King County Executive Ron Sims today thanked the customers and employees of Metro Transit – and the voters who supported the Yes on Metro ballot proposition — for their support during the past year.

"As we enter the final weeks of 2000, I want to express my personal thanks to the transit riders and citizens who have contributed to making this year a truly historic one for our Metro Transit system and public transportation as we know it here in King County," said Sims. "I also want to applaud the agency for its commitment to tradition. Our transit operators have continued their long tradition of professionalism and commitment, even as funding uncertainties posed significant challenges this past year."

Sims said that in the final days leading up to the New Year, Metro is expected to make history when it delivers its 100 millionth ride in a single year. Such a milestone would be a first in the 28 year history of Metro Transit and will be marked with a special celebration scheduled for early January.

"This milestone bears out a legacy that Metro has been building since our coaches were pressed into service for the first time on Jan. 1, 1973, with an estimated 40 million annual trips. Thanks to the foresight of voters 28 years ago, we have created a premier transit agency recognized for being one of the best in North America — one that has fundamentally changed the way hundreds of thousands of citizens in this county travel," said Sims.

To put 100-million annual trips in perspective, Sims said Metro services have grown at three times the rate of the local population. Metro is the 10^th largest system in the United States, while the metropolitan Seattle area is ranked the 18^th largest urban area in the country. Each weekday, King County Metro buses provide more than 300,000 rides, equivalent to the number of trips on Interstate 5 each day. Metro provides service at the lowest operating cost per passenger mile when measured against 13 comparable agencies, according to an independent audit performed last year. And overall satisfaction with Metro has remained high, with 92 percent of riders surveyed last year reporting that they were satisfied with service. Metro estimates that at least one family member from 75 percent of all households in this county have used Metro Transit this past year.

Accepting the Executive’s thanks on behalf of Metro’s 2,500 drivers was Terry Christoe, a Metro Transit operator for 40 years and the current Metro Transit Operator of the Year. Sims called transit operators "the backbone of this successful agency."

Sims also thanked three individuals who represented the diverse ridership of Metro:

• Keri Lynn Moose of Seattle, who takes three different bus routes to reach her work site at the Northgate Mall. She received free, one-on-one bus travel training from the Washington Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities, which contracts with Metro.

• Chuck McLeod of North Seattle, who takes part in the Elderhealth Northwest daycare program for frail elderly persons at Jefferson Terrace. He was brought to his meeting with the executive in an ACCESS van that he uses to and from his residence. Elderhealth meal and health services enable him to remain in his own home.

• Elva Denis, a former resident of Haiti who rode Metro to job training through the King County Jobs Initiative and Metro Job Access Program, and who now uses Metro to get to his job as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Bayview Manor on Queen Anne.

Sims also pointed to two recent advances for Metro:

• A pilot project to sell Metro Transit bus passes and other fare media online has, in just one month, sold more than $18,000 worth of Metro bus passes, ticketbooks and Puget Passes to more than 275 people.

• Metro’s Commute Partnership Program this year won the prestigious Innovations in American Government competition, which is the "Academy Awards" of public service honors. Commute Partnerships works with local employers to encourage their employees to take the bus or car pool.

"As the year 2000 comes to a close, we can now look forward to an even brighter future for Metro Transit and the role it will play in helping to solve our transportation dilemma," concluded Sims.

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