After a one-month "soft launch" or trial period, a pilot project to sell Metro Transit bus passes and other fare media online has exceeded the expectations of its developers. The new Web-based service launched Oct. 30 enables riders to buy transit passes via the Internet.

More than 275 people have bought Metro bus passes, ticketbooks and Puget Passes, with total sales of more than $18,000 in one month.

"This is a good first step towards realizing our goal of putting more county business online, to make it easy and convenient to do business with the county," said King County Executive Ron Sims. Sims first began working on an electronic online payment system for county services as a councilmember in 1996.

By going to the Metro Online Web site at transit.metrokc.gov and and clicking on the "buy a bus pass" button in the teal navigation bar on the left, customers can buy a variety of fare media, including PugetPasses, Ship-to-Shore passes, Metro vanpool and Access passes, reduced-fare permit stickers, as well as bus passes and ticketbooks.

Online customers can place orders for a pass valid in the next calendar month beginning about the 10th of the current month. Orders are processed and mailed through regular mail within three business days from the date Metro receives them, so most customer receive their pass in about one week. Customers can also have passes and ticketbooks shipped overnight for an extra fee.

An evaluation of the Metro Online bus pass sales program will be conducted after six months of operation. Customers who order online can complete the online survey, providing valuable customer feedback for improving the system in the future.

For more information visit Metro Online at http://transit.metrokc.gov/.

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