Regarding the bus service cuts, Mike Ruby let us know that he received a note from Chuck Lare:
Attend the “Save R 26” meeting this Tuesday, November 22nd, 5:30 to 7 PM at the Wallingford Mosaic Coffee House, 4401 Second NE just south of Dick’s DriveIn in the basement of the Seattle First Church of Nazarene.
Background:
- Bus Rider Unions have been organized in several cities, e.g.: Seattle Transit Riders Union, ref: http://saveourmetro.org/
- Approval of the County’s car tab tax preserved some service but Metro will continue to cut service and cause buses to be late and overcrowded;
- Metro Operators chose in their last contract negotiations to contribute $35M by giving up our raise;
- Gather emails/phone numbers to “Save R 26”? How soon is Metro proposing to impact the #26? Realize we have a schedule “Shake-up”, three times a year. The next one starts in February. Metro plans their changes months in advance. And it is not a question of having the money, it is how Metro chooses to allocate resources:
- Metro Service/Operation costs are about $120 per hour of service, i.e. $2 per minute. Why is your bus late? Metro to save money/service continues to cut Recovery Time – time built into the schedule to keep your bus on time and safe from fighting the clock to stay on time. Note: Drivers are not guaranteed rest or meal breaks – every time you see a Driver running to the bathroom, swigging a drink of water at a stop light or grabbing a bite at your stop, that is your considerate Driver saving the Public $2 per minute, trying to keep you on time.
- Drivers for over a year have been leafleting, testifying and lobbying the County elected officials to “Fix-The-Schedules”, Riders-Support-Drivers-
Support-Riders; the silence has been deafening. Your help organizing Wallingford neighbors to band together to “Save R 26”, could help to activate other communities to “occupy” their time: leafleting their bus routes and stops; call-out elected officials (Mayor and County Executive up for election next year) to stop balancing Metro’s budget on the backs of Riders & Drivers.
I want to help “save R 26” but cannot make it to this meeting tonight. What can I do to help?
I’m in the same boat as Sarah S. I have to work until 7pm and won’t be able to make the mtg. I’ve e-mailed kc metro, voicing my opposition to #26 being cut. Anything else?
I can’t make it tonight either but a colleague just suggested that the Save R 26 group might want to enlist the City to help influence Metro. If they’re going to keep increasing density in Lower Wallingford (New building at 34th & Stone Way, Fremont Collective at 35th & Stone Way, new building at 36th & Stone Way, filling in the pit at 40th & Stone Way, construction at 45th & Stone Way if I remember correctly…) maybe they should consider making some transportation concessions to the neighborhood. Maybe??
Those who really need to attend the meeting are the developers who are building the 10 story replacement to Subway on Stone; those who demolished OomYong Doom fo r a 5 story multi-use building; those who are developing the 45th and Stone 5 story building; those who have their claws in the old liquor store .. those who are filling the 40th and stone hole with a large building.
How will all these additional residents, workers, shoppers get around? Will they park in the neighborhoods?
Bus service may prevent so many cars and keep some of the cars out of already packed neighborhoods.
You cant have everything- more big buildings for people to use without transportation and then no place to park since there is no bus1
Come on, builders, get thee to a bus meeting.
Could someone who attended the meeting post a synopsis of what was discussed?
I believe the folks at Save R26 should be very hesitant to include operator issues in their response, as suggested by Mr. Lare.
Whether the 26 in its existing form should stay in its existing format or be restructured is a valid discussion that should play out.
Any discussion on recovery time and how much break time operators have needs to be put into context.
Virtually every bus operator in the country will tell you that there’s not enough time in the schedule. The key is to collect and analyze the running time data to see if those claims can be substantiated.
In Metro’s case, a statistical analysis was performed to determine the running time variabiilty, and the minimum recovery times (breaks at the ends of the routes) that would allow buses to remain on time. The numbers speak for themselves as to whether break time is needed or not.
Metro reduced recovery time (breaks at the end of the routes) and tightened the schedules as a result of this analysis. I believe there have been instances where the resulting schedule hasn’t worked so well. However, the result of the tightening up of schedules is millions of dollars in savings annually. More bus service would have been cut without gaining those scheduling efficiencies.
There are many other reasons for late running that have nothing to do with recovery time, such as lack of consistency in operator speeds (some are faster than others) and a lack of street supervision.
All I ask is that you inform yourselves of the facts prior to signing onto something where you’re only presented one side of the story.
And for the record, I had nothing to do with Metro’s efficiency audit. I have read it and it’s a solid piece of work.
Has anyone considered why the new route 63 is going to the UW campus? Can it be that the UW need more housing for students and sees the area from 50th to lake union as prime property for student housing in existing homes, carved up for 8 rooms, or rezoning to allow apts. on the old 26 now 63 route through wallingford?
take a ride on the route 48th from the uw to roosevelt and see the apartments and then go one block off and see the homes which were carved up into group homes. Most people in Wallingford are aware of the problems north of the UW campus. Could these be coming to Wallingford with the new route 63?
Also remember that the UW has the closest relationship with Metro of any entity in Seattle.
Good points, Mike, thank you. I hadn’t thought of that.
@mike
I just don’t think that a bus route that’s every 30-minutes has the power to influence land use like you describe.
Roosevelt had a host of other issues that led to the rooming houses, and saying that “bus service” caused it, well, that’s pushing reality…