Gas prices are still rising, and so are our eyebrows. You may need to think about possibly changing up your daily commute if you’re a student or employee at Bellevue College.
Deric Gruen introduced us to a new carpool system called Ride Match, and has been working on distributing the information throughout Bellevue College. Ride Match allows Bellevue College students and employees to enter their address and schedule at the Ride Match website. “They are able to then connect with many local carpoolers in the area or even in other areas. A student or employee can use Ride Match to even get to work along with school,” he said.
“There is also a grant connected with the ride match program. Students that log in and use Ride Match are able to get a $21,000 dollar grant in incentives provided by King County Metro,” Gruen added. This is a more effective and cost conscientious way to get to Bellevue College.
Any student would find use for $21,000 during their time at college. Benefits are innumerable for simply logging on, catching a ride and making some new friends. Ride Match is tailored for students by students.
Gruen also emphasized that “students can also get their hands on $5 dollar gift cards and in September coming up a $125 dollar gift card all just for participating.” Bellevue College has great resources, such as Students Programs to help make students’ daily commute just a little easier.
The Bellevue Transit Center also has Free Ride Zone that will cease to exist within less than two weeks. Does this mean an increase in bus fare? No, but you may have to pay more frequently. Fortunately, King County will be launching of the Rapid Ride Transit System.
The Rapid Ride is a better way of getting around for what you pay. Commuters will be able to pay before even boarding the bus. The new system will make travel faster and less of a pain. Remember all those times you had to look down at your watch and wonder when exactly the bus would come? When you didn’t have the right bus schedule and were left there twiddling your thumbs for longer than necessary? Well those days are coming to an end because they’ve made a digital clock that tells you the remaining minutes until the next Rapid Ride bus arrives at your stop.
Rapid Ride comes more frequently, with a new arrival every ten minutes, so you can get where you need to go faster and more efficiently. It’s not everywhere yet, but A line through D line are already on schedule and in action. King County Transit is adding other lines that are spreading around Washington. Don’t forget to check out the King Country Transit website for more info and the nearest stop near you.
You decide. If the bus is getting old, Ride Match might be a great way of networking and commuting for you. If you like the convenience of a bus, Rapid Ride might be the way for you.