"Save Your Bus Route!", By Richard Morris

King County Council member Jane Hague

3rd from the left

Save Your Bus Route!

LETTER:  If the Congestion Reduction Charge (temporary two-year $20 car tab fee) doesn't pass, several routes are scheduled to be eliminated or scheduled for service reductions and revisions.

Because of the recession, King County Metro's funding from sales tax has plummeted. Metro has already undertaken extreme efficiency measures to keep the buses running, but they are facing a 17% budget gap. Without the temporary $20 car tab fee, King County Metro will have to cut bus service by 17 percent!

This would mean 177 bus routes under King County Metro would be slashed, reduced, or even eliminated. 36% of commuters in King County currently use the bus.

We need transit to reduce commuter gridlock and protect the environment. People rely on King County Metro buses to get to work, school and the hospital. In fact, these cuts will disproportionately affect people of color, immigrants and our elders who make up a large percentage of transit-dependent riders throughout King County.

On August 15, six votes are needed by King County Council to pass an emergency ordinance to put the measure on the ballot or to approve the measure without requiring a public vote.

Please email Council member Jane Hague and urge her to vote YES on The Congestion Reduction Charge on August 15. jane.hague@kingcounty.gov  [and email Council member Kathy Lambert at:  kathy.lambert@kingcounty.gov].

By Richard Morris

Redmond, WA.

Photo:  courtesy King County website