Looks like I’m not the only one calling for an end to Metro’s inflexible 40/40/20 rule. Over on Crosscut, State Sen. Fred Jarrett (D-Mercer Island) echoes my complaint about the rule sacrificing efficiency for sake of political expediency:
There are a number of strategic and tactical steps Metro can take to use the crisis as an opportunity to shape the region’s future. First, the failed “20-40-40” service allocation formula must be scrapped. Originally put in place as a political way to make each region of the county feel there was some degree of equity in the allocation of service, it has instead created an artificial barrier to the county’s ability to shape regional mobility and support our growth management goals.
Meanwhile, Dow Constantine, the Democratic nominee for King County Executive released a reform plan today that also calls for the rule’s repeal. I guess great minds think a like.
LMAO, someone must have seen Dow’s poll numbers recently!
The reason that the 40-40-20 rule came into place was because areas in King County where not getting bus service. The rule is that any new service that is added 40% goes to South King county, 40% goes to East king county, 20% goes to Seattle.
The biggest problem with this plan is that it was never used. Right now 38% of the tax dollars collected comes from south king county, 21% of the bus hours serves south king county. (these numbers are from king county metro). The way metro counts service hours is from the time that a bus leaves the bus barn to the time it returns to the bus barn it is count as being in service. If the bus route makes any stop in south king county the whole time it is on the road it is count as south king county service. There are route that make less than 10% of there stops in south king county that count as serving south king county.
So, Goldy, with south king county paying 38% of the taxes and getting less than 21% of the service. What plan do you have to correct this. Take a bus down to Auburn tonight and tell me the plan. (That would be 3 buses). And if you talk to long you will have to walk home.
We should allocate the bus dollars to serve the maximum number of riders. The system should serve the people, not land, and not focal points of sales tax revenue. Say we have five auto dealers locating in Auburn generating sales tax, why does that mean we should add bus service aimed at those sales tax dollars? If we add a rotue there, and few people take it, that’s not smart.
We should aim the bus service at the routes where we can serve the most riders, the routes where we are currently leaving folks stranded as full busses go by.
Cleve,
Good point, when is south king county going to get more buses? Try finding a parking space in the Auburn P&R at 8:00 am on Monday morning, you can’t. I catch the 150 at 6:15 on Saturday morning this is the first stop on it’s route (it no longer run to Auburn, this was an “improvement” Metro made). It is full when it leaves Kent station. There have been times (on weekends) when the 150 is heading south out of the tunnel that it can not pickup passengers in the last couple of stops in the tunnel.
If metro would put busses where the people are going where they need to go there would be more busses in south king county. A lot more.