Circuit Blog — Circuit

Driving Tourism with Transportation - An Interview with Visit Bellevue

Written by Circuit Team | Feb 27, 2024 4:33:12 PM

At Circuit, we know that transportation is a key that opens many doors, from boosting tourism to expanding access. In Bellevue, Washington, our partners at Visit Bellevue worked with us to create a memorable service, named the BellHop, for visitors to enjoy their innovative city. We asked our partner Brad Jones, Executive Director at Visit Bellevue, a little more about why Circuit was the right choice for Bellevue.

What makes Bellevue special? Why should people visit Bellevue?

Bellevue, Washington is a premier destination, built by futurists and rooted in the spirit of the Pacific Northwest. Bellevue places visitors at the edge, where creativity, outdoor recreation, technology, style and fashion, offering world-leading hospitality and multicultural cuisine intersect.  

How did you hear about Circuit? What made Circuit stand out as a transportation partner?

Over years of exploration, we discovered Circuit through media and then traveled to cities where they operated services. For us, Circuit is an expansion of our hospitality and quality of life, better connecting our community and delivering on-demand, point to point microtransit in an environmentally-friendly way.

What were you looking to accomplish in designing the BellHop service with Circuit?

For Visit Bellevue, we wanted to bring a real solution to the long-discussed challenge of first mile/last mile issues, which exists in all communities. More specifically, we wanted to provide our hotels and our overnight guests with a creative and modern solution to hotel shuttles. What we have found is a solution that is good for everyone in our community: visitors, residents, and our workforce. BellHop provides an integral shared community value. 

How does BellHop support Visit Bellevue’s tourism goals and promote Bellevue as a unique destination?

As a world-class destination, Bellevue prides itself as being a safe, clean, and connected experience for all visitors. So, for us, BellHop exemplifies our culture of hospitality to visitors, groups, conventions, meetings, families, and events. Our focus on improving quality of life is not just for our residents, its extended to our visiting guests and we want to provide not only authentic but elevated experiences. When people visit the Seattle area and the Pacific Northwest, they have choices, and BellHop differentiates Bellevue from the typical and expected.    

What’s your favorite place to go with the BellHop?

I love how convenient it is to take the BellHop to business lunch meetings and happy hour meet ups with colleagues. Not having to worry about parking, or the hassle of driving, is a big value to me. I also love taking it to Meydenbauer Bay Park to relax on Bellevue’s waterfront.

What is one of your favorite BellHop memories?

Recently, one of our many business travelers contacted me and said that he and his company are making a significant investment to relocate their headquarters to Bellevue from a different city in our region. He told me that that decision between his leadership team was made on a BellHop, after enjoying dinner at one of our incredible restaurants and on their way back to their hotel. He said that “any city that cares that much about visitor and worker experience to provide free rides around downtown is where they want to be." Other cities are about what we can give them, and Bellevue is all about partnerships and quality.  

 

If you’re interested in learning more about bringing Circuit to your town, reach out to the Circuit team today.