Can’t make it to the WTF, Olympia? Rally on July 20, but still want to participate? Here’s how. At the rally we’ll be collecting grievances for later delivery to Senator Rodney Tom, who was instrumental in blocking the passage of a local funding option for transit.
Tell Rodney Tom what you think:
From: __________________
WTF?
Without Route #__, I won’t be able to ________. Thousands of King County residents, including your constituents, depend on public transit every day. And do you realize what 17% service cuts will do to congestion? …
Is your route in danger of being cut? Do you have a grievance to air? Send us your message to Sen. Tom by posting it on our Facebook page, email it to contact@transitriders.org, or fill out this form and mail to TRU, P.O. Box 30104, Seattle 98113. We’ll make sure your voice is heard on July 20!
Senator Tom, do you recall that evening in Kirkland when you asked WFSE to endorse you as newly minted Dem? When you said the GOP was too far right for the district? I do, I was there-I got there on Metro bus. If I had NOT been able to get there on that bus, you would NOT have that endorsement. Well frick you very much for the esteem in whihc you hold public workers in general and transit riders in particular.
YOU think YOU and the right wingers from Omak should tell the folks of King County what to do? You think Pierce Transit should take a hit because someone in Pysht hates taxes?
YOU sir told the endorsement committee you favored LOCAL control-then you could not be bothered to make that case in your caucus for fear of losing the part time post of leader of a bogus caucus? Shame sir-shame.
As the son and grandson of GOP activists I’m really ticked at your grandstand play. Just proves it never was about the party, but rather you storking your own ego (be careful with that-might be a felony in some ‘red ‘parts of the state.
Awesome! It’s going on the Grievance Bus!
I wonder if Metro could just not drive all the routes listed above that are on the “chopping block” for a day or two. The general public could get a taste of whats to come from a “conservative” State Senate, and might wake up long enough to make a ruckus.
That would be great, but they’re unlikely to do it. How about a “Drive to Work” day?
I am a state employee that recently moved to Renton. I have had to deal with pay cuts & increased medical coverage costs over the past few years. So, I actually make less each year. One reason I chose my new home is because of the #161 bus. I use the bus daily & can not afford to drive every day. Haven’t you done enough to cause state workers enough money & stress! LEAVE OUR BUSES ALONE!!
Thanks Nora! Your grievance will be aired at the rally on the 27th, and delivered to Sen. Tom.
Can we please think ahead for once? Less service means more cars, more pollution, and more traveling in a backwards direction. We cannot sustain our present lifestyle without a greatly negative impact on an ever larger section of humanity. Please consider the real impact this will have on your fellow people. Most of us don’t have the luxury of choice, and this will either reduce or eliminate what few options we currently have.
Thank you William! Your words will be sent to Rodney Tom.
I am a 40 year old parent of 4 children who has never owned a car. Our family has always used public transportation in fact I have lived in Seattle my whole life and have always bused it even as a child. My high school aged daughter will need to take two buses to get to school starting in September. I use the buses #7, 9, and 49 every day as I also am attending college as well as working part time. There is no way our family can afford a car at this time and we have never needed one before because of the great public transportation system we have now in Seattle. I have a second daughter that will be in high school next year and also be using the bus to get to school. This brings me to my next issue, a low income based bus fair, between my oldest son going to work and college, my daughters in high school and myself working and going to school we need a break in the fair prices.
The Transit Riders Union is campaigning for a low income fare, and we will be delivering a petition of over 1,000 signatures to the County Council on Monday, July 22, at 1:30 pm. For those of us with low incomes, living in Seattle is becoming less and less affordable. Bus fares have already risen too much, and yet they’re set to go up again sometime next year. We need a low income fare!
I’ve been riding the bus or with friends exclusively for 18 years. I don’t have a car.
I NEED Rapid Ride C line, and often ride 128, 16, 7, 560, 120, and several others.
I can understand, if there are only a few riders on a particular route at certain hours, that it could be necessary to come only once instead of 2-3 times an hour. But we NEED to count on public transportation! I’m 72, in good health, ride the bus to the gym, to writers’ group, to dances, to the library, to meet friends, etc. DO whatever it takes to keep the buses going!
Moreah Vestan, West Seattle
Thank you Moreah! Rodney Tom will get your message.
Hello,
My husband, daughter, and I are very regular users of metro. We rely on the 2, 3, 4, and 48 to get across Seattle regularly. All are on your docket for being changed.
Please do not reduce the bus routes!
Hannah
Sen Rodney Tom,
Please take a moment out of your very busy schedule of working on cutting king county bus transportation and view the latest survey results on people who use public transportation for work downtown. A whopping 43%!!! Are you one of those public officials who don’t care about the “other 40%??” I moved back to this state a year ago because of the “great public transportation,” despite the fact that Seattle is hanging by the skin of it’s teeth already to get into the bottom of the top 10 cities for best public transportation. Guess if you have your way, Seattle won’t even be on the list. I have epilepsy and do not need the stress of driving in the city. Although, on a budget like most people, I wouldn’t mind paying a higher fare to get better bus service. I live in Shoreline and use the bus to go everywhere, although with the cuts I’m currently looking for work in Snohomish County so as not to be affected by your political threats of cuts. I’ve been waiting for the E line to start up for almost a year now. Believe it’s been postponed twice and I don’t see much hope for it. See survey I cut from website below.
New Survey Finds Two-Thirds of Downtown Commuters Are Not Driving Alone
SEATTLE – Downtown Seattle’s 200,000 daily commuters are driving less and less, with two-thirds (66%) now choosing not to drive alone to work. A new Commute Seattle survey conducted by Gilmore Research Group reveals that only 34 percent of employees drive alone[1], down from 35 percent in 2010 and an estimated 50 percent in 2000.
The top choice for those who work in Downtown Seattle remains public transit[2] (43%), followed by driving alone (34%), ridesharing[3] (9%), walking (6%), teleworking (4%), and bicycling (3%).
I live in Maple Leaf, and ride the bus to and from work in downtown every day. I use route 77 most mornings. My commute is actually *shorter* than it would have been by car: 25-30 minutes door to door to cover 6.5 miles. You can never do that driving in morning-commute traffic
Route 77 is one of those about to be cut. It has 9 buses going downtown in the morning commute, and 8 buses going back in the afternoon. Except perhaps for the 5:45 AM and 3:45 PM buses, this route is always full despite using a double-length bus. Where will all those riders go?
The last #77 in the morning passes my house around 8:30, and it is always full. If I miss it I go down to the Northgate transit center and walk 15 minutes to catch the 41. At 9:15, #41 reverts from a high-frequency schedule to a 15-minute one. Nearly every morning the #41 buses right after that – the 9:31 and 9:46 – come in late and packed, and often leave workers stranded at the transit center unable to get to work.
The morning scenario is roses and peaches compared to the afternoon situation. Nearly all of the #41s and #77 roll in late; the formal schedule has almost no meaning. Every day at least a couple of #41s fill up at Westlake or even at University tunnel stations, leaving riders in the remaining tunnel stops hoping another #41 arrives soon (which doesn’t always happen). Yesterday this happened to me, except that it took the next #41 a while to arrive (and the #77 still didn’t arrive 15 minutes after schedule). My door-to-door afternoon commute last night was nearly an hour, despite there being no major incident on the I-5.
Your new “plan” for Metro (if one can call such negligence a “plan”) not only cuts #77 completely, it also removes 17% of the 41’s. For residents in Northeast Seattle, it is a blueprint for commute disaster. After being stranded for a couple of days and missing work, even many loyal Metro riders will reach for their car keys.
The city’s northeast corner needs *more* commute buses, not less. #41 needs a higher frequency all the way through 10 AM. Another #77 needs to be added between 8:30 and 9. Not to mention the carbon-footprint of sending people back to their cars. Why are we even talking about cuts? Have people in the Legislature gone insane?
I’m not done. I thought we were unlucky, and then one day last week I had to ride to an evening work meeting in Georgetown. I chose to use the #106 because it goes through the tunnel, and also because it had the best frequency during the afternoon commute. That would be a whopping 15 minute frequency during peak hours!
The #106 came in 15 minute late, and took its precious time despite having a protected bus route for most of the way. It is not an express the way the #41 and #77 are. It took me 70 minutes – 1 hour and 10 minutes – to get to my destination, which is less than half the distance to my home and deep within the metropolitan core.
I noticed another thing on the #106 that day. Who rode with me on the bus, whose final destination is Renton? Almost exclusively women of Asian descent. What a contrast to the #77 and #41, whose riders are a diverse mix including many in executive suits. Are the commuters living in the area between Georgetown and Renton all Asian women? No. Most likely, the commuters who can afford to do it (in the narrow financial sense) have already chosen to use their cars instead of the miserable #106.
Senator Tom, you rose to the top of the State Senate using strange wheeling and dealing. What for, I am not sure. But if you continue blocking solutions on Metro and other essential transit services, you will be remembered as the Washington politician who had made the worst impact upon climate change in our generation.
Sincerely yours,
Assaf Oron, Ph.D.
1240 NE 97th St Seattle WA 98115
(who for over a decade hasn’t used his car as the major commute mode)
After realizing I missed the July 20 deadline, I emailed it directly to Major… sorry, Senator Tom.
Here’s the address: Rodney@rodneytom.com