Snoqualmie Valley Transportation was honored at the July 18 North Bend City Council meeting with a Vision 2050 Award from the Puget Sound Regional Council.

The award, presented jointly to SVT Director Amy Biggs, and the cities of North Bend and Snoqualmie, recognized the essential nature of mobility and transportation in creating livable communities, said PSRC Executive Director Josh Brown.

“Snoqualmie Valley Transportation advances Vision 2050 by providing mobility here in the valley, including to residents who may need additional assistance,” said Brown. “You’re providing excellent kinds of services with the door-to-door and fixed-route options, building on services provided by the Mt. Si Senior Center.”

SVT was honored for promoting a livable region by guiding Vision 2050 implementation, including regional growth management, economic, and transportation strategies.

Brown noted that SVT was a collaborative effort of the two cities and Mt. Si Senior Center, which created the program 20 years ago.

Since the start of SVT, the bus service has grown in service area and funding partners, to include the Snoqualmie Tribe and King County Metro, which contracts with SVT for weekday service from North Bend to Duvall. Valley residents, including youth who now ride free, have used fixed-route services to travel throughout the Snoqualmie and North Bend areas, as well as up and down the valley as far as Monroe, at low or no cost. All riders can also request door-to-door service.

SVT’s rural service model also includes partnering with fellow rural organizations such as the DirtFish Rally School for driver training. That creativity in solving problems, and stretching resources, also made SVT stand out in the Working Together category of the Vision 2050 Awards.

“Congratulations, you’re an inspiration to the entire region and I think you’re going about providing transit service in a unique flexible way and thinking outside the box in a manner that we need,” Brown said, to serve the large and diverse region of the Puget Sound area.

SVT Director Amy Biggs accepted the award, saying “Thank you very much, it’s an honor to serve the citizens and residents of Snoqualmie Valley. I hope we can do it for a long time to come.”

North Bend Mayor Rob McFarland told Biggs that she and SVT were “amazing,” adding “The transportation service is fundamental to getting folks around the community and we know how hard you fight for it.”