Mayor statement on Metro Transit Allocation
Nickels pushes to put transit riders first; protect our communities
SEATTLE -- Mayor Greg Nickels today said efforts to resolve King County Metro's budget deficit must retain the greatest numbers of riders in the system.
"When tackling Metro's budget problem, we must make sure that riders are our number one priority," said Nickels. "We also need to ensure that transit is helping us meet our regional goals regarding climate change and growth management."
Nickels was encouraged by Executive Kurt Triplett's push to restore any service cuts to original levels as quickly as possible, identify efficiencies at the agency, and implement findings of an outside audit, planned for release in September.
For delivering transit service in the face of Metro's expected $500 million budget deficit over the next four years, Nickels continues to advocate that decisions be based four common-sense objectives that put people first and protect our communities:
Putting People First
- Maximize ridership -- keep the most riders in the system
- Serve transit-dependent communities -- get buses to those who use transit the most and depend on transit to get them where they need to go
Protecting Our Communities
- Meet growth management goals -- serve urban centers that encourage compact communities
- Address climate change -- provide cleaner alternatives to the car and make reductions in vehicle miles traveled
"There is a better way to allocate transit service -- whether cutting or adding service -- and that's to align transit service with the goals of our region," said Nickels. "Until we use common sense over outdated political compromises to deliver transit service, many of our riders will still be left waiting at the stop."
Nickels is calling for King County to convene a dialogue with regional leaders to put forth a positive vision for Metro's future. Many of our region's major urban centers, such as Seattle, Bellevue, Renton, Federal Way, and Kent, rely on transit to continue to grow jobs and the economy.
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