Commute Options

Downtown On the Go
Dane Meyer

Transit

Taking the bus or Sounder train eliminates the stress of driving. Besides saving money on gas and preventing wear and tear on your vehicle, you gain valuable time to nap, read, or even do a little work. A bus to downtown likely runs close to your home or a nearby park and ride. Visit Pierce Transit's website for more information. Need help planning your trip? Use their online Trip Planner to find the best route for you.

Vanpool

Ready to leave your car at home and put the wear and tear on a transit-owned van? Join an existing vanpool or partner with other commuters who live near you, fill out a simple application, and you're ready to go! Visit Pierce Transit's vanpool site to learn more or get started.

Carpool

Carpools are flexible, convenient ways to share the ride. Pair up with at least one other person, agree tos hare costs and driving, and start seeing the savings add up. RideshareOnline, a statewide organization, helps match commuters interested in carpooling and vanpooling.

Bicycle

Whether you are a cycling enthusiast or an occasional rider, biking to work may be more feasible than you think. Pierce Transit buses are equipped with bike racks; for tough commutes or on rainy days, split your trip between the bus and your bike.

Walk

Walking is truly the best way to have the least impact on the environment and the most impact on your health. If you live within a mile of where you work, consider susing your own foot power to get to work. There are parks and trails throughout Tacoma that connect into downtown.

Telecommute, Compressed Work Week, and Flextime

These options build flexibility into employees' schedules and reduce commutes by working some days from home or fewer days a week. Research shows that the benefits of flexible schedules far outweigh the administrative costs and give companies with these policies a competitive advantage. Click here to learn about the Kitsap Telework Pilot Project to provide employer resources for teleworking, and here to read the results of their 2009 report on the project to the Washington State Legislature.