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Week of Apr. 2, 2007
Drive less, and you could save more in county pilot project There are rewards down the road for local automobile commuters who choose to reduce the number of miles they drive by taking transit, vanpools or bicycling to work.
King County is leading a statewide pilot program that links car insurance rates to the number of miles driven. The less you drive, the less you could pay for automobile insurance. The program, known as Pay-As-You-Drive or PAYD, was recently awarded a $1.9 million federal grant. The grant, combined with other public and private matching funds, will allow King County and its partners to launch the PAYD project beginning next year. It will be phased in over a five-year period and will recruit a minimum of 5,000 vehicle owners from all across the state of Washington. Unigard Insurance and the Washington State Department of Transportation are partners in the program, which for the first time will collect comprehensive data about driver behavior when insurance rates are based on actual vehicle usage. King County Executive Ron Sims said the program was developed as a new way of approaching mobility and also reaping the environmental and health benefits of people driving less. "'Pay-As-You-Drive' could revolutionize how people use their cars and be a powerful tool for improving mobility, improving air quality and reducing global warming," said Sims. Participants in the PAYD program will be provided with a GPS-based device that plugs into their vehicle's diagnostic system. The device will then track where, when, how much, and how fast the vehicle is driven. The data will be used to develop the PAYD insurance product and to price insurance premiums. The data obtained during the pilot will also be shared with the Washington State Insurance Commissioner. The initial project years, managed by King County Metro Transit, will be primarily devoted to data collection. The partners hope the program will someday result in insurance rates based on miles driven that will eventually lead to fewer car trips. PAYD has the support of several agencies, including, the Washington Department of Transportation, the cities of Bellevue, Seattle and Redmond, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Transportation Choices Coalition, the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, Flexcar, Sightline Institute and Climate Solutions. These partners will help Metro and Unigard recruit participants and support other program elements.
Now it’s time to play ball! 
The Mariners are opening up the 2007 baseball season this week, and Metro is ready to take you out to the game. Metro and the Mariners have a fully battery of regular bus routes and special shuttles to and from the stadium. Beginning with post-game service on Tuesday, April 3, the Mariners and Metro will offer special service to 12 outlying park-and-ride lots for night and weekend games. The fare for special buses is $3 each way. This premium park-and-ride service operates after weeknight games and both before and after weekend games. It is not available for weekday games that begin before 5 p.m. For regular service to the game, Metro’s convenient online Trip Planner allows you to easily research which routes provide the best connection from your home or office to the ballpark. Detailed information for all Mariners service is available on the Metro Online website. Or, call (206) 553-3000 (voice) or (206) 684-1739 (TTY) |
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Roads deals with April (snow) showers 
King County Road Services Division crews have found out that the winter of 2006-2007 is just not giving up. Maintenance crews in Skykomish had to dig out their equipment early Monday morning to respond to snow and ice throughout the area. Crews plowed and sanded the county roads, and will be on standby the rest of the week for whatever weather comes our way.
Wednesday & Thursday, April 4-5 – Metro Transit is making plans to extend the electric trolley overhead wire in neighborhoods in the Rainier Valley and Beacon Hill to connect the bus system with stations on the Link light rail line now under construction. Before finalizing the design for the extension, Metro is looking for public comments about these plans, and will host two open houses. The meetings will be held: April 4, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Rainier Community Center, 4600 38th Avenue S., Seattle; and April 5, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the New Holly Gathering Hall, 7054 32nd Avenue S., Seattle. Thursday, April 5 – The King County Road Services Division will hold two separate public hearings to gather public comments about lowering the speed limits on sections of West Snoqualmie Valley Road Northeast (9 a.m.) west of Duvall and on four streets near Enumclaw (11 a.m.). Both meetings will be held in Room 2A of King Street Center, 201 South Jackson Street, Seattle. Written comments are also being accepted through March 30. | Subscribe to DOT DashSign-up to receive an e-mail text version of "Transportation Today," along with other significant DOT news by sending an e-mail to us with subscribe King County DOT Dash in the subject line.
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