Take Transit to Take Your Shot: Here are ways to get to your vaccination appointment

Novel Coronavirus, Other, vaccines
Blog re-posted from King County Metro – written by Torie Rynning

Vaccination appointments may be hard to come by these days, but Public Health – Seattle and King County’s vaccination dashboard reports that more than 300,000 county residents have already received at least one dose. When your vaccination phase arrives and you secure an appointment, King County Metro and our transit partner offers a number of transportation options to get you there.

Please note that drive-through vaccination sites do not take walk-ups and therefore public transit will not be the best option to get to those sites.

Two Metro buses downtown. Their destination signs read "Masks required."

Hop on transit or talk to a Metro trip planner 

Take the bus, or a combination of mobility options, to sites throughout the county! Metro’s trip planning experts are available to help you plan your customized trip from Monday through Friday 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Call 206-553-3000. You can also visit the Puget Sound Trip Planner website or app. Those who ride transit regularly can pay using their ORCA cards; Transit GO Tickets on mobile app are good options for contact-free one-time purchases. Cash is also accepted.

Via van pulls up to Othello station

Take an on-demand ride to your vaccination site

Starting now, vaccination sites have been added as new reservable destinations when requesting your ride on Via to Transit, Crossroads Connect, or Community Ride.

Traditionally, Via to Transit connects riders to and from Link light rail stations in southeast Seattle and Tukwila, and Crossroads Connect connects Bellevue residents to nearby transit hubs. Community Ride offers point-to-point, shared-ride service (maximum of five riders for physical distancing) driven within Juanita-Bothell and Sammamish service areas. Effective immediately, these on-demand pilot services are also providing trips to vaccination sites (locations updated weekly) that are located within or adjacent to the service areas. Each trip is the same cost as a Metro bus ride and includes a free transfer to the bus.

To learn about eligible locations and to book your ride:

Access driver with mask drives Access van

Access paratransit expands ridership for those headed to vaccination appointments

Older adults and people with disabilities who are unable to use the bus to get to their vaccine appointment may contact Access paratransit for a ride, even if they have not gone through the Access certification process. This service is provided as space is available. The cost is $1.75 each way and payable with cash or the Transit GO Ticket app. Call to book the ride by calling 206-553-3000.

Side view of Community Van
Courtesy of Ned Ahrens

Shuttle to your shot

Metro’s Community Van pilots offer group trips (currently one individual or household at a time to ensure physical distancing) and are available by advanced reservation through an area’s Community Transportation Coordinator. Community Vans serve Duvall, Bothell-Woodinville, Kenmore-Kirkland, Sammamish, Shoreline-Lake Forest Park, and Vashon. Volunteer drivers from each community drive the van from an agreed-upon pickup location within the service area and trips can venture outside of the service area. As each trip is accepted by a volunteer driver, requests to get to drive-through vaccination sites or vaccination sites outside of the county are possible. Visit the Community Van webpage to find your local Transportation Coordinator or the Transportation Coordinator closest to you.

Additional Resources

If the cost to travel on Metro is not affordable for you, we do have options available:

  • Reduced fares are available for seniors, residents with disabilities and low incomes, and youth. Apply for a card using our new Reduced Fare Portal.
  • Metro’s subsidized annual pass is now available for residents of King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties who have no or very low incomes and are in enrolled in certain state benefit programs.
  • Only need one or two transit tickets in a hurry? Your smart phone can be your ticket to transportation with Transit GO Ticket.
  • Metro’s Taxi Scrip Program serves low-income King County residents age 18 to 64 who have a disability or are age 65 and over. Once registered, you can buy up to eight books of taxi scrip each month from Metro at a 50 percent discount to help meet your transportation needs.

There are transportation experts working together around the region to expand options for people seeking transportation to vaccination appointments. We will update this blog post with additional resources as they become available, especially as more vaccination appointments open up in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, those with questions about booking vaccines can visit www.kingcounty.gov/vaccine.

Originally posted to King County Metro Blog on February 23rd, 2021