Grays Harbor Transit will continue to provide free services for veterans for the foreseeable future.

“They do so much for us,” Operations Manager Patti Carlin said. “Letting them ride the bus for free certainly doesn’t feel like much.”

Veterans initially reached out to Grays Harbor Transit in hopes of receiving free transit service for only a week, in order to attend an event at the Aberdeen mall, known as Shoppes at Riverside. However, after discussing the proposal, Grays Harbor Transit decided that perhaps veterans should be able to use the service for free, always.

“Their proposal really got us thinking,” Carlin said.

With veterans now able to use the transit system free of charge, the next step is to make the process smoother and hopefully painless for everyone involved.

As of now there is no easy way for veterans to prove their veteran statues to bus drivers. Each veteran may have a different way of identifying themselves as such. Grays Harbor Transit, Carlin says, is working on a way to streamline this service to make it as efficient as possible.

“We’re trying to simplify the process,” Carlin explained.

Grays Harbor Transit is trying to come up with a universal card for veterans to use when taking advantage of the transit system. Not only would a universal card simplify the process for the veterans, but it would help speed up the process of getting veterans on the bus, which in turn will help everyone who makes use of the transit system.

Carlin notes that anywhere from 30 to 50 veterans a week take advantage of the free service. Even with the loss of bus fares, Carlin doesn’t foresee any issues.

“Fares help out financially, but it makes up so little of the transit funds that I don’t think it’ll break us in the near future,” Carlin said.