More choices for many needs


Every Metro customer has different travel needs.

To meet them, we’re planning to significantly expand the range of travel options we offer, complementing regular bus service. We’ll continue to develop convenient choices through flexible transit and new, cutting edge innovations. We’ll also work to make sure that any service we operate considers special mobility needs and is designed for accessibility.

To fulfill this vision we’ll work with local communities and with public and private transportation providers. We’ll explore flexible transportation options, programs that encourage travel choices, and new choices that will emerge with rapidly changing technology. We’ll pay particular attention to how new services work together to provide the most mobility and value.



Woman considering mobility choices.

 

Metro has always been an innovator, breaking new ground with services like the nation’s largest public vanpool program, wheelchair lifts and bike racks on buses, employer passes, and recently a pilot project that gives vouchers for Lyft or Uber rides in an emergency 

As we move toward 2040, our flexible transit program will continue to tap new advances in technology to provide real-time, on-demand transit. And we’ll extend the program’s reach with new products to serve low-income and minority communities.

 

What we’ll do:

  • Increase the proportion of local service planned through our flexible transit program.
  • Practice inclusion planning to ensure we provide fair treatment, access, and opportunity for everyone we serve. We’ll work to make general public transit service more accessible, and find better and more cost-effective ways to provide ADA-paratransit service.
  • Grow our research and development function to study and pilot new products.
  • Make it easier to move between Metro and other transportation providers—for example, co-locating transit with carshare or bikeshare system, or integrating payment.
  • Increase the number of small employers and property owners who provide ORCA cards to employees and renters to further increase Metro’s highly successful ORCA Passport program.