|
|
 |
||
|
Media Center
|
You are in:
Transportation >
Transportation Today
> News |
|
  |
||
|
More Eastsiders leaving cars at home to share the ride
“In January, we launched the ‘Fill It Up, Again!’ campaign, and we are seeing great results in just a short time,” said Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond. “In the first three months of 2008, more than 700 vanpoolers have received rewards and more than 300 people in Bellevue and Renton have registered their carpools with Metro.” The ”Fill It Up, Again!” promotion is a continuation of last year’s successful countywide “Fill It Up” campaign. During the 2007 program, Metro formed more than 200 new vanpools and vanshares. The idea is to reward commuters with a gift card to begin vanpooling, knowing that once they get started the ease, convenience, and monetary savings of leaving their own cars at home will hook them. Commuters who work in the cities of Bellevue or Renton can receive rewards for carpooling. It starts by registering your carpool at RideshareOnline to receive a gift card just for signing up. Commuters who carpool at least four times a month can enter a drawing for one of 150 rewards. This is not the only program targeted at commuters along the I-405 corridor. The popular In Motion program has increased awareness of ridesharing travel options among Bellevue residents since 2006. The program continues in 2008 focusing on influencing the home-based trip making decisions of downtown Bellevue residents. Within a few months, Metro will launch In Motion for people who live in the downtown Renton area. Later this year, it will be extended to the Renton Highlands. The In-Motion program reduces drive-alone car trips by promoting transit use, ridesharing, bicycling, and foot-power at the neighborhood level. The Renton program will also include Residential Transportation Coordinators (RTC) to disseminate transit information and help their neighbors navigate new ways of traveling. In Bellevue, Metro will be reaching out to the more than 8,000 hospitality industry workers employed by local hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Downtown Bellevue currently has 11 hotels and 100 restaurants along with more than 200 retail stores. Metro’s goal – both with the hospitality industry and other downtown Bellevue businesses – is to work with employers to help with carpool formation and offer subsidized transit passes. Desmond says in this time of rising gas prices and increasing traffic congestion all the different programs should net big results. In 2007, Metro formed 175 new vanpools and 69 new vanshares for more than 1,000 commuter vans in operation at year-end. The Metro VanPool program provided more than 2.6 million rides last year. And, more than 20,000 new participants requested carpool or vanpool assistance through RideshareOnline, a 16-percent increase over 2006. “Throughout the Metro system, it’s already looking great for 2008,” said Desmond. “When you compare the first three months of this year to 2007, we’ve seen an 11 percent increase in the number of new vanpools and a 33 percent increase in new commuters looking to participate in a carpool or vanpool. It shows people really want new travel options.” |
||
|
|
|
Subscribe to
DOT
Dash Sign-up to receive an e-mail text version of "Transportation Today," along with other significant DOT news by sending an e-mail to us. |
| King County Department of
Transportation See How to contact us Updated: April 03, 2008 |
|
DOT Home |
|
King County | News | Services | Comments | Search |
| Links to external sites do
not constitute endorsements by King County. By visiting this and other King County Web pages, you expressly agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this site. The details. |
