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5 Things You Should Know About Saving King County Metro Bus Service

By Seattle Mag March 18, 2014

0414metro

This article originally appeared in the April 2014 issue of Seattle magazine.

!–paging_filter–pOn April 22, King County residents will vote on Proposition 1, a measure to preserve current bus service and fund needed road maintenance projects with a $60 annual vehicle license fee and a sales tax increase of 1 cent per $10 spent in the county. Prop. 1 is on the ballot because, for nearly a year, legislators in Olympia have failed to agree on a comprehensive plan to fund roads and transit. As we wait, the demise of 74 Metro bus routes hangs like a sword of Damocles over commuters’ umbrellas. brbrstrongBy the numbers:/strongbrIf it passes, Proposition 1 preserves 600,000 bus service hours.br(If the proposition fails, proposed cuts, revisions and reductions will affect eight in 10 riders.)brbrUnder Metro’s plan, basic fares will increase by 25 cents in 2015.br(Transit fares have increased 80 percent since 2008.)brbrThe proposition is estimated to cost the average household an additional $11 per month. (The average Seattleite spends three times that amount on coffee each month.)brbrProponents estimate that cutting service will put an additional 30,000 cars on the roads.br(Eighty-seven percent of King County Metro’s most frequent riders have access to a vehicle.)brbrMetro will also create a reduced fare of $1.50 per ride for low-income residents.br(Seattle will join San Francisco as one of only two cities of comparable size in the country that offer reduced fares for low-income residents.)/p

 

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