Vans will also have a bike rack with two bike slots. Each van will be equipped with wheelchair accessible ramps and can seat two wheelchair riders. Pingo will use small transit vans capable of carrying up to 14 passengers. Pingo will use small transit vans to operate service. Riders using the service will be able to travel anywhere in the service area, but trips must start or end at one of two hubs, which include Kent Station and the Kent Valley Hub at S 212th Street and 64th Avenue S - which is located near the large Amazon fulfillment center, which employs approximately 3,000 workers, 600 to 800 per shift. It also includes a portion of Downtown Kent to pick up Kent Station and the James Street Park-and-Ride. The service area will span throughout the valley as west as the Green River, north to S 188th Street, east to 132nd Avenue SE, and south to S/SE 240th Street. Nevertheless, local transit agencies remain enthusiastic about on-demand microtransit expansion, and Pingo will operate within a large service area of Kent. Via to Transit also had a disproportionate representation of White riders when compared to the census demographics of the service area. Additionally, despite features intended to increase access to people underserved by transit, ridership in low-income communities did not increase appreciably. The report found that Via to Transit only provided a first-/last-mile solution for about 5% of light rail riders, nearly a quarter of whom had previously used buses to connect to light rail. However, a recent University of Washington report raised many issues with Metro’s Via to Transit program that raise questions about microtransit’s achievements. And Community Transit is developing two pilot microtransit service areas set to start in 2022. Kitsap Transit launched its own microtransit service with Pingo on Bainbridge Island in July. Pierce Transit restored and expanded its Runner version earlier this month and has a vision for expansion. These kinds of on-demand mobility options connecting users to established transit have increasingly become popular with Puget Sound transit agencies. The service runs similarly to Seattle’s Via to Transit, which recently was expanded - including to neighboring Renton to the north - and to Crossroads Connect, which serves Metro RapidRide B Line and the Eastgate Park and Ride in Bellevue. Known as Pingo, King County Metro is piloting the service throughout much of the Kent Valley, East Hill, and Panther Lake areas. (Credit: King County)Ī new on-demand microtransit service launched in the Kent area today. A postcard depicting a Pingo to Transit van and riders.
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