Councilmember Kohl-Welles to transfer surplus vanpool vans to organizations serving District 4 and King County

May 15, 2019

Summary

“The van retirement program is a creative way for us to support people who are actively working to make our County a better place for all.”

Story

Metropolitan King County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles announced today that four organizations will receive retired Metro Transit Vanpool vans to provide transportation assistance to for low-income, elderly or young people or people with disabilities.

“Delivering ‘retired’ vans to organizations that help people throughout my district is one of my favorite parts of my job,” said Kohl-Welles. “The van retirement program is a creative way for us to support people who are actively working to make our County a better place for all.”

The organizations receiving vans this year are:

• Catholic Community Services – Sacred Heart Shelter
• Friends of the Children – Seattle
• Progress House Association – Beacon Hill location
• United Indians of All Tribes Foundation

The vanpool program provides mobility for a diverse array of King County residents, supports the positive work of various local organizations, and relieves traffic congestion by reducing the need for single-occupancy vehicles.

Governments, agencies and organizations that receive the vans must meet specific requirements:

• Capacity to support ongoing van operation, including assured funding for licensing, insuring, fueling and maintaining the van;
• Ability to provide qualified and trained drivers;
• Specific plans for use of the van to transport low-income, elderly or young people or people with disabilities, and assurance that the use shall be available to those persons without regard to affiliation with any particular organization;
• Ability to support county's public transportation function by reducing single occupancy vehicle trips, pollution and traffic congestion; supplementing services provided by the county's paratransit system and increasing the mobility for the transit-dependent for whom regular transit might not always be a convenient option.

Interested organizations can contact Councilmember Kohl-Welles for more information on applying for a vehicle.