Exec's home | News | Site map | E-mail
	September 9, 2002 Executive proposed Six-Year Transit Plan adopted; regional, suburban bus service to increase King County Executive Ron Sims today commended the Regional Transit Committee and the County Council for their review and adoption of the County's transit plan for new service over the next six years that is based on current and future population growth. The plan for new transit service is based on growth projections, ridership and the potential for expansion, Sims said. The goal is to add service to provide critical congestion relief and better service for passengers. The current financial plan calls for the addition of 110,000 new service hours over the next six years. "The plan outlines improvements that respond to population and job growth in the County that will combat congestion and improve mobility," said Sims. "Investments in congestion relief focus on congested corridors and activity centers to increase ridership and improve the operating environment to increase bus speeds and reliability. Mobility investments emphasize improvements in frequencies and increased span of service in areas of King County with transit-supportive land use and higher ridership potential." "Our new service recognizes the link to growth management by encouraging transit improvements in targeted urban and suburban areas to create a more efficient congestion relief plan," Sims continued. "Service to the growing suburbs is needed to recognize where the actual growth is occurring. The suburbs are taking the largest share of growth. Through this plan, we can help manage the region's growth and keep our area vital and economically strong," Sims added. The six-year plan addresses the historic imbalance and growth by allocating 40 percent of the new service to the Eastside, 40 percent to South County and 20 percent to Seattle. Currently, 63 percent of the existing annualized service hours are allocated to the Seattle/North King County service area. While only 16 percent is allocated to the East and 21 percent to the South service areas. "The Eastside Transportation Partnership and the City of Bellevue appreciates the direction that was set by Executive Sims in the development of the six-year transit plan that recognizes the need to provide frequent and reliable transit services to Eastside employment and population centers," said Bellevue Mayor Connie Marshall. "We support the approach of the new plan to target transit service to urban centers and growth areas and appreciate the significant work and cooperation on the part of the Executive, the Regional Transit Committee, the King County Council and the cities that resulted in this plan. We know that it was not an easy task given the challenge of limited resources." Service, capital and management elements in this plan include: More convenient and frequent services, particularly to and between activity centers outside of downtown Seattle; Strengthened linkage between service and facility investments and the actions of others; Increased parking capacity and service at a number of park-and-ride locations; Improved coordination with regional transit services; Continued emphasis on private and public partnerships; and Ongoing evaluation of services and plan progress. King County Metro Transit serves more than 1.6 million area residents with 3.3 million hours of service every year. During peak commute times, Metro has more than 1,000 vehicles on the road. Annual ridership is approximately 100 million a year within the 2,134-square-mile service area. Metro has twice been honored as the best-run large public transportation system in North America. Updated: September 9, 2002 Executive's home Executive's news Executive's site map | E-mail the Executive King County | Executive | News | Services | Comments | Search Links to external sites do not constitute endorsements by King County. By visiting this and other King County web pages, you expressly agree to be bound by terms and conditions of the site. The details.