WTF, Olympia? – Speaker Line-up

Here’s our guest speaker line-up so far! In addition to speakers from TRU:

  • Larry Phillips (King County Councilmember)
  • Mike McGinn (Mayor, City of Seattle)
  • Jessyn Farrell (District 46 Representative)
  • Nate Chappelle (Metro driver, ATU 587 Executive Board Officer)
  • Jesse Hagopian (Garfield High School teacher, Social Equality Educators organizer)
  • Anita Nath (Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action Board Member)
  • Kshama Sawant (Socialist Alternative, Seattle City Council candidate)

Check back for updates!

Send us your grievance – we’ll get it to Rodney Tom

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.

https://transitriders.sfo3.digitaloceanspaces.com/transitriders.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/07015523/rodney-tom.jpg

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!

This Route Will Be Cut: print and distribute this flyer

Do you ride a route that is slated for elimination or service reductions?  Print this flyer (2-sided) and give it to your fellow bus riders!  Or get in touch (contact@transitriders.org, 206-651-4282) and we will find a way to get some flyers to you.

In particular, we’d like to target the following routes, which run in or through Senator Rodney Tom’s district: 237, 245, 250, 265, 277

Routes at risk for deletion (65 routes): 7EX, 19, 21EX, 22, 25, 27, 30, 37, 48NEX, 57, 61, 76, 77EX, 82, 83, 84, 99, 110, 113, 114, 118EX, 119, 119EX, 123EX, 139, 152, 154, 157, 159, 161, 173, 179, 190, 192, 197, 200, 201, 203, 205EX, 210, 211EX, 213, 215, 216, 237, 243, 244EX, 250, 257, 260, 265, 268, 277, 280, 304, 308, 601EX, 907DART, 910DART, 913DART, 914DART, 919DART, 927DART, 930DART and 935DART.

Routes at risk for reductions and revisions (86 routes): 1, 2S, 2N, 3S, 3N, 4S, 4N, 5, 5EX, 7, 8, 9EX, 10, 11, 12, 14S, 16, 21, 24, 26, 26EX, 28, 28EX, 29, 31, 36, 41, 43, 47, 48N, 60, 65, 66EX, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 73, 106, 107, 116EX, 118, 121, 122, 125, 148, 156, 177, 181, 182, 186, 187, 193EX, 202, 204, 209, 214, 221, 224, 226, 232, 234, 235, 236, 238, 241, 245, 246, 248, 249, 255, 269, 271, 309EX, 311, 312EX, 331, 355EX, 372EX, 373EX, 901DART, 903DART, 908DART, 909DART and 931DART.

WTF (Where’s The Funding), Olympia?! – Rally July 20th

* Help spread the word!  PRINTABLE POSTER  — PRINTABLE FLYER — FB EVENT *

The Washington State Legislature failed to pass any local transit funding option this session.  As a result, Metro is now preparing to cut 17% of bus service.

It’s time to get organized.  As a first step, TRU and allies are organizing  a rally and demonstration for Saturday, July 20 to ask the resounding question, “WTF, Olympia?” (This, as we all know, stands for Where’s The Funding, Olympia?)   But we know transit riders aren’t the only ones who got the short end of the stick.  We are asking all individuals and organizations who are fed up with these misleaders in Olympia to step forward.

Do you have a grievance against the State Legislature? Bring it along!  We’ll be collecting a busload of grievances to send to certain state legislators. Together our combined voices will echo in the halls of power.

What? A rally and demonstration to express our dissatisfaction with our State Legislature

When? Saturday, July 20, 12:00 pm

Where? City Hall Park, 450 3rd Avenue (south side of King County Courthouse)

Who? Everyone with a grievance

Why? It’s time to get organized!

1,000 signatures sent to Olympia!

It’s the eleventh hour in Olympia, for real this time – June 30 is the final day of this second special session, and if the state legislature doesn’t pass a local transit funding option this week, King County Metro will cut service by 17% next year.

Today we sent a petition to all King County state legislators, comprising 1,000 signatures gathered by TRU members and allies, and a letter urging our representatives to do everything in their power to pass a local funding option for Metro.

What can you do? Right now, call Speaker Frank Chopp (360-786-7920) and Senator Mark Schoesler* (360-786-7620) and tell them to save King County Metro. If you already signed our petition, tell them that – if not, tell them you’re adding your voice.

And — please join us at our next monthly TRU Meeting, on Monday, July 1, 6:30 – 8:30 pm at the Labor Temple Hall #6, 2800 1st Avenue. Regardless what happens this week in Olympia, we have a big campaign coming up to stop service cuts, and it’s going to take all of us.

* Schoesler doesn’t represent King County and he’s not on the transportation committee, but he is the Republican leader in the Senate and may determine whether a transportation revenue package gets voted on at all this week.  It’s also worthwhile to call your legislators.

This is Not Progress!

The State Legislature has not yet passed a transportation plan, or anything else. The special session ended today. Tomorrow they will begin an unprecedented second special session.

Just today the Senate transportation committee released an awful new proposal for a transportation plan. It removes the over $400 million that the House proposal slated for investment in public transit.

And most importantly for King County Metro: whereas the House plan gives us a progressive Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET) transit funding option for King County, the Senate plan instead includes an option to raise the regressive sales tax by another 0.3% – and this authority would last for only five years.

You can email your legislators from the website of Transportation for Washington here.