Jolt
Afternoon Jolt: The City of Seattle Wins on Transit
At yesterday's meeting of the Regional Transit Task Force, a group appointed by county executive Dow Constantine to advise the county on the future of the county's transit service, task force members made two recommendations that could have a huge impact on how King County Metro decides where to cut service and where to increase it.
The short version: The task force has recommended scrapping an archaic formula that gives more bus service to suburban areas than King County.
The long version: The task force recommended that the county get rid of its current "40/40/20" policy, which dictates that any new service be divided among Metro's three "subareas"---40 percent to East King County, 40 percent to South King County, and 20 percent to West King County (AKA Seattle). Additionally, the group recommended jettisoning the lesser-known "60/20/20" policy that dictates where the county must make cuts (technically: 62 percent from the west subarea, 21 percent from the south, and 17 percent from the east).
Instead, the task force recommended that the county base any service expansions or reductions on "productivity" and social equity---great news for Seattle, which has historically borne the majority of Metro cuts (and received the smallest share of Metro service increases).
The recommendations, of course, are only the first step toward a new Metro policy; however, they're a great sign for Seattle, which has historically gotten short shrift from King County.
The short version: The task force has recommended scrapping an archaic formula that gives more bus service to suburban areas than King County.
The long version: The task force recommended that the county get rid of its current "40/40/20" policy, which dictates that any new service be divided among Metro's three "subareas"---40 percent to East King County, 40 percent to South King County, and 20 percent to West King County (AKA Seattle). Additionally, the group recommended jettisoning the lesser-known "60/20/20" policy that dictates where the county must make cuts (technically: 62 percent from the west subarea, 21 percent from the south, and 17 percent from the east).
Instead, the task force recommended that the county base any service expansions or reductions on "productivity" and social equity---great news for Seattle, which has historically borne the majority of Metro cuts (and received the smallest share of Metro service increases).
The recommendations, of course, are only the first step toward a new Metro policy; however, they're a great sign for Seattle, which has historically gotten short shrift from King County.
