 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 , after the opening of the state 's largest park and ride in Lynnwood . The annexations of outlying communities in northern and eastern Snohomish County and the completion of park and rides in Edmonds and Mountlake Terrace saw ridership rise to over 3 million passengers by 1983 . Community Transit took over the remaining commuter routes to Seattle in 1989 , after commuter service was subcontracted to American Transportation Enterprises in 1986 . The move to a private carrier was opposed by both Metro and the Amalgamated Transit Union , but the introduction of 49 air conditioned coaches by ATE led to a 25 percent increase in ridership by January 1987 . Commuter express service via Interstate 405 from CT park and rides in South Snohomish County to the Eastside cities of Bellevue and Redmond began in 1988 and 1990 , respectively , while Seattle service was expanded with weekend service in 1990 . The agency dedicated its own 20 @-@ acre ( 8 @.@ 1 ha ) bus base at Kasch Park in 1985 , replacing shared operations with the Edmonds School District and Everett Transit , at a cost of $ 4 @.@ 8 million ( equivalent to $ 106 million in 2016 ) that was mostly subsidized by the Urban Mass Transit Administration . 
