King County Employees who come to work via bus, rail, streetcar, carpool, vanpool, biking, or walking are eligible for eight free taxi rides home each year in cases of personal emergency or unexpected requests to work overtime.

Who is eligible

The Home Free Guarantee is available to all King County employees who are eligible for transportation benefits.

It is not available to others in your family, even if they are covered as dependents for your other benefits. Your spouse or partner may have a similar benefit through his or her own employer, which may be called “guaranteed ride home” or “emergency ride home.”

When it can be used

1. If you came to work by bus, rail, streetcar, shared ride driven by someone else, bike, or on foot AND…
2. You are in one of the following situations:
   • You become ill, have a child-care emergency, or you or a family member experience a severe crisis while you are at work.
   • You are unexpectedly asked by a supervisor to work past the end of your regular work hours.
   • You are stranded at work because your carpool or vanpool driver had to leave due to an emergency.

When it can’t be used

• When you drove to work alone 
• When your car is in the shop, not working, or ... 
• When you missed your bus, train, or ...
• When your train stopped running due to mud slide,  accident, snow, or ...
• When you have personal errands
• When you have planned medical and other appointments
• When you have a business-related travel (i.e., going to meetings)
• When you work late without a supervisor’s request
• When you planned to work late or planned to work overtime (i.e., you knew of the fact that you had to work late before you came to work)
• Early dismissal from work or office closure
• Region-wide weather emergencies that cause roads to be impassable

Details

• You can use the service up to eight times per calendar year.
• Rides are limited to 60 miles one-way.
• Where you may be taken:
  • Home
  • The start of your commute (i.e., where you parked your car to meet your transit or rideshare ride)
  • Your child’s school or daycare
  • A hospital or doctor’s office (note that a Home Free Guarantee ride to a medical facility is not a replacement for an ambulance if you are experiencing a health emergency)

How to arrange for a ride

1. Call the Employee Transportation Program Hotline at 206‑477‑5800. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Select the option for Home Free Guarantee.
2. You will be connected to a dispatch service that handles such calls from many employers. Tell them you are a King County employee (not your department or work group). You will be asked how you arrived at work (for example, by bus), the nature of your emergency, your employee ID/ORCA number, and your pickup and destination addresses.
3. The dispatcher will send a taxi to your pickup address. Provide a phone number where the driver can reach you if needed. If there are several entrances to your building, be very specific about the pickup location.
4. The taxi will take you to your destination. When you’ve reached your destination, the taxi driver will ask you to sign a voucher and will then give you a signed copy. The Employee Transportation Program will cover the cost of the taxi ride. It is customary to tip a taxi driver, but this is optional and is your responsibility. The program does not cover or reimburse tips.
   
   Mail your completed taxi receipt to:
   Home Free Guarantee
   KSC-TR-0326
   201 S Jackson Street
   Seattle, WA 98104