Bellevue Metro service should be changed, Municipal League chair says

Muni League says more should go to Seattle routes

The Metro Transit plan that allocates 40 percent of new service to the Eastside should be changed, according to the chair of the Municipal League.

Instead, Brad Meachum says ridership demand and growth-management goals should determine service allocation, targeting activity centers and corridors.

The current plan, known as the 40-40-20, is intended to assure adequate service for suburban areas by dividing the transit agency’s territory into broad subareas. The breakdown follows the amount of tax that Metro collects for transit service from each area.

“We believe that in the coming years Metro Transit will need to squeeze every ounce of productivity and service out of limited resources,” the report says.

But not everyone is excited about the idea of scrapping the old formula. Bellevue Mayor Grant Degginger says Metro’s biggest problem is funding, not the proposed model for transit distribution.

“I’d rather argue about making the pie bigger than slicing the pie differently,” he said. “If you fix the cost structure, you create more hours to allocate.”

Degginger claims that Seattle receives a disproportionate share of the Metro’s resources, noting that the Eastside makes of 30 percent of the agency’s territorial population but receives only 17 percent of the services.

“We need to recognize that everyone in the county is paying for these services, but over 60 percent of it is being delivered in one city,” he said.

Degginger also noted that the Eastside pays for 100 percent of the bus hours across Lake Washington, even thought the number of riders traveling from either side of the lake is leveling out.

The Municipal League report argues that Metro’s operating costs are too high at $4.10 per trip, which it says are 38 percent greater than the national average.

Degginger concurs with this assessment.

“With the current cost structure, we can’t get enough hours,” he said. “We need to figure out how to attend to that problem.”

The mayor claims Bellevue is struggling to accommodate its growth-management objectives in light of the disparity in service between Seattle and the Eastside.

“We have a goal of moving 45 percent of trips with transit by 2030,” he said. “We can’t do that with the current number of hours.”

The Municipal League report suggests that Metro’s operating costs have risen faster than its services in the past seven years.

The transit agency claims in response that employee wages, benefits, and rising fuel costs have driven much of the increased spending. Other factors it listed were the Downtown Seattle tunnel, articulated buses, and a focus on commuter services, which tend to be more expensive.

Metro was the fastest-growing transit organization in the United States during 2007, and rider surveys have shown a high level of customer satisfaction.

The agency serves around 400,000 riders on an average weekday, according to the Municipal League report. That figure represents a 7-percent increase over last year.

A sales tax of 9 cents per $10 purchase pays for Metro’s bus system. The agency has a funding gap of $90 million annually, and plans to make up the difference by increasing fares in 2009 and 2010.

The King County Council has promised bus-service improvements in the coming years, but it’s facing a budget shortfall projected to be as high as $90 million.

The Municipal League suggests that taxpayers will want to see more evidence of cost effectiveness from Metro before accepting new funding sources. The group’s report also demands better performance measurement and greater transparency in Metro’s reporting policies.

Metro has agreed that it can find better ways of delivering information, and has already begun making improvements to its web site.

The Municipal League report commends Metro for being an innovator in the transit industry with hybrid buses, bike racks, van pools, and part-time transit operators.

Joshua Adam Hicks can be reached at jhicks@bellevuereporter.com or 425-453-4290.

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