“The County’s ‘Priorities for People’ that are guiding our budget deliberations call for excellence in customer service and improved mobility for people. We’ve heard from bus riders that they want dry locations to wait for their bus and clear windows so they can see out on dark days,” said Councilmember Dow Constantine, chair of the Council’s Annual Budget Committee. “The passage of the ‘Transit Now’ ballot issue increases the urgency of meeting the needs of the 100 million passengers who ride Metro, and preparing for the new riders who will take advantage of the expanded service.”

Restoring Readerboards. The 2007 Budget restores $2.5 million to the On-Board Systems Project for installation of scrolling interior electronic readerboards announcing “next stop” information to riders, along with the official Metro time of day that riders need to plan their bus connections. Using “Priorities for People” as a yardstick, budget leaders funded this customer service enhancement by prioritizing it over other proposed expenditures in the six-year, $903 million Transit Capital Program.

The On-Board Systems Project will also provide recorded stop announcements, schedule adherence information for the bus operator, and automatic passenger counters.

More Bus Shelters. King County Metro now has a backlog of 481 qualified bus zones throughout King County awaiting passenger shelters, with the Transit Division erecting an average of 58 shelters a year over the past several years. The budget as proposed called for 70 new shelters next year, but the Council’s 2007 County Budget sets aside $850,000 to expand the bus shelter construction program by 50 percent over the proposal, enabling the Transit Division to build at least 100 new bus shelters per year. The budget places a priority on placing new shelters to support the new “Transit Now” high ridership network of bus routes.

“The public asked for more transit in the November election,” said Operating Budget Panel Chair Jane Hague. “We need to respond by adding new bus shelters to make it easier for riders to access the expanded bus service.”

“This decision is the culmination of two years of effort by suburban leaders to increase the pace of bus shelter construction,” said Reagan Dunn, chair of the Council’s Regional Transit Committee. “The largest reasons why people ride the bus are comfort and convenience. These shelters will go a long way in keeping people dry and comfortable.”

“Too many people today are forced to stand out in the rain and wait for a bus, particularly in the suburban areas of King County,” said Councilmember Julia Patterson, chair of the Council's Transportation Committee. “My constituents and fellow bus riders on the route 194 from SeaTac to downtown Seattle want a reliable, frequent and dry bus ride into work. They have approved an increase in bus service and deserve investments that make their transit experience more comfortable and enjoyable. If we want to continue to increase bus ridership, we must keep up our efforts to make our service as convenient and comfortable as possible.”

To qualify for a bus shelter, a bus stop inside Seattle must average 50 boardings a day, or 25 boardings a day elsewhere. The Budget requires Metro to report back to the Council on its efforts to step up shelter construction.

Bus Wraps. Councilmembers have also heard from riders who complain of the darkening, blurring effect of the vinyl wrap advertising that now covers the side passenger windows of 25 of Metro’s 1,300 coaches. Riders say the vinyl film darkens the bus interior and obscures the view out. The 2007 Budget phases out advertising that wraps over the windows of Metro coaches. Metro already has signed contracts for wrapped buses on 19 coaches for all or part of 2007.

“While commuting on Metro’s #41 from Northgate, I often hear from other riders about the need for efficient and comfortable bus service,” said Councilmember Bob Ferguson, chair of the Capital Budget Panel. “Adding bus shelters, eliminating advertising that obscures windows and using readerboards to announce next stops are important steps to getting commuters out of their cars and onto buses.”

“Metro riders want increased visibility to recognize their destination, more bus shelters to keep dry and interior readerboards that display next stops,” said Regional Transit Committee member Kathy Lambert. “These are some simple, common sense ways to improve the quality of our expanding bus service. Now we will have the combination of more frequent busses with improved user-friendliness.”