Creating Connections with Shared Shuttles Case Study 2.pdf
April 18, 2024 Transit Challenges South of Downtown
Creating Connections with Shared Shuttles
SSA Marine and McKinstry launched a shared shuttle service to provide first/last mile coverage for their employees’ commutes. Powered by BUSUP in partnership with Beeline Charters & Tours, their shuttle runs on a fixed route with stops at Colman Dock and King Street Station and then down to the worksites. The shared shuttle is the first of its kind to be approved by King County Metro for operation.
Featured Companies
SSA Marine specializes in marine and railway transportation services. Located on Harbor Island just west of the SoDo neighborhood, SSA Marine has doubled their workforce in recent years, growing to over 300 employees.
Current Drive-Alone Rate: 41.6%
South Seattle Network Goal: 60.4%
McKinstry is a national leader in construction and energy services dedicated to creating an efficient, resilient, decarbonized built environment. The company is taking action for impact to innovate waste and climate harm out of the built environment, delivering a zero-carbon future for their people and communities. McKinstry’s Seattle headquarters in the Georgetown neighborhood employs nearly 700 people.
Current Drive-Alone Rate: 55.4%
South Seattle Network Goal: 60.4%
BUSUP is a mobility provider that offers a holistic solution for employee transportation needs, specializing in shared corporate shuttle services. Launched in 2016, BUSUP’s footprint now spans across the United States, Europe, and LATAM markets. Offering program management, shuttle technology, and operations, BUSUP partners with local bus providers to make employee transportation programs more sustainable, cost-effective, and successful.
Transit Challenges South of Downtown
SSA Marine and McKinstry’s corporate campuses are located just beyond SoDo, the industrial area of Seattle ‘South of Downtown’. Originally, the nickname meant South of the Dome, referring to the Kingdome arena that housed Seattle sports teams and was demolished in 2000. The SoDo neighborhood is characterized by its unique blend of warehouses, shipping container yards, retail and office spaces, and entertainment and nightlife scenes. SoDo is also a transit desert compared to the rest of Seattle, and companies have to be creative when addressing transportation challenges for their employees.
Photo courtesy of sodoseattle.org
Photo courtesy of Rudy Willingham Photo
SSA Marine has operated a shuttle for its employees since 2017 to supplement the lack of transit service to Harbor Island. Parking is limited at the worksite, and SSA Marine wanted to implement a new commute trip reduction strategy for environmental impact mitigation. At the time, talks were also beginning about closing the Alaskan Way Viaduct, and SSA Marine was anticipating even more commute challenges from “ViaDoom.” Ryan Knudsen, the Employee Transportation Coordinator for SSA Marine, began working with a provider to offer a complimentary shuttle to employees to mitigate the parking and viaduct closure challenges. In 2021, interest grew in finding a nearby company to share the shuttle services with, so SSA Marine set out to find a partner.
Shuttle Early Days
2 Shuttles, 1 Goal
Enter McKinstry! Similar to SSA Marine, transit service is limited around their south Seattle worksite in the Georgetown neighborhood. Sidewalks are sparse, and nearby transit stops are located across major road crossings, presenting safety concerns for many employees. McKinstry employees often start the workday very early, typically before frequent transit service times begin. Coupled with parking space challenges and a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, McKinstry started an employee shuttle of their own to address these issues. However, ridership varied in the wake of Covid, making it an under-utilized resource, and they halted shuttle operations in August 2020. McKinstry began subsidizing rideshare trips instead, but McKinstry hoped to replace it with a free, more eco-friendly option.
Connections Become Partnerships
While McKinstry was reevaluating their shuttle system, SSA Marine was still searching for a company to split shuttle costs and services with. Shuttle coordinator BUSUP reached out to Commute Seattle in August 2023 for ideas: did we know of any worksites in south Seattle who might be interested? Coincidentally, our team was working with McKinstry ETC Nick Davidson to plan a transportation fair for McKinstry employees, so we made the connection. BUSUP, McKinstry, and SSA Marine have been hard at work to coordinate this shuttle integration and successfully launched the shared services in March 2024. The shuttle operates 5 days a week and is free for employees to ride, making it an accessible and convenient commute option for both sites.
Shuttle In Action
The Commute Seattle team had
the opportunity to ride the shared
shuttle a few weeks after its launch
in March 2024. We boarded the
shuttle at King Street Station, rode
10 minutes to SSA Marine, and then
another 10 minutes to McKinstry. Our
team was impressed with the smooth
operations and quick ride!
- The shuttle stops near Colman Dock and then travels to King Street Station for the second stop. The Pioneer Square and International District/Chinatown light rail stations are a 5-minute walk to their respective shuttle stops.
How It Works
The shuttle pickup/drop off times are currently aligned to Sounder Train and ferry arrival/departure times.
Employees download the BUSUP app and create accounts with their work emails. Once they sign in, they can make a reservation for a morning or evening shuttle ride.
Employees show their QR code to the driver when they board, from either the BUSUP app or from their booking confirmation email. The driver scans this code to ensure they have an active reservation, which helps to maintain security and abide by vehicle capacity.
To offer more flexibility and customization to this process, SSA Marine and McKinstry employees reserve their rides in different ways...
SSA Marine has a free “subscription” model for their employees to book rides. Employees who have used the shuttle for years now typically book the same time each day, so they can book the same time all week in one click on a “subscription.” A flexible model is also available if riders come or go from the office at different times throughout the week.
McKinstry has a free flexible booking model for their employees while they work to advertise this new service to employees and increase their ridership numbers. Employees can try the service without a big commitment by booking specific dates and times they want to ride. This also allows flexibility for employees working a hybrid schedule, so they can book their rides when they’re in-office, and freeing up shuttle capacity on the days they are not.
A Greenlight for Greener Commutes
Proposed private shuttle routes
should complement existing Metro
service, not duplicate it.
This shuttle is the first of its kind to be approved by King County Metro for operation. Metro is the sole provider of public transportation services in King County, per the Washington State Legislature. This is to protect the public’s investment and commitment to providing equitable and reliable public transportation services to all. Metro’s Innovative Mobility Team has a program designed to accept proposals for shared employer shuttles to support increasing mobility options and better understand travel patterns and riders’ needs. Metro’s intent in authorizing shared employer shuttles is to ensure that these new services are safely and equitably integrated with existing transit service in the region.
Metro considers many factors when evaluating a shuttle proposal:
A shuttle should be aiming to solve a
problem, such as saving rider’s time or
connecting areas lesser served by transit.
If approved, employers should be willing to submit
data to Metro on ridership numbers, shuttle on-time
performance, or other metrics Metro requires.
Metro’s Recommendations
- Shuttles whose routes are connecting areas less served by transit have more opportunity for approval.
- Up to 5 employers can share a shuttle. A large employer who wanted to extend their shuttle service to nearby small businesses would save costs and expand transit access for more people.
- Private shuttle operators are aware of this program and process with Metro. If you are an employer looking to start a shuttle at your workplace, contact a local shuttle provider or Commute Seattle for recommendations.
Employee Transportation Coordinator Spotlights
Ryan Knudsen, SSA Marine
“My role as ETC began in 2016 and initially entailed trying to find more employee parking
on Harbor Island. However, with the growth of
employees at the company and limited viable
parking, it was apparent that shared transit
options would be needed - a difficult proposition
considering Harbor Island isn’t served by public
transit. Looking for new solutions, the company
surveyed employees and realized that if public
transit were made available many employees
would prefer to use that option for their commutes than driving themselves. As a
result, the company launched a shuttle service from Harbor Island to the local ferry
and light rail terminals. The shuttle’s ridership was initially low, but it has increased
steadily over time, and today the shuttle is regularly close to capacity with
McKinstry helping to offset the shuttle’s operating costs through our partnership.”
Nick Davidson, McKinstry
Nick Davidson is McKinstry’s Net Zero Program
Manager, responsible for developing and
implementing McKinstry’s internal GHG reduction
program. This includes providing employees with
low-carbon commute options such as last-mile
shuttle programs, biking support, and the expansion
of EV infrastructure at the Seattle campus. He also
regularly consults on innovative decarbonization
solutions, policy recommendations, and climate
justice opportunities.