“Islanders and tourists can again travel Whidbey by bus on Saturdays beginning August 12.That’s the date Island Transit will resume Saturday service, said Martha Rose, director, on Thursday.Saturday service was cut last December following voter approval of Initiative 695 which eliminated the motor vehicle excise tax through which Island Transit derived 60 percent of its funding. But local voters restored the bulk of the funding in April by approving a new transit sales tax of three-tenths of one percent.Rose said the restored Saturday service is what people want, but it won’t be as extensive as that which existed before I-695. Even with the new sales tax, she noted, Island Transit is still operating at about 80 percent of its pre-695 funding level.But transit users who have seen the new Saturday plans like them, according to Rose. It’s a nice spine route. People say ‘that’s great, that’s what we want’.Beginning August 12, there will be six Saturday buses on the road. That compares to 11 before I-695. The cost for the entire day of service will be $1,800, about $3,000 less than before. As always, no fares will be charged.The first Saturday bus will begin in Oak Harbor at 7:15 a.m. and reach the Clinton ferry dock at 8:50 a.m., following stops in Coupeville, Keystone and Langley. Then service will continue on the hour until 5 p.m. The last bus to leave the ferry dock will depart at 6:30 p.m.Rose said flyers containing the new schedule will soon be printed and handed out to transit users.Island Transit is also adjusting some weekday routes to compensate for its decreased funding, Rose said, although she does not expect any routes to be eliminated. We’ve got to make some tweaks, she said. There will be no service lost, but a change of hours, maybe.Those proposed tweaks will be announced soon, and then a meeting held on South Whidbey to discuss them with the public.”