Airport study considers new shared shuttle system

Getting to and from Seattle’s Sea-Tac airport is likely to be easier soon, and the environment will be a little better off as well.

A new study is considering the benefit of combining courtesy shuttle bus services provided by local hotels and off-site car rental companies. If the plan is adopted, it could reduce shuttle traffic by 30-50 percent.

The plan to combine the service provided by the buses would significantly reduce congestion and benefit the environment as well. In the area immediately surrounding Sea-Tac Airport, there are more than 60 hotels and motels. When the shuttle trips are added up, the total courtesy shuttle trips per year amount to nearly 400,000.

“The premise is the level of service for the passengers is going to remain the same, if not get better,” said senior environmental manager, Russ Simonson. “It would be ubiquitous, clean energy, clean vehicle bus that would service two or three hotels. It may mean an extra stop, going or coming, but made up on the way back.”

The study phase is anticipated to take around two weeks, and will involve courtesy shuttles only – not airport shuttle service. The pilot project, combining shuttle services, has been implemented successfully at Los Angeles International Airport.