2015 will be a year of big change for King County Metro. With a long range plan in the works, new service for Seattle beginning in June, and the launch of ORCA LIFT, we can finally talk about the future of transit in King County and the opportunities to make transit the first choice to connect to work, school, activities and more.
Last month, Metro launched ORCA LIFT, a groundbreaking $1.50 low-income fare for qualified riders that can be used on Metro Transit buses, Sound Transit Link light rail, the Seattle Streetcar, King County Water Taxi and Kitsap Transit buses. This program is a big deal for many reasons. Consider this: nearly 25% of King County residents will be able to access this new lower fare. King County Metro will join a handful of transit agencies nationwide that offer a low-income fare for riders. Because the new reduced fare is almost half the regular fare ($1.50 vs. $3.00/$2.75/$2.50 for 2-zone peak/ regular peak/non-peak), riding the bus or train just became a whole lot cheaper and more affordable for riders. It’s already making national and international news and we think that it will become a model for other transit agencies.
We’ll take a moment to brag a little. Transportation Choices with its allies at Seattle-King County Coalition on Homelessness, Transit Riders Union, Puget Sound Sage, OneAmerica and others fought hard to make ORCA LIFT a reality. We are excited to see this new program launch and we’ll be working to make sure that it is a great success.
Speaking of new programs, Metro is embarking on a long range planning effort. It’s a chance for us all to imagine a world of possibilities for transit service in the future in King County. This year and a half long process will include many workshops and opportunities to weigh in. At a full house last night, the agency kicked off it’s long range plan and it was clear that people are ready for more transit. Have your say here.
In June, thanks to Seattle Prop 1 (that we led), Seattle will have the best bus service it’s ever had! Seattle in partnership with Metro will add new service to dozens of bus routes. This means that your bus will come more often, will be less crowded, and will be more reliable. It’s the first time that we’ve been able to add Metro bus service since 2006 and we are looking forward to better bus service.
It’s been a long road to stability for Metro. After being in perpetual financial crisis brought on by the volatile sales tax (it’s primary revenue source), the agency finally has an opportunity to move forward with these initiatives which will have a transformative impact on bus riders. We cannot wait.
