A Seattle Children’s shuttle leaving the hospital in Seattle. Photo: SDOT. Blog stats: 550 words | 3-minute read
At-a-glance:
- We’ve launched the Employer Shuttles Program in Seattle.
- The program will help more people get to work smoothly and sustainably using shuttle buses provided by their employers.
- This builds upon a pilot program that has been operating in Seattle since 2017.
- We’ve found that the program has been effective and has resulted in no significant negative impacts on transit, street use, or shuttle operations.
- We are excited to expand the program to reach more employers and people moving forward.
- If you are an employer who wants to learn more about this opportunity, or an employee who may wish to share it with your company, please visit our updated web page for details and answers to a variety of frequently asked questions.
We’ve launched the Employer Shuttles Program in Seattle. Sustainable travel options like walking, biking, and riding transit are vital to a reliable, well-rounded transportation system. Many companies in and around Seattle offer shuttle services for their employees. These shuttles help workers travel more easily between work sites, fill transportation gaps, serve key travel markets, and reduce emissions from people driving alone.
The program will serve as a one-stop shop for employers operating shuttles in the city of Seattle to work with us at the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) regarding the logistics and operations of their shuttle system. In addition to using existing passenger and shuttle load zones and applying for new load zones, employers can now also apply to use existing King County Metro bus stops as part of their shuttle routes, with some limits.
This program was originally called the Employer Shared Transit Stop Pilot and it began as a pilot project in 2017, with support from King County Metro, Microsoft, and Seattle Children’s Hospital. We tested out sharing a dozen bus stops around the city with employer shuttles and the pilot project went smoothly, with no significant negative impacts on transit, street use, or shuttle operations. We worked closely with our pilot project partners and their shuttle operators to keep lines of communication open and ensure that streets and bus stops were kept open and available.
Creating more opportunities to take transit, shuttles, and other shared modes will help us reach our climate goals outlined in the City’s Climate Change Response Framework. 9 out of every 10 trips in Seattle would need to be carbon neutral by 2050 to reach this goal, most of which will be taken on public transit or other shared modes. Employer shuttles help us reach our climate goals by offering more shared travel mode options.
How to learn more:
- Visit our website for more details and a list of FAQs for riders and employers.
- Contact our team with any questions at EmployerShuttles@seattle.gov or (206) 256-5511.
- Read our Director’s Rule which enables the program to move forward.
- Learn more about the permit requirements to participate in the program.
- Apply for a permit for a shuttle route.
