When an employee living in Visalia and traveling to Corcoran learned Caltrans was pulling the van they had provided for her commute, she requested assistance. The Board discussed the possibility of acquiring a van for the state employee and her coworkers to use, and approved the purchase with one condition. The Board established that all costs would have to be recouped from those using the vanpool. The endeavor proved both self-sustaining and successful. The project, which began in 2001 with one van, was originally established as an offshoot of Kings Area Rural Transit. (KART) Since then KART has expanded well beyond the boundaries of Kings County and deserved a new name. CalVans has grown to include more than 200 vanpools tailored to meet the needs of commuters, plus nearly 150 vans especially designed for farm workers.