Looking to expand transit options on Vashon, King County Metro is calling on island residents to help identify transportation deficiencies and propose alternatives that would better meet local needs.

Vashon is one of several communities throughout King County that may benefit from Metro’s expanded Alternative Services Program, according to Rochelle Ogerschok, a spokeswoman for the county’s Department of Transportation. As part of the program, Metro staff members work with communities to identify alternative transit services that would offer more choices, such as customizable shuttles or vans, private vehicle on-demand ridesharing, emergency rides home or community vans.

Up to five Vashon residents are needed to serve on a working group that will form this month to assess island transportation needs and suggest alternatives through this program. The suggestions will be considered as part of a two-year demonstration project. Metro staff say they will also recruit individuals from island businesses, schools and social services, and will look to those groups to serve as transit partners when new services are implemented as early as next summer.

The larger Vashon community will also have opportunities to be involved in the process through online surveys, conversations with Metro staff members on island buses and at an open house yet to be scheduled.

“We are really interested in coming up with innovative solutions for the residents of Vashon,” Lori Burchett, a Metro transportation planner, said in an interview last week.

Metro officials stress that ideas about what the needs are on the island will come from the community and that staff will not push ideas, but respond with possible options.

“Once we understand what the priority needs are, then we have a lot of ideas about how to craft potential solutions,” said Carol Cooper, a Metro market development supervisor.

Metro is beginning its efforts on the island this week, but Emma Amiad, a leader with the Interfaith Council to Prevent Homelessness, said many service providers have already learned about the initiative and are more than ready to share their thoughts.

“We are winding up for that, and we have some things to say,” she said last week.

In addition to the customary bus service, she said that she would like to see small shuttle buses for the west side, Maury Island and around town.

“We have been talking about this for 30 years,” she added.

Currently, island bus service is limited and geared primarily to commuters. Vashon is served by just two bus lines, the 118 and 119, which run the length of Vashon and travel to Dockton on Maury Island. There is often a long time between buses, and many neighborhoods do not have bus service at all.

The county provides Access bus service for people who are disabled, but critics say it is often not user-friendly. Being deemed eligible for the services is an onerous process, according to Ava Apple, who heads the Vashon Senior Center, and proves too daunting for some people. The service also requires at least one day’s notice for a reservation and is therefore not available for urgent or unexpected needs. Also, many seniors do not qualify for it, but are still unable to drive themselves.

The island’s transportation options for seniors are so limited that the senior center’s leadership considers transportation, particularly for people 80 and older, the number one issue that needs to be addressed, Apple said. Additionally, in a 2011 survey regarding concerns islanders had about aging on the island, transportation came in at number two, just behind keeping up personal property.

Those who work with island elders say the issue is particularly pressing because Vashon has a higher percentage of seniors than many other communities. The 2010 census, for example, showed that more than 17 percent of island residents are 65 and older, compared to 12 percent in Washington as a whole. In fact, in recent months, the senior center has found public transportation options for seniors so needed that Apple set up two transportation programs through a grant from Granny’s Attic and a large private donation. Now, the Care-a-Van, brings islanders to the center for lunch twice a week, and Bluebird Medical Transport drivers take seniors to off-island medical appointments. The latter program became popular immediately, she said, with the drivers routinely making three or more trips every week.

There are some challenges with the current services, though, particularly regarding accessibility, she said. The van used to bring people to lunch can be impossible for seniors to get in and out of, and the drivers for the transportation medical service also use their own vehicles, which can be difficult for those with impaired mobility as well.

While social service leaders are quick to speak up about transportation needs, they say more transit options would benefit a wide range of islanders. Amiad, who works as a buyers’ broker, said she hears transit concerns from people who buy houses in more far-flung places of the island. If their car breaks down or they miss a bus, she said, they have great difficulty getting to work or tending to other business.

At the county, transportation officials explained that this effort is part of a five-year plan that was adopted in 2012 to better meet the transit needs of areas that would benefit from services other than fixed-route bus transportation. In the budget process for 2015-16, there was a lot of conversation about alternative sources of transportation, as they are often more cost-effective than traditional methods. Ultimately, the budget included $12 million over two years to mitigate the service reductions that took place in 2014 and to finish the five-year plan.

From the beginning of that plan, the Snoqualmie Valley, Southeast King County and Vashon were all slated to be included. Changes have occurred in the Snoqualmie Valley, and some are set for Southeast King County, Cooper said, and now it is Vashon’s turn.

“We are really open to new ideas,” she added, “and we expect the solutions set to continue to grow.”

Dan Anderson, a Metro community relations planner working on the outreach process for Vashon, said he hopes islanders, particularly those who are comfortable with creativity, will step up and be part of this process. In the first phase, the local working group will determine challenges to transportation on the island and recommend changes, he noted. The second part of the project will involve Metro staff members determining what the agency could offer and bringing those ideas first to group members and then to the public.

Meetings will likely take place every three weeks, and Anderson said he expects a total of four will be held. Residents interested in serving on the working group can fill out an application on Metro’s website by Sept. 18, in time for the first meeting on Sept. 29. A set of recommendations for the community is expected early next year and implementation is expected to follow in the summer or fall.

Islanders interested in serving in one of the five at-large positions on the working group should see surveymonkey.com/r/WFZHC7J.