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With the September Service Change right around the corner, you’re probably wondering how bus routes running in Bellevue will be different. Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s coming, starting on Saturday, Sept. 17.

King County Metro Routes in Bellevue

• 214
  • Frequency reductions to address workforce shortages.
• 218
  • Frequency reductions to address workforce shortages. Route will add the Eastgate Freeway station stop to the PM (eastbound) trips. 
• 221
  • Frequency reductions to address workforce shortages.
• 249
  • Frequency reductions to address workforce shortages. 
• 250
  • Frequency reductions to address workforce shortages. 
• 255
  • Frequency reductions to address workforce shortages. 
• 257
  • Frequency reductions to address workforce shortages. 
• 271
  • Frequency reductions to address workforce shortages.
• 311
  • Frequency reductions to address workforce shortages. 

Sound Transit Routes in Bellevue

• ST 532
  • Updating schedule to reflect current travel times. Frequency reductions to operator shortage.
• ST 535
  • Updating schedule to reflect current travel times. Frequency reductions due to operator shortage.
• ST 542
  • Frequency reductions due to workforce shortage.
• ST 545
  • Frequency reductions to address workforce shortages.
• ST 550
  • Frequency reductions to address workforce shortages.
• ST 556
  • Frequency reductions to address workforce shortages. 
• ST 560
  • Updating schedule to reflect current travel times.
• ST 566
  • Frequency reductions to address workforce shortages.

For a full breakdown of the September service change check out King County’s and Sound Transit’s pages on the matter.

-Choose Your Way staffer Jake
 

Starting September 1, all youth in Washington will be able to ride transit for free (you read that right)!

Through Move Ahead Washington, riders statewide age 18 and younger can now hop on transit without spending a dime. Local transit agencies are still requesting that these riders tap an ORCA card when riding. Here’s what that entails (From King County Metro):

• Riders age 13 and older are encouraged to show one  of the following to the driver, if they have it:
  • Youth ORCA Card
    • Please “tap” your card when you board. On Sound Transit light rail, please also “tap” when you exit.
    • If you kept the Youth ORCA card issued by your school during the 2021-22 academic year, it will continue to work through June 30, 2023.
  • Current High School or Middle School Student ID
• Youth who do not have one of these can still ride for free, without tapping.
• In 2023 and beyond, youth will be directed to get a Free Youth Transit Pass that allows them to tap a card—or eventually their smartphone—to access transit across the region for free.

For more information, please visit the myorca.com page on youth ride free.

-Choose Your Way Bellevue staffer Alex

Summer weather is finally here and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. It’s time to get outside and enjoy the weather! Here are just a few of the many fun things to do outside this summer:

• Trailhead Bus Routes
  • The sun is back and the weather is inviting us back outside! King County Metro offers Trailhead Direct bus routes that will take you directly to Mount Si and a couple more of your favorite nearby on weekends and holidays. These routes stop at Eastgate (Park-and-Ride) Freeway Station in Bellevue and are a great way to stay active this summer!
• Biking Trails
  •  Want to explore all the wonderful biking trails in Bellevue and beyond? There are plenty of biking trails to check out; check out TrailLink’s webpage to see what’s right for you.
• Enjoy the Parks
  • There are plenty of parks where you can enjoy the sunny weather in Bellevue. Check out the Bellevue parks page on the city’s website for a list!
• Check Out a Free Concert While Riding Around Downtown!
  • Find a little rhythm and drown out the blues with Bellevue Beats, the Bellevue Downtown Association’s music series! Spanning July-September, it reignites Downtown's music scene with free concerts in the Heart of Bellevue. 
• Log Your Trips and Get Rewarded
  • Don’t forget to log all of your non-drive-alone trips in Bellevue through our Choose Your Way Bellevue Rewards program! You’ll be eligible to receive free gift cards and more!

These are just a couple of the many things that you can take part in this summer! Let us know of your favorite summer activity in the comments! 

-Choose Your Way staffer Jake
 

As printed in the June 2022 edition of City of Bellevue’s publication It’s Your City

https://bellevuewa.gov/city-government/departments/city-managers-office/communications/its-your-city

As the pandemic recedes and more people head back to traditional offices, they
can save on gas by busing, carpooling and vanpooling, bicycling or walking. Choose
Your Way Bellevue, a city travel options program, has launched a “Return to Travel”
campaign to help.

By logging days of travel by modes other than solo driving at ChooseYourWayBellevue.
org/rewards, Bellevue travelers may be eligible for the following rewards (Telework
days do not count toward rewards).

• Get Back on the Move: Log 25 days to receive a $50 reward (limit one per participant).
• Stay on the Move: Log eight days in a calendar month to be entered into a drawing for a $25 reward (two recipients will be selected).
• Super Traveler: Log 50 days of non-drive-alone travel in Bellevue in a three-month period and submit a 150-word story describing your experience. Stories will be entered in a drawing for a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones 700, with charging case (or an equivalent gift card), a value of approximately $500.

Unless otherwise noted, reward options include Hulu or Spotify gift cards to enhance
the bus experience; REI gift cards to help with active transportation (biking or walking);
gas cards to help with carpooling; ORCA cards; and vanpool fares. Offers are valid
while supplies last.

Choose Your Way Bellevue promotes alternatives to driving alone for commutes and
other trips. Learn more at ChooseYourWayBellevue.org, including how to ride a bus;
vanpool and carpool partner matching; and personalized commute planning assistance. 

START at the top! Get your company’s management to buy into the benefits of CTR: less money on parking, more green points for your company, and a solid choice of transit benefits create happier, more productive employees. 

KNOW your acronyms! (There are so many!)

• CTR: Commute Trip Reduction
• ETC: Employee Transportation Coordinator
• TDM: Transportation Demand Management
• TMP: Transportation Management Plan
• Non SOV: -Single Occupant Vehicle

DESIGNATE a company Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC) who has excellent people and management skills who can develop, implement and monitor a successful CTR program. Make sure the ETC is registered for training courses (provided by the City of Bellevue) so he/she can understand the need and benefits a solid CTR program can provide to both the company and its employees.

CHOOSE YOUR OFFERINGS! Complete CTR/ETC training and decide what benefits work best for employees at your company: 

•    Transit/ORCA Pass
•    Ride Matching
•    Car or Vanpools
•    Cycling
•    Compressed Workweek
•    Parking Payout
•    Telecommuting/Remote Work
•    All of the Above!

IMPLEMENT & MARKET! Once you decide what CTR elements your company will offer employees, it’s time to implement! Create a webpage, a brochure or a flyer of benefits offered. Orient employees – especially those newly-hired – per the CTR benefits our company offers. Consider hosting transportation fairs.  Send timely emails about various non-Single Occupant Vehicle (SOV) options, and more! The more you promote your CTR program, the more your employees will enjoy the benefits offered and your company will attract and retain the best and the brightest, while cutting down on expensive parking use, helping to ease traffic congestion and lessen pollution.  

STAY IN TOUCH & INFORMED! Join CTR/ETC groups in and around the Puget Sound area. There are many to choose from. Also be sure to utilize the Choose Your Way Bellevue site for the latest information on all forms of non-SOV travel, CTR/ETC updates, models & resources to help promote your program and more!

AND FINALLY! Prepare, prepare, prepare for your company’s biannual employee survey and program report.  The company-wide survey can seem a daunting task initially, but it is completely doable and the information your company gains from the survey results is invaluable. You’ll get a notice 45-days prior to the survey, then set the start date of the survey, and have two weeks to reach the return rate goal of 70%.  In a nutshell, the better your survey return rate, the more knowledgeable you’ll be about your program’s successes and areas that may need improvement. 

And last but not least, thank you for your role in helping KEEP BELLEVUE MOVING!!

-Choose Your Way staffer Alison

The annual Bellevue Family 4th event is back and in full force! Below are some tips and info about how you can get to the event! 

Bus & Walk - Take the bus to the Bellevue Transit Center, walk directly west on the pedestrian corridor (Northeast Sixth Street) to Bellevue Way, and walk two blocks south to get to the Downtown Park. For a walking map, use a Choose Your Way Bellevue Downtown Pedestrian Guide.

Carpool - Make the most of the open seats in your car, grab some friends and head to the free parking that is available after 5 p.m. at The Bellevue Collection properties (Bellevue Square, Lincoln Square North, Lincoln Square South and Bellevue Place). Keep in mind the Main Street Bridge is under construction and cannot be used.  

Cycling - Utilize the high-comfort bike lanes southbound on 108th Avenue and westbound on Main Street to get to Bellevue Downtown Park.  Keep in mind the Main Street Bridge is under construction and cannot be used. Use the Bellevue Bike map ( or the bike icon on Google Maps to help plan your bike trip. Check out the Downtown Bike Parking and Amenities Map for bike parking locations.

-Choose Your Way staffer Jake

With summer kicking off, so does Transportation Choices’ Ride Transit Month for June! We are excited to see more people starting to use transit again as we slowly return to normal. King County Metro has recently been seeing 200,000 daily weekday bus riders, among other encouraging statistics! Here are some benefits to using transit for Ride Transit Month and beyond.
 

Cost: 
•    Transportation is the second largest household expense, with housing being the only expense listed above it. (transportationchoices.org).
•    Gas prices continue to go up making it more expensive to drive alone to work. Meanwhile bus, train, and vanpool fares are remaining the same and there are no current plans to raise them.  
•    By taking any form of public transportation to your destination, you can avoid parking fees. 
•    For more some additional stats, check out one of our previous blogs breaking down the cost of owning a bike vs the cost of owning a car.

Environmental impact:
•    Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Washington State. (transportationchoices.org)
•    At least 14 million pounds of toxic chemicals flow into Puget Sound every year including motor oil spill, drop, and runoff from paved areas. (transportationchoices.org).
•    In Washington, driving accounts for almost 60% of air pollution. (transportationchoices.org).

Saving time and staying active:
•    One in three Washingtonians don’t get enough physical activity. (transportationchoices.org)
•    People who take the train or bus are more likely to get their 30 minutes of recommended physical activity each day. (transportationchoices.org).
•    Trains are among the safest and most reliable forms of transportation during inclement weather. (transportationchoices.org). 

These are just a few of the many benefits that come with riding transit! If you are taking transit to work, make sure you are logging your trips so you can claim rewards like a $50 gift card as part of our “Return-to-Travel” campaign. 

Sources:
https://transportationchoices.org/rider-tools/ 

-Choose Your Way staffer Jake 

Our interview blog series is back! We bring you an interview with different Choose Your Way Bellevue staff, discussing their work and life throughout the last year. This blog’s interviewee is Jake Uttich.

 
What is your occupation?
I am the TDM Outreach Coordinator for TransManage.

Where do you live and work?
I currently live in Seattle and work for the Bellevue Downtown Association.

How has your work life shifted since the beginning of the pandemic?
In the beginning of the pandemic, I was an essential worker and had to go in most days of the week which was stressful. But I have since graduated and began working for TransManage. As a result, I have been working from home most days of the week, which has been a huge relief for me. I look forward to coming back into the office as we slowly migrate back to a “normal” life.  

How has your commute shifted since the beginning of the pandemic?
I used to carpool to work every day with a couple coworkers before the pandemic. I had to switch to driving to work by myself temporarily once it began. Fortunately, since starting with TransManage I have been able to work from home remotely and when I do go into the office, I take the bus. 

What advice would you give to those working from home?
I would say that getting comfortable in your workspace is what is most impactful for me. I miss a lot of the small things from working in an office like being able to pop into a cubicle if I had a quick question that might be tough to word in an email, watching people’s small office plants grow, small talks on my walk to fill up my water bottle, etc. To supplement this, I have been taking walks while I eat my lunch, bought my own house plant for my desk, and bought a bird feeder that I placed outside my window. All little things that keep things loose while also making sure that I stay focused.  

What do you do for fun and how do you get there?
I love being outside! I just moved here from Florida so spending as much time in the mountains as I can has been a priority. I have so far been hiking (Poo Poo Point… Wow!), outdoor bouldering and taking long walks throughout the city hitting an occasional art museum or park. I have so far been carpooling to the mountains with some friends and then I either walk or take the bus when staying in the city. (Editor’s note: Check out King County Metro’s Trailhead Direct for direct bus service to trailheads!)

Want to share your commute story? You can do so through the Mover of the Month reward from our Choose Your Way Bellevue Rewards program! Each month, our staff will select one Bellevue traveler's submission, and their story will be featured in our monthly newsletter. Winners will receive $50 towards your bus or vanpool fare in the form of a TranBen voucher or the equivalent in Choose Your Way Bellevue merchandise! There's no need to reapply each month, but feel free to share more than one story with us. Learn more and submit your commute story here.

-Choose Your Way staffer Jake

Happy Bike Month! Even though Bike Month is coming to a close, that doesn’t mean you have to stop biking. Here is some information regarding the cost of purchasing, maintaining and owning a bike compared to a car. These are just a few of the many things to consider. 

Purchasing: The average cost of buying a bike in America is around $900, a figure that has been steadily rising over the past five years. (Bicycling.com). For the first time ever, the average cost of buying a new car in America has risen to over $47,000 in 2022. This is a more than $6,000 increase from previous years and the biggest jump in the last five years. (Kelley Blue Book).

Maintenance: The cost of maintenance for bicycles is estimated to be at around $350 per year. (Bicycling.com). The average price that an American will spend on having maintenance performed on their car every year is estimated to be just under $800. (AAA.com). 

Other costs: There are additional required costs of owning a car such as insurance, registration, and taxes. Averaged together, these costs are estimated at $1,900 per year. (AAA.com). For bikes, insurance, registration and taxes are not required by law. Some bikers do choose to get bike insurance if it is not already covered under their existing housing or rental insurance policy or if they want additional coverage on their bikes. On average, the estimated cost for that insurance is $400. None of this even includes the amount of money biking saves you from having to put gas in your car.

If you’re looking for additional information about biking in Bellevue, check out our Bike Page and the Bellevue Bike Map.

-Choose Your Way Bellevue staffer Jake

Sources: 
•    https://www.aaa.com/autorepair/articles/what-does-it-cost-to-own-and-operate-a-car
•    https://www.bicycling.com/rides/a20024531/how-much-do-you-spend-on-cycling-gear-every-year/
•    https://www.kbb.com/car-news/average-new-car-price-tops-47000/
 

With Bike Everywhere Day coming just in time for the wonderful weather, we are starting to see more people biking around! Here are some safety tips to consider while biking around Bellevue. 

Check your bike before you ride: Make sure your bike is in good condition and ready for the road. Check to make sure the brakes work, the tires are inflated correctly and in good condition, the reflectors are on and in the correct positions, and the seat is in the correct and comfortable position.

Wear a helmet: Wearing a helmet is required by law in Bellevue. Make sure that you find a properly fitting helmet and wear it correctly; check out “Helmets: The Right Fit” on the back of the Bellevue Bike Map. For a guide on which helmet is right for you, visit Helmets.org.

Be aware of your surroundings: Understand and process what is going on around you while biking and anticipate other vehicles' moves. Some ways that you can do this are checking the weather before you ride and planning accordingly, riding defensively and assuming that the other rider or driver doesn’t see you, and obeying traffic signals and road signs.

Learn about Bellevue’s bike lanes, trails and road characteristics: Bellevue has more bike trails and dedicated bike lanes than you may think!. You can find them, plus roadway characteristics, more safety tips and other useful biking information, on the Bellevue Bike Map. 

Stay safe out there and enjoy this beautiful kick off to the summer!

-Choose Your Way staffer Jake