METRO Announces 2022 Innovative Solutions Award Winners
This year's winners bring technology to the forefront to solve different mobility issues and improve safety.
The Ride Pingo to Transit service was launched in September 2021 and funded by the US DOE because it included a feature called “Transit Connect,” which guarantees a rider will make their connection to a selected bus or train at Kent Station.
King County Metro
METRO Magazine is pleased to announce the winners of its 2022 Innovative Solutions Award, which will be featured online in Monday’s METRO Express newsletter and in our October issue.
Now in its eighth year, the Innovative Solutions Awards honors bus operations and their supplier partners who have implemented initiatives that helped them save money, run more efficiently, streamline operations, increase safety, improve customer satisfaction, increase ridership, and more.
This year’s winners are heavily focused on providing mobility in ways that solve different issues impacting the regions they provide service in, as well as testing technology that can improve driver safety.
This year’s winners are:
Durham Region Transit/Spare Labs/Transit – Mobility
L.A. Metro/Rosco – Safety
King County Metro/Hopelink/The Routing Company – First Mile/Last Mile
Porter County Aging and Community Service/RideCo – Paratransit
“We are very excited about winning this award,” said Jeff Switzer, public information officer, strategic communications & engagement, for the GM’s office at Seattle’s King County Metro. “The Ride Pingo service was a long time coming, we were happy to be able to launch service and provide some much-needed transit connections to this community.”
METRO’s staff would like to thank everyone who applied, congratulations again goes to all our winners, and don’t forget to tune in online and in print to find out more about their stories.
More Bus
The High Cost of Transit Buses: Industry Leaders Look to Procurement Reform
Transit leaders and policymakers examine how standardized bus designs, streamlined procurement, and predictable funding could help agencies stretch budgets and deliver better service.
Read More →
The Business Voice Behind Public Transportation
As chair of APTA’s Business Members Board of Governors, Ray Melleady explains how more than 850 business members are partnering with transit agencies to advance funding, innovation, and industry-wide collaboration.
Read More →
From Surviving to Thriving: Building Stronger Transportation Organizations
Bus Business Consultants founder Brian Dickson shares lessons on leadership, organizational health, and creating options for long-term success in a changing transportation industry.
Read More →
Finding the ‘Happy Medium’: Optimizing Maintenance Without Sacrificing Reliability
The key to maintenance optimization isn’t doing less work—it’s doing the right work at the right time on the right assets.
Read More →
LA Metro, City of West Hollywood, and Partners Advance Smarter Bus Lane Enforcement
The award-winning partnership combines AI-powered detection with human oversight to improve bus reliability, accessibility, and enforcement efficiency.
Read More →
PSTA Modernizes Workforce Management with Digital Bidding System
The award-winning Workforce Transit Modernization project replaced paper bidding with a transparent digital platform, cutting administrative effort while improving access for operators.
Read More →
Washington's Community Transit Sets Six-Year Roadmap for Growth, Expansion
Approved TDP targets more bus service, new mobility options, Swift BRT expansion, and a potential Everett Transit annexation.
Read More →
DART Customer Satisfaction Reaches Six-Year High
Overall satisfaction rose to 74.9%, while the agency’s Net Promoter Score reached a record 33.7.
Read More →
How DART's GoPass Is Redefining Regional Mobility
Serving 14 transit agencies, GoPass simplifies multimodal travel by allowing riders to plan, pay for, and manage an entire trip through one app.
Read More →
Biz Briefs: OCTA Taps Clean Energy for Hydrogen Station, Stadler to Supply Via Rail Vehicles, and More
From manufacturers and suppliers to transit agencies and motorcoach operators, these updates offer a snapshot of the projects, partnerships and business moves driving the industry forward.
Read More →