News from King County Department of Transportation
Release date:  Sept. 6, 2006

Metro, community partners launch caravan of new vans to serve residents with special transportation needs

Seniors and people with disabilities living in King County will have better transportation options thanks to a fleet of new passenger vans going into service today.

King County Metro Transit obtained the 21 new passenger vans with a $906,000 state grant and is donating them to eight local agency partners involved in Metro’s Community Access program.

“This is a great program,” said King County Executive Ron Sims, who personally handed out the keys to the new vans today. “For many years, Metro has assisted non-profit agencies in setting up their own transportation programs by providing vehicles and helping with operating costs.

“The agencies benefit because they can customize their transportation program to meet their clients’ needs. And, the community benefits because these programs are often more cost-effective to operate than Metro's federally required paratransit service,” said Sims.

The vans, which seat up to 11 passengers or three wheelchairs, were fully paid for by Washington State Department of Transportation paratransit grant funds obtained by Metro’s Accessible Services program. The vans were distributed to Community Access agencies now using retired Metro vans with very high mileage.

There are currently 20 local service agencies participating in the specialized transportation program. In 2005, Community Access provided more than 127,000 rides to seniors and people with disabilities.

"The success of Metro's Community Access program can be measured in the large numbers and great experiences of the seniors it helps to serve,” said Denise Klein, CEO of Senior Services, the largest non-profit agency serving older people in Washington. “These new vehicles make possible the uninterrupted continuance of service to a diverse population of seniors through King County."

Senior Services drove off with nine new vans today, which will be used to serve their clients living in Des Moines, Shoreline, the Snoqualmie Valley, and those participating in nutrition programs offered by El Centro de la Raza, SeaMar, and United Indians of All Tribes. Other recipients are:

• Kline Galland and Summit at First Hill provides residential and community services for Jewish and non-Jewish seniors in Seattle (2 vans);
• The Pacific Algona Senior Center provides a safe and friendly atmosphere for seniors and disabled residents in and around the cities of Pacific and Algona (1 van);
• Provail provides rehabilitative, residential and employment services for children and adults with disabilities so that they can live better lives (3 vans);
• Providence Elderplace provides health care and social services for older adults by providing comprehensive health care and social services (4 vans);
• Puget Sound Residential Services provides community and residential support services for developmentally disabled adults in King County (1 van); and
• The Wallingford Senior Center serves older adults in the Wallingford neighborhood and surrounding North Seattle (1 van).

Sims said the Community Access program creates transportation efficiencies and promotes a goal of coordinated transportation, because it is based on shared rides delivering both paratransit and other riders to common destinations.

“Last year, Metro’s paratransit program – Access – delivered more than 1 million rides,” said Sims. “Just as Access makes transportation available for people with disabilities who cannot always ride a Metro bus, the Community Access program makes transportation available for seniors and people with disabilities who cannot always ride Access.

Sims said that without the Community Access program a great number of people in King County would be shut-ins.

“This program provides the mobility for them to lead fuller lives and contribute back to the community,” said Sims. “King County and its partners are a model for coordinating transportation with social services. Together, we deliver programs that are even better than what we can do separately.”