Bringing You Home with Swift Bus Rapid Transit

Mina shares her story on the benefits of being a Swift rider

Bringing You Home with Swift from Community Transit on Vimeo.

Life is always on the move for Mina, an international student at Edmonds Community College. With different classes every day, and a busy social life, she needed a commute option that was inexpensive, flexible, and fast. She hopped on Swift and has been moving ever since.

Mina, who is from Mongolia, lives in Lynnwood with her brother. Every day she walks 15 minutes from her apartment to catch Swift Blue Line to the college where she studies Computer Science. Because Swift comes every 10 minutes, she never worries about a schedule. In just a few minutes the bus will arrive. Mina's commute is fast; just a quick 10 minute ride and she arrives at College Station.

Swift Blue Line is a bus rapid transit line that runs along Highway 99 between Aurora Village and Everett Station. Most of Mina's friends also use Swift to get to school and to support businesses along Highway 99. "We take the bus because we don't feel that cars are necessary since the bus comes to most of the area. We hang out, go to eat, go to karaoke."

Mina doesn't drive, and Uber is too expensive for her to use regularly. She doesn't mind since she feels safe and confident in Swift, "I don't have to worry about safety; it's really safe. And also I don't drive so I can study just while riding the bus, and I can hang out with my friends."

Want to get in on the Swift action? You're in luck! Our Swift network is expanding beyond Highway 99. Swift Green Line will open in March 2019 and will run from Canyon Park/Bothell through Mill Creek to the new Seaway Transit Center near Boeing/Paine Field. Swift Green Line will connect with Swift Blue Line at Highway 99 and Airport Road, creating the region's first bus rapid transit network for travel in South Snohomish County and beyond.

Swift, bringing more connections and more opportunities to keep you moving.

Bringing You Home With Vanpool: Real People, Real Stories.

Shawn shares his story on the benefits of being a Vanpool rider

Bringing You Home with Vanpool from Community Transit on Vimeo.

You've seen them, the Community Transit vanpool vans, whizzing by you in the carpool lane. If you dread your commute each day, riding in a vanpool may be just the ticket for transforming your commute into one you actually enjoy. Meet Shawn, who joined his first vanpool ten years ago, relying on the service through graduate school and his professional life.

A vanpool is a group of 5-15 riders who commute to the same work place. Each vanpool van sets its own schedule and route. Fares are based on the size of the van and the daily mileage, and cover all gas, maintenance and insurance. Shawn's van seats 12 riders, though 15 riders take advantage of the service and rotate seats. By riding a van, not only are commuters saving money, they're saving space on the highway, which means saving the environment. Shawn says, "There are the obvious cost benefits, and avoiding the wear and tear on your own vehicle. And then there's the other benefit of doing something good for the environment, knowing that there's not 12 cars on the road and instead you're all combining into one."

Each day Shawn's round trip to and from work is about 50 miles and takes about 40 minutes. That's 40 minutes to carve out a little time in a busy life. How does Shawn spend his time? Reading, working, and, yes, napping. "Sometimes you get to take a nap. That's always a great thing, especially if you didn't get a good night's sleep. I have a little child and sometimes my sleep's not the best and you can catch up."

When you're not getting a little shut eye or catching up on work emails, you might be surprised at how commuting with coworkers helps you feel more connected to your community. "You get to meet a lot of people, people that you wouldn't normally have a conversation with. When I was going to school I found a lot of people that joined the van I then ran into in class. It helps make things feel a little bit smaller being in a big city like Seattle."

Shawn also enjoys the benefits of transit outside of work hours. "Occasionally I'll take the bus downtown. The price of parking has gotten pretty high. If there's a Mariners game it's anywhere from $30 - $40, and if you can take the bus you don't have to worry about that." Shawn and his wife also take their young child on bus outings, "When you don't have to worry about driving, you can all just be present with each other."

Let us make it easy for you to get to work and bring you home with Vanpool. Our Community Transit Vanpool Program coordinators provide support for group formation, driver orientation, vehicle maintenance and rider recruitment. In other words, when you're ready to take advantage of our vanpool program, they'll work hard to make it happen.

If you could get out from behind the wheel on your commute, what would you do with your free time?