Metro Bringing 2 New Services To Shoreline, Lake Forest Park

SHORELINE, WA - King County Metro will bring two new transit options to Shoreline and Lake Forest Park beginning Monday. The new options include a van you can reserve and an on-demand shuttle.

Note: Due to road conditions, the on-demand Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Community Ride will not operate the night of Feb. 5 and will resume service as soon as conditions improve. Because Community Van is reserved in advance, you can still contact the Community Transportation Coordinator starting today to book future group trips.

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The Community Ride service, which first launched in Black Diamond-Enumclaw in March 2017, travels within a specified area instead of traveling along a fixed route with a set schedule. In December 2018, Normandy Park Community Ride launched, serving riders in all of Normandy Park and portions of Burien, Des Moines and SeaTac. Both of these services require phone reservations at least two hours in advance.

Shoreline-Lake Forest Park’s service differs from these existing Community Ride services in that it is app-enabled and on demand. Advanced reservations are not required, nor available.

The new service will operate in the evenings only and allow residents to easily connect to local points of interest as well as transportation hubs. In 2014, Shoreline’s bus route 331 ceased its evening operation due to low ridership at the time. Community Ride will address the resulting gap in service past 6 p.m.

How to use Community Ride

• Book trips on-demand using the Community Ride app anywhere throughout the service area. Starting Tuesday, Feb. 5, download the Community Ride app by visiting the App Store (iOS) or the Google Play store (Android) and searching “Community Ride.”
• Riders without access to a smartphone or data plan may book rides by phone at 1-855-233-1880.
• Hours of operation: Monday – Saturday 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• All Community Ride vehicles are wheelchair accessible and have bike racks.
• All standard Metro fares and payment methods apply, including ORCA, cash, paper transfers and mobile ticketing.

The initiation of Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Community Van will complement the area’s new Community Ride service in that it can provide group trips 24/7 and is reserved in advance. Group trip requests are made through a local Community Transportation Coordinator. This local, paid representative then finds a volunteer driver to fulfill the trip request and makes the transportation opportunity public to the community at large. The minimum group size is two riders plus a driver.

The Community Van service is available to any resident of Shoreline or Lake Forest Park. The service area is flexible; reserved trips must simply originate within the boundaries of the cities of Shoreline or Lake Forest Park.

This person-to-person booking approach has been successfully implemented by Metro in partnership with other communities such as Bothell-Woodinville, Vashon, and Duvall.

How to use Community Van

• Pre-schedule a Community Van trip by contacting Shoreline-Lake Forest Park’s Community Transportation Coordinator, Bree Boyce, at Communityvan@Hopelink.org.
• Make a new trip request at least 48 hours in advance of your desired trip. Riders wishing to join existing scheduled trips may join same day by contacting the CTC.
• Community Van is eligible for use 24-7
• Community Van has 12-passenger or 6 passenger vans available, depending on group size. ADA-equipped vans are available upon request.
• All monthly ORCA passes, including transfers, are accepted along with mobile tickets via the Transit GO app. Drivers are unable to accept cash payment.

Image courtesy King County Metro