The Metropolitan King County Council has adopted Metro Transit’s June 2012 transit service changes—the first service adjustments since the adoption of the county’s Transit Strategic Plan.
The changes reflect the goals of the Strategic Plan by allocating service hours to higher-performing bus routes to address overcrowding, on-time performance, and adding service to underserved corridors with the goal of making the overall bus system more productive, according to a county press release.
“These transit service reinvestments eliminate lesser-used transit routes in order to add service to highly used routes with unmet demand,” said Larry Phillips, chair of the council’s Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee. “King County leaders are working to make Metro as cost-effective as possible in order to keep productive transit service on he street during these difficult financial times.”
“This is another step in the long march towards reforming how Metro serves King County riders,” said council Vice Chair Jane Hague. “Eastsiders over the course of this process are also going to see an overall increase in their service hours.”
“In reducing low performing bus service we will be better able to provide the much needed additions to areas that are underserved and overcrowded,” said Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer.
“Adoption of these service changes upholds the council’s commitment to Metro’s regionally agreeable upon Strategic Plan,” said council member Patterson Julia Patterson.
The adopted service changes reinvest more than 35,000 hours of service from lower-performing bus routes throughout the system, using those hours to bolster service on high ridership routes. This is the first step in the shifting of at least 100,000 service hours to address high priority needs in the transit system.
This goal is part of the approach called for in the Strategic Plan for Public Transportation 2011-2021 and King County Metro Service Guidelines, adopted by the council in June 2011, as well as the county’s Congestion Reduction Plan.
The ordinance calls for the elimination of 10 bus routes, and a reduction of service on five bus routes.
No buses specifically serving Renton were eliminated. Routes serving nearby cities that were eliminated were Route 129, serving Riverton Heights and Tukwila, Route 162 serving Kent and the Seattle Central Business District and Route 219 serving Newcastle and Factoria.
No routes will see a reduction is service.
However, Route 169, which services Renton and Kent, will receive an additional 500 hours of service during the weekdays.
