The Transit Riders Union is gearing up for a campaign around the elimination of the Ride Free Area, details to be hashed out at our upcoming August 6 Membership Meeting. Stay tuned! In the meantime, here is our letter to County and City Council Members:
July 26, 2012
To:
King County Council Members
King County Executive Dow Constantine
Seattle City Council Members
Seattle Mayor Mike McGinnDear County and City Council Members, Mayor, and County Executive:
We are writing concerning the impending elimination of the Ride Free Area on September 29, and the plans to introduce a free downtown circulator.
We are writing, first, to register our displeasure at the manner in which the decision to eliminate the Ride Free Area was taken. The RFA has performed admirably in its original purpose of easing congestion and increasing mobility downtown, to the benefit of shoppers, tourists, businesses, and commuters. Since its inception in 1973, numerous human and health services for low income and homeless people have located themselves in and around the RFA, knowing they would be accessible by bus for free. That the decision to destroy this venerable institution should be made, not through a transparent public process and based on a reasoned assessment of how well it is working, but as a hasty concession in the political bargaining over the Congestion Reduction Charge, is wrong.
We understand that Metro expects the elimination of the RFA to result in a net savings of a little over $2 million per year, mainly in new fare box revenue from rides currently taken for free. However, according to Metro’s estimate, 1.7 million rides annually will no longer be taken once the RFA is eliminated, because these people either will choose not to take the bus or cannot afford it. How will they get to where they were going? Presumably some will walk, and others will drive, but many will simply not take the trip: out to lunch, or to the grocery store, or to the clinic, or to visit family or friends. In other words, this additional revenue comes at the cost of a significant loss of mobility. This is a move in the wrong direction: we should be encouraging, not discouraging, the use of public transit. And of course, this loss of mobility is most serious for those who will no longer ride Metro downtown because they have little or no money.
So we are writing, second, to encourage you, our County and City Council Members, Mayor and County Executive, to do whatever is in your power to fund a free downtown circulator that will adequately mitigate the effects of the RFA’s elimination on low income riders. In the view of the Transit Riders Union, a circulator should meet the following conditions:
1. Full size 40-foot coaches.
2. Free of charge and open to everyone.
3. Operates 12 hours per day, 7 days per week.
4. Frequency no less than every 20 minutes.
5. Runs from Jackson to Denny and up to Harborview, routed to serve the low income and disabled housing and resources that are currently served by the RFA.
6. Operated by Metro.We understand that a circulator program of this scope would cost well over $1 million per year to operate, as well as resulting in a loss of projected farebox revenue, thus greatly reducing the anticipated cost savings of eliminating the RFA. Considering this, and considering the congestion and reliability problems that are also likely to be in store after September 29, not eliminating the Ride Free Area in the first place begins to look like the superior option. It was actually a pretty good deal.
We appreciate whatever steps you can take to move the current circulator plan closer to the standards enumerated above. In the longer term, we encourage you to pursue a regional low-fare and no-fare transit pass program for individuals with low or no income.
Sincerely,
The Transit Riders Union