 Park & Ride in Lakewood, same as with Route 620. 

Route 610 also terminates at the same location, but takes longer to get there. It will have stops at Lacey Transit Center, Hawks Prairie Park & Ride and Madigan Gate at Berkeley Street in Tacoma, where Pierce Transit will offer connecting rides to Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The route will be available seven days a week. 

Rob LaFontaine, the Planning Deputy Director of Intercity Transit, said since he last talked about the proposed changes on July 16, the agency received 19 comments about the proposed routes. 

One-third of the comments were in support of the changes.  

Nine percent of the comments expressed that Route 610 is less convenient than Route 620, as the new route will take longer due to its additional stops. 

A commenter named Scott, who is blind, was present at the meeting to talk about the issue. He said he currently takes a seven-hour and 25-minute bus trip twice every month to help a family member from Puyallup, who is in assisted living. Removing Route 620 and replacing it with 610 would make his trip longer by 20 minutes. 

Seven percent also stated the schedule is inefficient for people outside Thurston County. LaFontaine explained the routes are configured for Thurston County riders, who are making trips northbound and going back home in the evening. Riders who are commuting in reverse find the schedule unfavorable. 

LaFontaine said the agency will have opportunities to adjust the routes in the future. 

He said the agency could look into expanding the service by making the trips more frequent and by making Route 600 available on the weekends as well. 

He noted the September adjustments are just one phase of a broader, phased service overhaul. Further changes planned for May 2026 would benefit Route 610, as there will be more volume at the Hawks Prairie Park & Ride by then. 

Additional service requests

Other comments dealt with requests for additional service.  

Thirty percent of the comments were requests for increasing the frequency of trips.  

Seven percent of the comments were requests to extend the route to Tacoma or Federal Way. 

One comment was about wanting to cancel the routes entirely. LaFontaine said the commenter was concerned about allowing residents outside of the county commute free of charge. 

“(The comments) affirm staff's position that the service changes are generally positive and workable, and overall, they support staff's intent to implement these changes on September 7 of this year,” LaFontaine.