Last Tuesday, we had one last chance to preserve bus service that gets hundreds of thousands of people to work, school, and services each day. But we fell short.
Some will say that this result is a stark reminder that we need more progressive funding sources for transit. Others will say that the time wasn’t right. One thing is for sure, whether you ride the bus or drive a car, your life will be different as a result of this vote.
Starting in September, 75% of bus riders will see their routes deleted, reduced or revised. (The cuts will happen in three phases. You can find the details here.) Thousands of cars will be added to our already clogged streets. And some seniors, students, people with disabilities, and working families will be left without a way to get around.
But there is a silver lining. With your help, we built an unprecedented coalition of community, business, labor, environment, freight, education, health and social justice leaders. Over 400 volunteers contacted more 30,000 voters on the phones and at the doors. Unfortunately, it was not enough to pass Proposition 1.
Last week’s vote was not a rejection of transit or King County Metro. It’s a call for us to find better ways to fund our system.
This is a hard time for us all. At Transportation Choices, we have worked for six years to prevent bus cuts at King County Metro. We talked to thousands of transit riders in the streets. We spent countless hours building support among our partners and elected officials for funding transit service. And YOU – our members and supporters – sent nearly 10,000 emails to legislators, testified at hearings and showed your support for bus service.
We will never stop working to save bus service. We will work with our 275 coalition partners to keep pushing our leaders in Olympia to give King County a more progressive funding source for our transit needs. And we will continue explore all available options to keep our buses on the streets.
Our resolve is stronger than it has ever been. We hope that you will stand with us.
Last Tuesday, we had one last chance to preserve bus service that gets hundreds of thousands of people to work, school, and services each day. But we fell short.
Some will say that this result is a stark reminder that we need more progressive funding sources for transit. Others will say that the time wasn’t right. One thing is for sure, whether you ride the bus or drive a car, your life will be different as a result of this vote.
Starting in September, 75% of bus riders will see their routes deleted, reduced or revised. (The cuts will happen in three phases. You can find the details here.) Thousands of cars will be added to our already clogged streets. And some seniors, students, people with disabilities, and working families will be left without a way to get around.
But there is a silver lining. With your help, we built an unprecedented coalition of community, business, labor, environment, freight, education, health and social justice leaders. Over 400 volunteers contacted more 30,000 voters on the phones and at the doors. Unfortunately, it was not enough to pass Proposition 1.
Last week’s vote was not a rejection of transit or King County Metro. It’s a call for us to find better ways to fund our system.
This is a hard time for us all. At Transportation Choices, we have worked for six years to prevent bus cuts at King County Metro. We talked to thousands of transit riders in the streets. We spent countless hours building support among our partners and elected officials for funding transit service. And YOU – our members and supporters – sent nearly 10,000 emails to legislators, testified at hearings and showed your support for bus service.
We will never stop working to save bus service. We will work with our 275 coalition partners to keep pushing our leaders in Olympia to give King County a more progressive funding source for our transit needs. And we will continue explore all available options to keep our buses on the streets.
Our resolve is stronger than it has ever been. We hope that you will stand with us.
