First round of Metro bus cuts start next Saturday
Sunday, September 21, 2014
28 routes deleted, 13 routes revised to match available revenues
Metro’s first round of unprecedented service cuts go into effect Sept. 27, and riders are strongly encouraged to use the next week to prepare for changes to dozens of routes and make alternate travel plans as needed.
Service will be canceled on 28 routes and reduced or revised on another 13 routes. As a result, riders will see about 250 closed bus stops, nearly 1,200 changed bus stop signs and 800 posted rider alerts.
Information for riders
Summary information for riders is available in orange Rider Alert brochures on buses and at transit information hubs, as well as on the Metro website. By entering a date after Sept. 27 in Metro’s online trip planner, riders can see what alternatives are available as routes are canceled or revised. New orange timetables also are available. Metro customer service is providing trip planning help at 206-553-3000.
An estimated 2.3 million annual rides will be lost due to these canceled and reduced routes, said Metro Transit General Manager Kevin Desmond. Metro provides approximately 400,000 daily rides each weekday and 118.6 million in 2013.
“We hope riders take time to prepare for these changes so they are ready Sept. 27 and during that first week of commutes,” Desmond said. “As we cancel routes and reduce service, riders face possible longer travel times due to more crowded buses and a longer walk to reach our service.
“It’s unfortunate to be cutting service when ridership demand is so high – when we should be increasing service by 15 percent – but it’s a necessary step to bring spending in line with available revenues.”
(* – potentially revised in two phases)
· 28 deleted routes: 7X, 19, 47, 48X, 61, 62, 139, 152, 161, 173, 202, 203, 205X, 209, 210, 211X, 213, 215, 243, 250, 260, 265, 280, 306X, DART routes 909, 919, 927, 935.
· 13 revised routes: 27*, 30*, 200*, 204, 208, 212*, 236*, 238*, 249*, 312X, 331, DART routes 903, 931.
· 7 route adjustments: No-cost route schedule adjustments or revisions also are posted online: Routes 24, 33, 48, 49, 122, 178, 201.
More service cuts ahead
In addition to cuts this month, further rounds of service cuts are proposed for February 2015 and March 2016, with three rounds totaling 400,000 service hours – a newly reduced figure thanks to efforts at reforms and cost efficiencies. These are proposed by King County Executive Dow Constantine as part of the 2015-2016 budget and represent a revised figure from a previous service cut proposal of 550,000 hours. The King County Council will consider transit service levels as part of deliberations on the county’s biennial budget.
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2 comments:
While the above is unfortunate news, there is better news from the north.
Community Transit is adding a bit of service next week, most notably to the #130, which travels between Edmonds (ferry, Amtrak/Sounder station) and Aurora Village via Firdale, tehn north on Meridian and east to Mountlake Terrace Transit Center, its city center, then Lynnwood Transit Center.
At the latter, connections abound to routes going further north, the #201/2 to Everett, Marysville, and Smokey Point being increased to every 15 minutes, as well as to Sound Transit’s mostly half-hourly, all-day route #535 to/from UW/Bothell, Kirkland, and Bellevue. The #115 (which starts at Aurora Village) and #116 will shift to the east/Sears side of the Alderwood Mall, as the #113 that goes to/from the Mukilteo ferry will be extended south from Ash Way (164th) to Lynnwood Transit Center via the west side of Alderwood Mall.
In some cases, such as with the #331 being cut back in the evenings, there still may be a viable way to get to the eastside, just using different transit providers.
.divorced
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