Headways Newsletter: October 2025
The Carlisle II in silhouette, tied up at the Bremerton dock.
Happy Halloween! This month, we’ve got news about a new partnership that is providing life-saving medication at transit centers, a temporary policy change that allows federal employees to ride transit for free, and an update on our fast ferry service for the month of November. Check it out below!
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Federal employees can ride transit for free during federal government shutdown
Buses stage at the Bremerton Transportation Center with the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in the background.
All federal employees will be able to ride free temporarily on Kitsap Transit, Pierce Transit, and Mason Transit Authority services during the government shutdown.
Federal employees who present their ID can ride fare-free on all Kitsap Transit services, including Routed, Worker/Driver, On-Demand, ACCESS, local Foot Ferries, Fast Ferries and Vanpools.
Kitsap Transit partners with Salish Behavioral Health to place naloxone cabinets at transit hubs in Bremerton and Port Orchard
A naloxone cabinet at the Port Orchard Ferry Dock.
Kitsap Transit and the Salish Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization (BHASO) have partnered to place cabinets stocked with naloxone – a medication that reverses opioid overdoses – at the Bremerton Transportation Center and Port Orchard Ferry Dock.
Potential service disruptions on all Kitsap Fast Ferries routes during October and November
The Kitsap Fast Ferries logo on the side of the M/V Enetai.
Due to a shortage of spare vessels, Kitsap Transit fast ferry riders may experience more trip cancellations in October and November on all three of its cross-sound routes.
ORCA vending machines now selling paper bus and ferry tickets
A young bus rider uses an ORCA ticket vending machine at the Bremerton Transportation Center.
Kitsap Transit ferry riders can now purchase one-way paper tickets from ORCA vending machines at the ferry terminals in Southworth, Port Orchard, Bremerton, Kingston and Seattle.
Customers can still purchase Kitsap Transit ferry tickets at the regular vending machines at the Bremerton and Kingston ferry docks.
Get around easier with Kitsap Transit’s new informational tools
A rider looks at a paper Kitsap Fast Ferry schedule.
Throughout 2025, Kitsap Transit has been working to improve the tools we use to communicate with the public. We’ve upgraded our rider alert software and real-time bus tracking capabilities; improved the availability of our print and web schedules; and are rolling out a text-for-arrivals tool that lets riders quickly receive the next three arrivals at a particular stop.
Tips for riding transit safely during the darker winter months
A Kitsap Transit bus departs the Bremerton Transportation Center.
After the clocks “fall back” on Sunday, November 2, it will start getting darker earlier in the evening.
During the darker winter months, your bus driver may have difficulty seeing you alongside the road. We’ve put together some helpful tips to stay safe while boarding your bus.