Airway Heights and Medical Lake residents who attend or work at Eastern Washington University may not have to rely on just their vehicle or a bus from downtown Spokane to get to and from the Cheney campus.
EWU Parking and Transportation Services is teaming up with Spokane Transit Authority for a vanpool trial program for university staff and students living in Airway Heights and Medical Lake.
According to Michelle Rasmussen, director of parking and transportation, her department recently conducted a survey among students and staff living outside of Cheney to see if they were interested in having a vanpool in their area. While students from different areas of Spokane County answered the survey, she said the most response came from people living in Airway Heights and Medical Lake.
“It makes the most sense because people from those cities do not have a direct route to campus,” Rasmussen said. “It (the vanpool program) will fill a gap for those students and staff to come to Cheney.”
Rasmussen said Greg Garrett, vanpool coordinator for STA, will organize the program for Eastern. For vanpools, STA assigns a vehicle — a seven, 12 or 15 person van — routes and pick up points to commuter groups of five or more riders. Vans are driven by one or two of the riders, who must have five years driving experience, a clean record and passed a safe driving course.
Garrett said he is in the process of reaching out to the people who answered the survey.
“Right now we’re nailing down a time, and a route to accommodate everyone’s schedules,” Garrett said.
Garrett added that the program could go online in January “if everyone gets their stuff together.”
“We’re pretty flexible,” he said.
Rasmussen added that the time for the vanpool’s trips will likely be between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
The monthly fee for the vanpool is determined by the distance traveled and divided among the number of people in the commuter group — the larger the group, the less money a rider pays. The fares cover all costs, including gas, insurance and vehicle maintenance. Rasmussen said Eastern will cover the vanpool costs for students and staff.
Rasmussen said the ridership for the Airway Heights program would start out with at least five riders, but could increase after a couple of months. She added that Eastern hopes to expand the program to other areas in Spokane County in the future.
“It’s a trial program, but we’ll grow it if appears there is more interest,” Rasmussen said. “It fits with the university’s sustainability program and if we can grow it, all the better.”
More Info
For those interested in becoming a part of the Airway Heights vanpool and would like more information, contact the Parking and Transportation Services office at (509) 359-7275.
Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.
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