BREMERTON, Wash. –
This will come as no surprise to longtime shipyard employees, but there's a common refrain running throughout the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility workforce: “Parking in Bremerton sucks!”
"There's not enough parking" and "it's too expensive" are also complaints that appear regularly in response to social media posts and in the shipyard commander’s comment box. And it doesn't stop there. Questions about Navy parking options also come up on a regular basis during quarterly town hall meetings hosted by Capt. JD Crinklaw, commander, PSNS & IMF.
While building an additional parking garage on Navy Base Kitsap-Bremerton is part of the Area Development Plan under the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program, additional Navy parking is likely years away. However, there is a way to avoid enduring a frustrating quest to find convenient parking that is available right NOW. It’s called mass transit.
Nick Grim, Quality of Life program manager, Code 1101.1, Strategic Workforce Partnerships, works closely with local transit agencies to help ensure they know what the PSNS & IMF workforce needs and wants in alternative transportation options. He highly recommends commuters consider all options that allow them to avoid parking downtown.
“All employees without readily available or assigned parking spaces should consider avoiding the frustrations of traffic, parking, and fuel consumption — especially in times like these — and see if utilizing a worker/driver bus or becoming part of a carpool/vanpool is right for them,” said Grim, who's currently working with Kitsap Transit on an upcoming Commute Trip Reduction Survey for command employees. “For those hesitant of being lumped onto public transit with strangers, they can gather a few PSNS & IMF friends and form a vanpool.”
Routed buses, foot ferries, Worker/Driver buses, vanpools, carpools and even walking or bicycling are all ways to avoid a daily potential parking problem. Most of these options are FREE for federal workers. They all help avoid the cost of paying for parking, or the hassle of trying to relocate a vehicle multiple times a day to avoid a parking violation.
How about a TIP?
Federal employees eligible for the Federal Transportation Incentive Program can take advantage of alternative transportation options offered by local transit agencies, including but not limited to Kitsap Transit, Mason Transit Authority and Pierce Transit. TIP users can load most transportation agency passes onto an ORCA card for use with Worker/Driver buses, foot ferries, (qualified) vanpools, light rail, as well as routed buses. However, Mason Transit does not accept them for the Worker/Driver bus.
As of Jan. 1, 2026, Department of the Navy transit benefit participants are eligible for transit benefits up to $340 per month for specific pre-approved commuter mass transit transportation costs not to exceed actual expenses. Parking fees are not included.
The TIP only covers walk-on ferry riders. Ferries are not approved as a means of shuttling Personally Owned Vehicles from one point to another where the completion of the journey to an individual's duty station is completed in the POV.
Participants must accurately claim an amount that reflects their actual commuting cost. Failure to do so will result in a fraudulent certification on the application and is subject to criminal prosecution. This program is a benefit, not an entitlement; thus, there is no retroactive reimbursement.
Employees interested in the TIP should reach out to a Reviewing Official at the Payroll Office located in Bldg. 850A, 2nd floor, adjacent to the elevators. They can provide step-by-step visual guides on how to sign up for the TIP and provide additional information, depending on what transit agency an employee intends to use.
For more information about TIP, go to https://tips.navy.mil/cas/TipsFaqs.jsp, or on the command’s SharePoint site at https://flankspeed.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/NAVSEA_PSNSIMF_C610/TIPs.
Worker/Driver buses
Both Kitsap Transit and Mason Transit Authority offer Worker/Driver buses that drop riders off inside the Controlled Industrial Area in the morning and pick them up inside the CIA in the afternoons. Kitsap Transit buses serve both Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton and Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. The buses operate much like a large carpool. Worker/Drivers board their bus in the morning and travel to work, picking up co-workers along the way. Once at PSNS & IMF they drop passengers off at various locations throughout the shipyard. After work, they collect up their co-workers and drop them off along their route home.
Even if there are no Worker/Driver buses traveling past potential riders’ homes, riders can meet a bus at a free Park & Ride lot in their area. Many of Kitsap Transit's Park & Ride lots are served by Worker/Driver buses. All potential riders should find a route that works for them and call the Kitsap Transit program supervisor at (360) 478-6222, who will connect them with a Worker/Driver who covers a route convenient for them.
Go to www.kitsaptransit.com/faqs for more information about Kitsap Transit vanpools, routed buses, foot ferries, fast ferries, carpools, VanLink, vanpools, and more. Go to https://www.masontransit.org/workerdriver/ to learn about the Mason Transit Authority Worker/Driver program.
SCOOT along, when needed
Kitsap Transit’s Smart Commuter Option Of Today car-sharing program is offered throughout multiple regions of Kitsap County. SCOOT is an alternative to using a personal vehicle for medical appointments, grabbing lunch, getting a massage, getting a haircut, or any errands that need to be taken care of during the workday. Individuals who travel to or from work by foot, bike, bus, walk-on ferry, carpool, or vanpool can qualify for this free service once they register as a Smart Commuter.
SCOOT drivers apply for the program and then receive a training guide. They use an app that is available for both Apple and Android phones to book a reservation to run their errands. They pick up a car at one of the dedicated SCOOT parking spaces. When finished with their trip, they return the vehicle to its parking spot and lock the doors using the app.
There are SCOOT locations near the Bremerton Ferry Terminal, by the Norm Dicks Government Building, and near Trident Refit Facility-Bangor. Learn more about the SCOOT program at www.kitsaptransit.com/scoot, by calling (360) 876-7433, or by sending an email to scoot@kitsaptransit.com.
If you need a Guaranteed Ride Home
The Kitsap Transit Guaranteed Ride Home program will reimburse a Smart Commuter’s emergency ride home for anyone who qualifies. Smart Commuters who use alternative transportation options — carpooling, vanpooling, public transit, bicycling, walking or riding a ferry as a walk-on passenger — can be reimbursed for a Guaranteed Ride Home if an unexpected circumstance arises. Taxi, Uber and Lyft rides or equivalent options may qualify.
Riders can get a Guaranteed Ride Home if:
- They or an immediate family member experience an illness or crisis
- Their carpool or vanpool ride is unavailable due to unexpected changes in the driver’s schedule or vehicle breakdown
- They experience bicycle problems, including flat tires, mechanical failures, vandalism, or theft
- They are required to work unexpected overtime that they were not expecting before the start of the workday (Supervisor authorization is required.)
- A home emergency, such as a break-in, fire, flood or similar emergency, occurs at your residence
Guaranteed Ride Home will not be available in the event of a major disaster and may NOT be used for:
- Personal errands
- Inclement weather
- Transit service failure
- Pre-scheduled overtime or appointments
- Pre-planned medical appointments
- Business-related travel
- Working late with at least one day's prior notice or without a supervisor's request
- Trips to the hospital in place of ambulance service (for injury or illness)
- Trips to a doctor’s office or hospital resulting from an on-the-job injury
For more information about the Guaranteed Ride Home program, go to www.kitsaptransit.com/rider-resources/guaranteed-ride-home.
According to Grim, local transit agencies have proven to be valuable partners with PSNS & IMF leadership in trying to provide affordable and convenient alternative transportation options.
“Our transportation partners are continually working to expand services and resources to our workforce via more busses, SCOOT cars, the Guaranteed Ride Home program, and the fast ferries for our distance commuters,” Grim said. “SCOOT cars offer free fuel, while during the recent government shutdown, many services for PSNS & IMF workers were made free.”
Given the cost and hassle of finding convenient and affordable parking downtown, and the easy and free commuting options, why don’t more PSNS & IMF workers use alternative transportation options?
“I think the biggest barrier to using alternate transportation options is the lack of control some people feel, and a general aversion to interacting with too many strangers,” Grimm said. “While I can relate to these concerns, comparing these inconveniences to the rising cost of gas and the lack of available parking, I would make the jump to public commuter options to avoids the parking headache.”
Command employees will have an opportunity to voice their concerns about transportation issues in the coming weeks, Grim said.
"Kitsap Transit has a Commute Trip Reduction Survey happening later this month that all PSNS employees should take part in to let their voices be heard," he said. "The survey will help the transit organizations gather more informed data to develop and expand transit resources for our workforce, which can alleviate parking and traffic issues."