King County Metro Transit's VanPool and VanShare commuting programs now have more than 1,000 vans in operation, supporting a record ridership of 1.9 million passenger trips during the first nine months of 2007.

"This is an encouraging trend as we give people a menu of options that fit a variety of commuter needs," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "People who participate in these programs are responsible for taking thousands of cars off the road each workday. That means more congestion relief, better air to breathe, and less global-warming emissions. That helps all of us, no matter how we choose to get around."

Although the van programs have shown steady growth over the years, recently a couple of factors combined caused local commuters to seek more alternatives to driving alone.

"Rising gas prices are definitely driving an interest in commute options," said King County Director of Transportation Harold Taniguchi. "Also, in August we saw the number of new van startups double due to the big construction project on Interstate 5. Once people experienced how easy it is to use our programs, they were hooked."

As of Oct. 1, there were 848 vanpools and 162 vanshares in operation. Compared to the same time last year, it represents a growth rate of 6 percent for vanpools; 26 percent for vanshares; and about 20 percent growth for total commuter van trips.