King County Metro Transit is working to improve Vashon’s public transit options and is asking islanders to complete a survey to help officials better understand transportation use on the island and its limitations.

The survey is part of Metro’s Alternative Services Program, which brings transportation services to communities where traditional bus services may not be effective or possible. In September, Metro officials involved with the program created  a working group of about a dozen islanders to address Vashon’s needs, and the survey — which is available online and will soon be available on paper — will be an important part of that effort, those involved say. Metro officials also plan to ride Vashon’s buses in the coming weeks to hear from community members directly.

“We want to find out how people are using the bus routes, who is not served and barriers for using transit,” said Dan Anderson, a Metro community relations planner.

The survey, crafted by Metro with input from the working group, asks a range of questions, including location of residence, how bus service is currently used, most frequent destinations and where people would like to go by bus that they cannot now. Metro officials would like responses by Dec. 3.

The working group has met three times since it formed in September and has discussed what members would like to see in a transportation network, Anderson said, noting that a variety of perspectives are represented, with members that commute, some who remain mostly on-island and others who represent Vashon social services and the business community.

“We know that there are a lot of unique transportation needs on Vashon, so we tried to get a broad representation,” he added.

With information from the working group and the survey results in hand, Metro will then begin analyzing the information and suggesting solutions, from community app-based ride sharing programs to island shuttles. Anderson was reluctant to speak at length about potential solutions, however, because he did not want to circumvent the process.

“One of my goals is to not start with solutions and then find the problems to fit, but to start with the problems and learn the gaps and then tailor the program to fit,” he said.

This effort is part of a two-year pilot program the county funded to help mitigate the Metro service reductions that took place in 2014 and to finish out a five-year plan intended to improve transit options in areas that would benefit from transportation options other than traditional bus services. Snoqualmie Valley and Southeast King County have benefitted from the program already.

On Vashon, islander Bailey de Iongh joined the working group as an at-large member who commuted from the south end of the island by bus between 1989 and 2012 and still tries to take the bus as much as possible. She noted that she can get on a bus near her home and travel all the way to her gym at the Medical Dental Building in downtown Seattle, but during the middle of the day, she has difficulty getting from her house to Vashon town.

“I am representing the south end and the people who need services during the middle of the day,” she said. “This seemed like a great opportunity to serve those folks.”

de Iongh said she is hopeful that this process will improve transit services for several people, though nothing has jumped out at her as an obvious solution.

“It would really be nice to find a way to serve all the areas of the island that do not have any kind of bus service,” she said. “Right now the system serves the commuters better than anyone else. A lot of people cannot get around well.”

She stressed that it is important that as many people as possible take the survey, and added she believes that a lot of people do not use transit now but would be willing to if some barriers could be overcome. The survey asks about some of those obstacles.

Once this phase of the work is complete, Metro officials, with input from the working group, will propose solutions they believe will fit on Vashon and then will bring the ideas to the community to see whether they “resonate or fall flat,” Anderson said. A public meeting is in the works for the new year to discuss options.

“We want this to be a community-driven decision,” he added.

Real estate broker Emma Amiad, who is also active in the island’s social service community, has been an active participant in the group and a longtime proponent of improved public transit. She has praise for the group and the approximately five Metro staff members who come each time to the meetings.

“They hear us and listen and make notes and come back with re-worked ideas,” she said.

Amiad joined the group believing that Vashon would be well served by a small shuttle bus service that would run in town and outlying neighborhoods. She still believes that, she said, but has been impressed with some options that have been discussed, some of which make use of current technology. For example, the island has tried loaner bike systems before, but the bikes have always been stolen, and the Metro group suggested tracking the bikes electronically. Additionally, they have mentioned the possibility of a phone app that would allow an islander to call for a ride if he or she missed the bus.

Amiad noted that many of the Metro officials are young adults and bring with them a can-do attitude.

“Millennials think differently. They are solution-oriented, well-that-is-easy-to-fix kind of people,” she said. “Older generations … would have said, ‘Screw it.’ The newer generation is saying, ‘Well, I have got an app for that.’ This kind of energy in this committee has given me hope.”

Before any potential solutions can be decided upon, though, survey results are necessary. A paper version of the survey in Spanish and English will soon be around town at the Vashon Library, the senior center and several businesses and social service agencies. The survey is also available online at surveymonkey.com/r/5T86JLW. Online responses are preferred.