Commuters on the Pierce Transit Route 496 from the Bonney Lake Park and Ride to the Sumner Sounder Station can breathe a little easier as Pierce Transit Board last week decided to maintain the route through at least June 2012.

Originally slated to disappear in February, Bonney Lake Mayor Neil Johnson, who serves as the small cities representative on the board, said a decision was made to maintain the route for at least four additional months.

“It’s an important route,” Johnson said. “It’e the one route out of all of them that people need and use.”

The 496 is the only Pierce Transit route east of Puyallup still running following the October cutback of services that followed the February failure of a sales tax increase needed to fill a growing budget gap at the transit authority.

Pierce Transit Spokesman Lars Erickson confirmed the decision to maintain the route, but said there was still discussion of the hours it would run and added that other services would probably need to be cut to maintain that route, which continues to be very popular.

Johnson said the ultimate solution to transit and the 496 route in particular is something that will be made in the future, but said this at least gives them a little more time to work on a transit plan.

“It’s a good thing for Bonney Lake,” he said.