King county’s paratransit system is available for folks who are unable to utilize the typical public transit system- either due to old age or disability. You’ve probably seen the little buses/vans buzzing about and parked all over the place from time to time.
It’s a bit of a process to get accepted into the service (filling out an application signed off by a healthcare professional, an evaluation, etc) but once you become a client it allows you to book rides all over king county and even book out-of-county trips to Snohomish, Pierce, and certain places in Kitsap, Island, and Thurston! You can ride with up to 2 other people who don’t have to be clients of access. and fare is only 1.75$, though you can be eligible for reduced fare, and of course youth’s ride for free.
Not to mention we can book multiple rides for one day, so for example, we could pick you up and take you to a dentist appointment, then take you to a friend’s house, then take you and your friend to the movies, then to a restaurant, and back home all in the same day!
The service isn’t perfect, sometimes the rides are late, you can’t book same day rides, and you can only book rides 7 days in advance, and each ride has to be minimum 30-60 minutes depending on the way it’s scheduled, and certain areas of the county have limited service availability,
If you’re interested in more basic infomation about the service here’s a link to the county’s webpage about it and for more details about the guidelines about the service here’s a digital copy of Access’s Ride Guide booklet.
Personally I find this service to be a bit of a canary in the coalmines about the integrity of local goverment in these scary times of government upheaval, especially in terms if protecting our vulnerable communities from the defunding of services that allow their independence and participation in society.
Hope I was able to arm you with some knowledge today!
submitted by /u/SocialPsychProj
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