What the New Bus Routes Might Mean to Your Student

I received a heads up from a reader about changes to the Metro bus routes used by high school students (as well as middle schoolers).  From the PhinneyWood blog:


Metro Transit is asking the King County Council for a temporary $20 annual surcharge on licensed vehicles as a stop-gap measure to maintain bus service. Metro has announced that if the council doesn’t approve the surcharge, it will have to cut up to 600,000 service hours – or 17 percent of current bus routes – in 2012 and 2013.

According to Metro’s proposal, routes 5 and 28, which serve Phinney Ridge and Greenwood, will be hit hard.

The reader let me know that many Ballard students use the 28 route.  Earlier start times mean up earlier and probably waiting more for buses, transfers and walking more.

From the blog:


You can weigh in on the issue at three public meetings, including one tonight in Kirkland (6 p.m., Kirkland City Council Chambers, 123 Fifth Ave.); at 6 p.m. next Tuesday, July 12, at the King County Courthouse, Council Chambers, 516 Third Ave., Seattle; and at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 21, at the Burien City Council Chambers, 400 SW 152nd St., Burien.

If you can’t make it to one of the public hearings, you can submit your comments to the council online.
Click here for a complete list of all routes and whether the proposal calls for them to be eliminated, reduced or remain unchanged. Click here for a map of all affected routes in Northwest Seattle.

Thanks to Sara and Keith for the tips and links!

Comments

wsnorth said…
Well, a little off topic, but since there is nothing else going on...

Disclaimer: I vote for all taxes that seem even moderately worthy, but isn't this one of the most bizarre ones anyone has ever seen? Taxing CARS to keep the BUSES running?

Unless we are cynically assuming the "car people" will pay to keep the "bus people" off the streets and on the buses...what's the connection???
7/7/11, 10:35 PM
Anonymous said…
I'm surprised only one comment so far. SPS's transportation plan depends on students having access to bus routes. SPS supplies ORCA cards, but those won't be all that useful if half the routes disappear. I've brought this up to a few folks and they say "kids should walk or bike." Well, the walk zone is 2 miles and kids in zero hour classes start school at 7am. How many adults would be willing to walk 2 miles at that hour throughout the fall and winter? And not everyone can afford a bike.
7/8/11, 9:37 AM
Anonymous said…
I urge everyone to check out the proposed maps (link below) for each section of the city.

Transportation for high school (and some middle school) students will be entirely cut with no alternatives left. In West Seattle, the whole penninsula looks like a red cut zone, with all the major north/south arterials leading to the 2 high schools eliminated.

What are they thinking? Isn't the district required to provide bussing (in some form or other) to all kids who live beyond 2-1/2 miles? Will the district have to start up yellow bus service again, even if on an arterial only basis? It seems as if Metro tried to draw the maps with the most damage possible for the shock effect to shake out the votes.

http://metro.kingcounty.gov/am/
future/service-cuts.html

SP
7/8/11, 10:59 PM
Stu said…
It seems as if Metro tried to draw the maps with the most damage possible for the shock effect to shake out the votes.

Yep . . that's exactly what they're doing. They want the $20 surcharge so they're proposing such draconian cuts that the Council will have no choice but to give in.

stu
7/10/11, 9:10 AM
KG said…
New bus routes and later start times will probably mean more danger for elementary school children especially when they get out of school at 3:40pm. Also families will pay more for day-care. I know it is all about the children.
7/13/11, 9:19 PM
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