By Joe Smillie, Forum Editor

Riders of Clallam Transit’s Number 14 bus between Forks and Port Angeles can plug in as they ride as the transit agency tests a new on-board Wi-Fi connection.

“We’re excited about this. We’re going to try it out and see how it goes,” Clallam Transit General Manager Wendy Clark-Getzin told the West End Business Professional Association at a breakfast meeting earlier this month.

Transit officials have loaded the bus between Forks and Port Angeles, as well as the Sequim to Port Angeles route, with “MiFi” devices from Verizon Wireless that provide a wireless Internet signal that extends 33 feet – about the length of a bus – that can be tapped into by up to 10 phones or computers.

Clark-Getzin said the Wi-Fi hub costs Clallam Transit $39.99 per month for service.

The free connection will be available to riders during the test run through Sept. 5.

If all goes well, Clark-Getzin said, the transit authority may extend it to other bus routes throughout the county.

If the “MiFi” system proves ineffective – if signal drops or is insufficient, Clallam Transit could upgrade to stronger devices. Clark-Getzin, though, said those devices cost more than $1,000 per month, likely out of the bus system’s funding capacity.

She asked passengers who use the system to report back to Clallam Transit with their experiences at info@clallamtransit.com.