Transportation Transformations 2024

Last Wednesday, Commute Seattle hosted Transportation Transformations, our annual event for Employee Transportation Coordinators (ETCs) and Building Transportation Coordinators (BTCs) that highlights the ever-growing and evolving landscape of Seattle transportation. Sponsored by Best Payment Solutions and Hallcon and in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), this year’s event focused on the newly opened RapidRide G Line and the hugely transformative infrastructure projects that occurred alongside this project. Centering around a tour of the RapidRide G Line, the event gave ETCs and BTCs a chance to experience this new service alongside peers.

The event began with an overview of the RapidRide G Line – Madison St project by SDOT Senior Public Engagement Lead, Darrell Bulmer. In addition to the increased frequency and service of RapidRide G Line itself, attendees learned about the extensive infrastructure improvements along this line, including 3.8 miles of new or replaced sidewalks, 9.1 lane-miles of concrete streets, and 108 newly planted trees.

With the stage set with this information, attendees headed out in small groups to tour the line, led by Commute Seattle and SDOT staff members. After catching the next outbound RapidRide G Line bus, everyone disembarked at the center-running station at 12^th & Union, a complex intersection that was extensively redesigned during this project. Attendees saw an intersection that focuses on moving more people (not just cars), with new protected bike lanes, pedestrian safety improvements, and new transit lanes.

After the tour, attendees returned to 800 5^th Ave for lunch, networking, and discussion about what they experienced while on their bus ride. They were impressed by the frequency, the emphasis on safety and accessibility, and how clean and safe the buses were. Some ETCs shared their experiences planning transit lunches or transit field trips for their fellow employees for team-building, and many others expressed interest in doing this at their own companies. Three of our attendees also won Visa Reward Cards from our sponsor, Best Payment Solutions!

Do you want to plan a transit field trip at your worksite but aren’t sure where to start? Our experts at Commute Seattle would love to help you plan a multi-modal team-building outing for your company. Reach out to Zarina Infante, Program Director, for more information about this and other fee-for-service offerings!