Kings Area Rural Transit (KART)
Reinventing Transit: report case study 
Van pool service that ensures access to schools, jobs, and medical services while cutting air pollution in the San Joaquin Valley.
Quick Stats
King County, CA
Population (2008): 154,434
Population Density: ~100 /sq mi
Transit system: Kings County Area Public Transportation Agency
Source: California Department of Finance
Official Kings County transit website
Many farm workers use van pools to travel to work in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
Annual impact of KART vanpools:
- Miles traveled by vanpools: 4.8 million
- Number of at-fault accidents: 2
- Number of auto trips reduced: 404,000
- Reduction in vehicle miles traveled: 66 million
- Project indirect savings: $59 million
- Emission savings: ROG : 61 tons, NOx: 62 tons, PM10: 15 tons, CO2: 49 tons
Public transportation may be an institution in California’s megacities but transit for rural residents has been almost non-existent. Kings County Area Public Transportation Agency (KCAPTA) is changing that. The agency’s innovative system of vanpools and rural buses ensures access to schools, jobs and medical services in the rural reaches of California’s San Joaquin Valley.
Transit system facts
- 23 rural bus routes
- 230 vanpool services such as Agricultural Industries Transportation Services
- Population served: elderly access to medical services, low-income students to college, agricultural workers, corrections officers, school teachers and state workers
Vanpool success story
“In 2007, vanpool vehicles were responsible for eliminating 373,500 vehicle commuting trips, [and] reducing 176 tons of car emissions from the atmosphere…” according to data provided by the KCAPTA.
Besides manufacturing and construction jobs, the Portland Streetcar also supports over two dozen full-time train operators.
How they work
- Nine people from a job site form a vanpool group. One person must qualify as the driver.
- Kings Area Rural Transit (KART) receives grant money to purchase the van and registers the driver.
- Affordable fees collected on a monthly basis according to mileage-day trips cost less than $5 per person.
- Operationally self sustaining—fares fully cover costs.
- KART offers 24 hour on-site repair services.
Businesses including casinos and ski resorts throughout the state are turning to KART for advice as well. Vanpools based on this model could fill the rural transportation gap in the United States.
View the report notes.
See more innovative projects included in the Reinventing Transit report. 
Posted: 22-Apr-2009; Updated: 05-Feb-2009
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