It’s now 2015 and a proposal for more buses has been put on the table by king county
WHAT?
Metro transit to add more buses, more trips this fall
The regional transportation agency will buy more buses and provide more trips beginning in the fall.
WHAT?
I get the feeling that the whole idea of light rail has been lost maybe the funding gone wrong and well, bertha hasn’t been cooperating with the workers. This makes me question where all this money is coming from and why shouldn’t those dollars go toward what we all have come to know as “Light Rail.” While most folks probably agree that we all need better parking, if king county is trying to reduce or redirect cars from coming into downtown they should keep have or offer a great alternative… right. I don’t know about you but that doesn’t necessarily include more buses. I hope there are more voters willing to demand answers spend the sudden influx of funds on light or any rail into place as we have all been waiting for.
From 2010 through 2014 we were told among other things that Metro Service cuts are proposed …again?
a Re-post because taxpayers should know what happened to Metro between 2010 and 2014 ?
Metro must plan now for major service cuts in absence of funding
We’ve cut costs, raised fares, and created other efficiencies to preserve most service over the past five years. But temporary funding authority from the state expires in June, and unless action is taken on stable funding, Metro must plan now for drastic service reductions next year.
- 74 routes would be deleted.
- 107 routes would be changed.
- 33 unchanged routes would likely become more crowded.
More than 80 percent of Metro’s bus and DART routes would be affected.
Riders and communities across King County would feel the impacts: fewer travel options, longer waits between buses, more transfers, more-crowded and less-reliable buses, and increased traffic congestion.
http://metro.kingcounty.gov/am/future/why-cut.html
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Washington transit system: Our roads got a grade of D , light rail reduced and now our bridges
Below is a snippet of an article and petition you should sign from the Washington Chapter of the Sierra Club.Senator Curtis King, Co-Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, is promoting a new transportation funding proposal that will set us back decades. This new budget proposal fails to fund over $900 million worth of projects that are necessary to operate our transit system, provide street improvements for bikes and pedestrians, and address polluted water runoff associated with roads.
Our bridges are literally crumbling around us. Workers can’t get to jobs because their bus service has been cut. The new road “mega-projects” being considered in the transportation funding proposal would dramatically increase climate changing pollution and increase sprawl. The Senate transportation funding proposal is simply unacceptable.
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Don’t Eliminate the “Ride Free Zone”
Washingtonians need to ask … what did the savings of $2 million with the elimination of the “Free Zone” do for our transportation when our bus services might still be cut !!!
I wrote about The “ride free zone” ending way before the September 29th deadline hoping they would rescind the order to end it. Today, the local media showed and interviewed the people who have suffered from the new change and not in a good way. The thing that struck me most aside from the obvious was the comment about “a one time set-aside for bus tickets,” of $250,000 in emergency money for homeless people to ride Metro.
Below is a video and article that is heartbreaking
Homeless hopes public helps with discounted Metro bus tickets … click on the link below for the video and article !
http://www.king5.com/news/cities/seattle/Homeless-council-member-ask-for–174292691.html
It was a nice surprise to hear that people are still protesting the elimination of the “Ride Free Zone” giving full exposure to the real reasons why the Seattle King Council voted to eliminate the “Ride Free Zone.” Yes, we all know about that 2million dollar savings but the mission to make the downtown and the transit look and smell beautiful by leaving the homeless, disabled and those needing services out in the cold, which btw are all located on or near the “Ride Free Zone.”
In 2011, king county hit its residents with a two-year vehicle license fee that was supposed to help keep metro alive. Now, Metro Bus Riders find out that a deal done with Republicans will eliminate the “Ride Free Zone,” a Merchant straight away and beautiful feature of the City of Seattle – free for over 35 years.
The facts are; that more than 10 million boarding’s are logged each year inside the Ride Free Area; another 9,000 rides are taken each day without fare. There are reports that without the compromise reductions in Metro would have affected 80% of all bus riders including the poor. Unfortunately, balancing budgets off the backs of the middle and poor has been a Republican mission since 2010. It is with great sadness to think and or believe all that King County Officials seemed to have forgotten or sacrificed for that 2 million “Ride Free Zone” cost savings per year. This includes tourists, people commuting home from across the water, downtown workers accustomed to hopping on the bus to grab a quick bite, or get some dry cleaning, pop into a store all within an hour and low-income folks who, if you ride in the zone now; know they use it to get around daily.
King County Officials say the “Ride Free Zone” will end after Sept. 29; tell them that making deals with Republicans to phase out an urban mainstay for so many, is bad for Seattle.
If, this new mega-projects monstrosity is real yet will create an environment for more pollution and increase sprawl …
We must say NO
challenge who was in charge of spending
demand accountability
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Congratulations! You saved King County Metro! …Julia Deak Sandler, Prevent Metro Transit Cuts in King County, WA Campaign
We did it! You and I, with our coalition partners and all the individuals we set in motion, have saved metro. The King County Councilenacted the $20 Congestion Reduction Charge last night, after some intelligent, bipartisan negotiation and compromise, and I am so proud of them. Jane Hague and Kathy Lambert, in particular, really rose to the occasion. They not only made those controversial “yes” votes that carried the day, but they improved the proposal by giving 8 free bus tickets to everyone who pays the $20 car tab fee and letting those who don’t want them donate that value to social service organizations. Doesn’t it feel great to see your democratic government working the way it’s supposed to?
The lesson we can learn from this success is that our participation matters. Without the outpouring of “overwhelming” support for transit, this deal never would have happened. When democracy works, it is because we push our elected officials to do the right thing. I know this success has inspired and energized me, and I hope it’s done the same for you.
If you feel a little giddy at this vision of what participating in your democracy can do, here are some ways to keep at it:
1. Join me in going past this temporary 2-year solution. We need to find permanent, progressive funding for transit, and convince the voters to vote for it. If you would like to work on this issue with me and our local organizational partners, please reply to this email. We’ll be starting the discussion with a free movie screening of the film Contested Streets (a transit documentary) on Fri. Aug. 26th at 7pm at Bethany UCC, corner of S. Beacon St. and Graham St. in Beacon Hill. Please join us for the screening and discussion. RSVP
3. Last but not least, you can make your own petition on signon.org at any time! Any individual can start a petition about any issue, so consider it, and let me know if you have questions.
These are dire times in many ways. We are struggling economically, environmentally, and politically. But there are rays of hope, like this victory today. Just remember, there are more of us than there are of them, and all we need to do is stand up and make our voices heard. Please stand with me in the years to come and help make King County the kind of place we all want to live in.
Thank you and Peace be with you, Julia Deak Sandler
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Final Vote on Bus Cuts on Mon. 8/15
- Image via Wikipedia
Your support for saving King County Metro has made a huge difference. More than 8,200 people signed our SignOn petition to save our buses, and more than 14,000 total signed letters or petitions. The testimony at the 7/26 hearing was fantastic, and we didn’t lose! But we also haven’t won yet…
We need six of nine councilmembers to vote in favor of the two-year stop-gap measure to save our buses. We have the support of 5 members, but the sixth has been elusive.
The King County Council was set to vote on the matter that day. Luckily, thanks to the thousands of people who voiced their support, the four remaining councilmembers – all Republicans – agreed to take three more weeks to seriously consider the the measure.
Now, we must double-down. This is our last chance to save our buses from devastating 17% cuts that will significantly hurt 4 out of 5 riders. Though I started this petition as an individual, I’ve learned that many professionals are working on this and related issues under the umbrella of the Transportation for Washington campaign. Here’s what they recommend:
First, please send your own personal letter to the King County Councilmembers. There are no more opportunities for public testimony, so calling or sending another letter is the best way to remind them of our arguments. Feel free to edit or add personal details.
Click here to send your letter. http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5127/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=7814
Next, pack the meeting on Monday, August 15. Click here to RSVP. http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5153/p/salsa/web/questionnaire/public/?questionnaire_KEY=608
Finally, we need volunteers to help petition, phonebank, write letters to newpaper editors, and enter data. Email Brock Howell, field director of Transportation 4 WA, at brock@futurewise.org to volunteer.
Thanks again for your support. Your dedication to the betterment of our society and planet warms my heart. Together we can save our buses. Stay strong & don’t give up!
Peace to all of you,
Julia Deak
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Be a Seed for Change 
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