Vision House and the Cedar River Montessori School, both in Renton will receive a van from King County that has been retired from Metro Vanpool.
The Renton/Skyway Boys and Girls Club, which is headquartered on West Hill, also will receive a van.
The Metropolitan King County Council Monday unanimously approved donating 27 retired Metro Vanpool vans to provide transportation assistance to local governments, community programs, senior citizens and young people.
“These retired vans serve a worthy purpose and assist many organizations in our region in better serving their communities,” said County Council member Reagan Dunn, who represents part of Renton on the council
The retired vans have been part of Metro Transit’s vanpool fleet for at least six years and have reached the end of their service life. When the vans reach this age, they are considered surplus. The vehicles that are not donated are sold.
Since 1996, the County Council has donated more than 430 retired vans from Metro’s Vanpool program to local nonprofit organizations to provide transportation for the disabled, low-income, young adults, and senior citizens.
Governments, agencies and organizations that receive the vans must meet specific requirements:
• Capacity to support ongoing van operation, including assured funding for licensing, insuring, fueling and maintaining the van;
• Ability to provide qualified and trained drivers;
• Specific plans for use of the van to transport low-income, elderly or young people or people with disabilities, and assurance that the use shall be available to those persons without regard to affiliation with any particular organization;
• Ability to support county’s public transportation function by reducing single occupancy vehicle trips, pollution and traffic congestion; supplementing services provided by the county’s paratransit system and increasing the mobility for the transit-dependent for whom regular transit might not always be a convenient option.
The organizations, agencies and governments receiving vans:
Austin Foundation
Boys & Girls Clubs of King County – North Seattle Branch
Camp Berachah
Cedar River Montessori School
Community Psychiatric Clinic
Helping Hands for the Disabled
Korean Women’s Association
Mount Si Senior Center
Multi-Service Center
New Futures
Northwest’s Child, Inc. (2 vans)
Northwest Urban Ministries
Pioneer Human Services
Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWA)
Renton/Skyway Boys and Girls Club
Seattle Young People’s Project
Senior Housing Assistance Group (Auburn Court)
Senior Housing Assistance Group (Courtland Place)
Senior Housing Assistance Group (North King County-North Seattle)
Si View Park District
Tennis Outreach
The Sophia Way
Vashon Island School District
Vision House
White Center Food Bank
Wilderness Awareness School
