 In their most recent expansion in 1997 , the Snohomish County PTBA annexed the Eastmont and Silver Firs census @-@ designated places between Everett and Mill Creek , as well as the Tulalip Indian Reservation west of Marysville . During the same year , CT awarded its $ 31 @.@ 8 million ( equivalent to $ 46 @.@ 9 million in 2016 ) commuter service contract to Grosvenor Bus Lines , which would later fold into First Transit , replacing their first subcontractor , Ryder / ATE Management . The agency introduced the first low @-@ floor articulated buses in the United States into its fleet in 1999 , purchasing 17 60 @-@ foot @-@ long ( 18 m ) buses from New Flyer to improve accessibility for older and disabled riders . Service improvements throughout the 1990s , including raising service hours to over 11 million , led to ridership peaking at 8 @.@ 8 million by the end of the decade and the agency 's 100 millionth rider being celebrated in April 2000 . The passage of Initiative 695 in 1999 , which capped the state motor @-@ vehicle excise tax at $ 30 , forced transit agencies throughout the state to cut service in anticipation of lower revenue . Facing the loss of $ 18 million ( equivalent to $ 24 @.@ 7 million in 2016 ) , or 30 percent of its annual operating budget , Community Transit eliminated all weekend service and increased fares on its routes in February 2000 . With the service cuts , CT began its VanGO program to donate its retired paratransit minibuses to nonprofit organizations in Snohomish County instead of auctioning them off . Saturday service was reinstated in September 2000 , using emergency funds approved by the CT Board , while Sunday service returned in 2001 after the passage of a 0 @.@ 3 percentage @-@ point tax increase by voters in the PTBA . Further restoration of service came in 2003 , with increased frequency and the replacement of 50 buses in the agency 's fleet made possible by a budget surplus and the sales tax increase approved in 2002 , and in 2005 , with increased fares . 
