As part of a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Initiative, Joint Base Lewis-McChord received a hydrogen bus last year to develop a route to take Airmen and Soldiers, civilian employees and family members around the installation.
The JBLM Duty Shuttle begins service on Monday. The two-route shuttle system will cover main roads from McChord Field to Lewis Main and Lewis North.
When establishing the route, officials at Directorate of Logistics thought about where the most Soldiers and Airmen were throughout the day, and where they most often need to go.
"The purpose of the bus is to get people back and forth between appointments during the duty day," Lt. Col. A.J. Mims, 627th Logistics Readiness Squadron commander and DOL deputy director, said.
The Blue Route will start at 62nd Airlift Wing Headquarters and make stops at McChord Health and Wellness Center, McChord Clinic, McChord Education Center and Madigan Army Medical Center. It will then turn around and head back to 62nd AW Headquarters with the same stops. The route will go through gates between McChord Field and Lewis Main but will not need to be stopped for an ID check, as riders will already have been vetted when they entered JBLM for work that day. The bus on this route is expected to be a Bluebird bus and not the one hydrogen bus.
The hydrogen bus will be used for the Green Route. The route will run from the Hawk Education Center on Lewis North to Madigan where it will pick up and drop off passengers who need to ride the blue route, and turn around to head back to Lewis North. Stops include Lewis Army Museum, Garrison headquarters, Waller Hall, Lewis Main Exchange, Stone Education Center and Madigan.
The busses will have signs in the window designating it the Duty Shuttle and there will also be signage at each stop with information on the bus and route times.
The bus routes begin Monday and will run from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. They will not run on holidays, weekends or days with inclement weather. For more information visit: www.facebook.com/jblmcommutes or call 982-2684 (option No. 4).