Metro Partners with ReachNow and car2go to Offer Car Share Parking at Northgate Transit Center
Many park-and-rides, including Northgate, are full or nearly full during weekdays. Metro is dedicating four spaces to free floating car share vehicles to increase the number of options for customers to connect to transit, including customers who don’t own a car and use car share as an alternative. The car share spaces are intended to encourage higher turnover during the day and enable more customers to use the spaces to ride transit.
King County Metro’s long-range plan, METRO CONNECTS, calls for more efficient management of parking and providing new connections to transit through the use of new mobility services and partnerships with private-sector providers.
“Metro has long been an innovation leader, and by developing new partnerships like this with ReachNow and car2go, we’re evolving to provide better mobility for our customers and our region,” said Christina O’Claire, assistant general manager for planning and customer service.
“With nearly 90 percent of our ReachNow Seattle members also having an ORCA card, ReachNow is happy to provide Seattle commuters a first and last mile transportation solution,” said Steve Banfield, chief executive officer of ReachNow. “This new King Country Metro pilot program is an important step to further connecting car sharing services, like ReachNow, to transit options.”
“Connecting modes of transit for Seattleites strengthens mobility across the city,” said Chris Iuvancigh, Seattle general manager of car2go. “We believe enhancements like these dedicated car sharing spaces can do just that, and we are pleased to partner with King County Metro to make Seattle more mobile.”
Northgate was chosen for the pilot project because it is the only Metro-owned park-and-ride within the service area of ReachNow and car2go. Metro will evaluate the program after six months.
The designated parking spaces are first-come, first-serve. If designated parking spaces are occupied, customers may park in any general purpose space. Alternatively, customers may park in eligible on-street parking, per parking rules of ReachNow and car2go.
How car share parking works
- Become a member of ReachNow or car2go, or both.
- Follow procedures for renting and driving a vehicle.
- Connecting to a bus, vanpool, or carpool at the Northgate Transit Center? Drive a car2go or ReachNow vehicle from anywhere in the service area and park in one of the designated spaces at Northgate.
- Connecting from the Northgate Transit Center? Check the car2go or ReachNow app on your way home to reserve a car share vehicle at Northgate, then when you arrive, simply unlock and drive.
- Reserved spaces are located in the southwest corner of the Northgate Park-and-Ride’s East Lot. Non-authorized vehicles will be subject to warnings and risk of towing.
Park-and-ride options
Metro is exploring a number of new ways for people to access transit, including more active management of park-and-ride spaces. Options include:
- Metro’s Carpool Parking Permit program reserves spaces until 8:30 a.m. at 15 park-and-ride locations for customers who carpool and have obtained a free permit. Northgate has the highest number of customers with permits. More information is available at Metro’s Carpool Parking Permit website.
- Parkbytransit.com is a partnership between Metro and private property owners to increase park-and-ride options by connecting commuters with fee-based parking on commercial and residential properties near major bus routes.
- Metro also is working to lease new park-and-ride lots and to increase enforcement at some of the busiest locations to ensure parking is safe and being used by transit customers.
