Email subscribers to King County Metro’s bulletins received an update on Wednesday about a meeting that’s scheduled for next Tuesday, January 10: “The Metropolitan King County Council’s Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee will continue its discussion about Metro Transit’s recommended service changes for June 2012.” A copy of that email appears below.
If you scroll down to the “Background” part of the email, you’ll notice that Routes 26 and 26x aren’t mentioned among the routes affected by the service change in June. This prompted the overly-optimistic question (from me): Is Route 26 still on the chopping block?
I posed that question to Linda Thielke, the communications specialist for King County Department of Transportation, and this was her reply:
The Council committee meeting on Jan. 10 is dealing with transit service changes coming up in June. The bigger service reorganization that includes possible changes for the Rt. 26 would happen in September. The Council will have hearings on the September changes later this spring, but first Metro will host another round of community meetings for those in February. We will be sending out notices for the February meetings near the end of this month.
We’ll keep you posted once we know when those meetings will take place in February. In the meantime, here’s a complete list of service changes happening in June.
Below is a copy of the email sent to King County Metro bulletin subscribers. Thanks to Kimberly C. for alerting us!
Dear Subscriber:
Next Tuesday, Jan. 10, the Metropolitan King County Council’s Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee will continue its discussion about Metro Transit’s recommended service changes for June 2012.
The committee meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. in the King County Council Chamber on the 10th floor of the King County Courthouse (516 Third Avenue in Seattle). Members of the public are welcome to attend. There is no public testimony scheduled at this committee meeting. To request a language interpreter or accommodations for persons with disabilities, please contact Kendall Moore at [email protected] by this Friday (Jan. 6).
Alternatively, you can watch committee proceedings online at www.kingcounty.gov/kctv.aspx.
At a meeting on Dec.7, the committee heard both a briefing from Metro staff on the proposed June ordinance and testimony from the public. The committee is expected to refer the ordinance to the County Council for consideration and a final decision this month.
The June service change ordinance does not include any changes related to the start of the RapidRide C and D lines in September 2012. Separate Council meetings will be scheduled for these changes later this year.
Background
Last summer, the County Council directed Metro to shift bus service hours from less-productive routes to more heavily used ones to reduce overcrowding and improve on-time performance, or to serve areas of the county that have unmet transit needs. These changes would be consistent with Metro’s new strategic plan. The service changes recommended for next June are in accordance with this direction.
The lower-productivity routes recommended for elimination in June 2012 are routes 38, 42, 79, 129, 162, 175, 196, 219, 600, 912, and 925. Metro is recommending service reductions for routes 25, 99, 119, 139, and 935.
To relieve overcrowding, Metro is recommending adding service to routes 1, 8, 9, 36, 41, 44, 73, 128, 169, 180, 218, and 372. We also recommend extending Route 177 and adding service to several other routes to improve on-time performance.
Learn more on Metro’s Have A Say website.