absorbed by Greyhound. Two previous attempts to establish a bus system, under the Snohomish County Transportation Authority (SNOTRAN) in 1974, were rejected by voters from the entirety of Snohomish County. Heavy opposition came from the residents of Everett because of the high sales tax rate and planned absorption of Everett Transit, acquired by the city in 1969, forcing the SCPTBA to exclude Everett in its successful attempt at creating a bus system. SCPTBA Public Transit began operating in the cities of Brier, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Marysville, Mountlake Terrace, Snohomish and Woodway on October 4, 1976, using 18 leased GMC buses on seven routes carrying 6,414 passengers without fares during the first week. SCPTBA Public Transit, whose service was known colloquially as the "Blue Bus" for its blue livery, carried 951,200 passengers in its first year of service on 15 local routes and 16 commuter express routes to Downtown Seattle and Northgate, contracted through King County Metro as a continuation of service provided by the Metropolitan Transit Corporation to southern Snohomish County before its merger with Seattle Transit System in 1973. The buses ran for 16 hours a day, charging a base fare of 20 cents (equivalent to $ in ). Early on, the busiest local line was Route R14, accounting for 21 percent of system ridership in the first three months, running from the Edmonds waterfront to Lynnwood and the Boeing Everett Factory. The agency acquired its first federal subsidies from the Urban Mass Transportation Administration for the 1978 fiscal year, to be used on the purchase of 18 new buses as well as bus stop amenities, such as stop signs and shelters. Growth and contracted service (1980s) Community Transit was selected as the official name of the agency on June 19, 1979, recommended by Seattle-based public relations firm McConnell Company ahead of the winners of a public contest held by SCPTBA two years prior. CT continued to grow through the end of the decade, annexing the cities of Arlington, Lake Stevens, Monroe, Granite Falls, Mukilteo, Stanwood and Sultan into the PTBA by 1980; the bus system had the largest growth in ridership within the state in 1980, with local routes gaining 68.3 percent more riders and Metro-operated "Cream Buses" to Seattle gaining 21.4 percent more riders. Metro altered their numbering scheme for Snohomish County routes in 1981, creating the 400-series of routes to coincide with the opening of the state's