The Transit Riders Union would like to invite you to join us on Saturday, April 6 to celebrate our past, eat food in the present, and fight for our future!  Come to our potluck and newsletter launch from 12-3 at the Downtown YMCA, then join our Midnight March for Metro at 11 pm.

Potluck
This is a great opportunity to meet TRU members and learn more about us! And for current members, this is a great chance to get to know each other outside of a meeting! Please bring a dish to share if you can. Otherwise bring your appetite 🙂

Newsletter Launch
The TRU is pleased to announce the first issue of our first printed newsletter, the Transit Reader. This will be the world premier, so you’re not gonna wanna miss out!

Call to Action!
Metro Transit service is in jeopardy! Because of budget shortages, our service is scheduled to be cut by 17% next year unless the state legislature gives King County funding options! We’ll be making calls and flooding the answering machines of key Legislators, so they get the message to Save Our Metro!

Saturday, April 6, 12-3pm
Downtown YMCA
909 4^th Ave (between Marion & Madison Streets)

To avoid climbing a steep hill from 3^rd Ave, you can:
· Catch the 522 or 545 from the SE corner of 4^th & Jackson. Get off at 4^th & Madison
· Take the 12 – Interlaken Park either downhill on Madison or uphill on Marion
· Take the 2 – Madrona Park going south on 3^rd and get off at 4^th & Spring

There are 10 steps from the sidewalk into the building. If you would like to use an accessible elevator, please contact sam@transitriders.org ASAP.

Add your name here.  This petition will be delivered to the County Council on July 1, when King County’s Low Income Fare Options Advisory Committee submits its recommendations.  You can also submit public comment here.

None of the local options bills were voted on in the house before the Wednesday cut-off, but they’re not dead yet.  They’ve been classified as necessary to implement the budget (NTIB), which means they’ll stay alive until the end of the session in late April. That makes early April the perfect time to show the state legislature how critical transit funding is. What can you do?  Join us on the night of Saturday, April 6 for a…

Midnight March for Metro! County Councilmember Larry Phillips will be joining the Magnolia Transit Riders and the Transit Riders Union to walk the route his constituents have to trudge home when they miss the last bus to their neighborhood. The other Councilmembers, County Executive and the state reps for that district have been invited too, and we need you to join us! Here are the details:

We’re working on arranging carpools for participants who don’t live in Magnolia. Mark your calendar and stay tuned.

On Monday morning, local elected leaders and representatives of many organizations, including TRU, gathered for a press conference to urge state legislators to pass local transit funding options in this session.  If they don’t, King County Metro will be facing 17% cuts again next year.

House Bill 1959, the best hope for Metro, awaits a floor vote in the house.  The deadline is Wednesday at 5:00 pm, and it’s not at all certain to get enough votes.  Here are some represtentatives who need your encouragement. If it’s after hours, you can call and leave a message:

43rd Rep. Frank Chopp 1-360-786-7920
47th Rep. Pat Sullivan 1-360-786-7858
24th Rep. Kevin Van De Wege 1-360-786 -7916

House Bill 1959, which would provide local funding options for transit that could help King County Metro to avoid deep service cuts next year, passed out of the House Transportation Committee on March 1 and is now awaiting a floor vote. Rep. Jessyn Farrell, who sponsored the bill, is encouraging transit riders to CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS. 

This bill would authorize a county Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET) of up to 1.5% of vehicle value; 60% of the revenue would go to public transit, the other 40% to local road maintenance.  An MVET is more progressive than a flat car tab fee, and this is definitely the most promising piece of legislation currently being considered for King County Metro. But it’s going to have a tough time making through the House and especially the Senate.

Here is Rep. Farrell’s guest post in today’s Stranger: https://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/07/16188893-please-help-me-save-metro-bus-service

Check it out:

https://realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives/7571

Better yet, buy a copy of Real Change before Wednesday and read the real thing.

https://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2013/03/magnolia-residents-wont-give-up-on-trying-to-restore-late-night-buses/

As this article says, the Magnolia Transit Riders met with King County Councilmember Larry Phillips on Tuesday, February 19 to request the restoration of three late evening bus runs to central Magnolia.  Challenged by one rider at the meeting, Phillips agreed to walk, at midnight, the route that Magnolia citizens who miss the last bus are now forced to walk home. The Magnolia riders hope to hold this Midnight March to Magnolia in late March, while the State Legislature is still in session and considering bills that will affect transit funding, to dramatize the importance of public transit and the impact of service cuts.  Stay tuned!

**Send an email here** or below:

In fall 2012, all bus service to Magnolia after 9:30 pm was eliminated, effectively imposing a curfew on transit-dependent riders in this neighborhood and stranding those who miss the last bus. We understand that Metro is struggling with a funding crisis, but this is falling below an acceptable minimum standard of service for a major city.

Under pressure from riders, Metro has agreed to restore one evening run at 10:20 pm. The Magnolia Transit Riders have written to their representative on the County Council, Larry Phillips, requesting the restoration of three more runs, at 11:20 pm, 12:20 am, and 1:20 am.

Please support this effort by sending the message below (or writing your own) to Councilmember Phillips, Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond, and County Executive Dow Constantine!

[emailpetition id=”3″]

Yes, unless the State Legislature gets its act together and gives us new funding or local options. Here’s in today’s Seattle Times:

Bus service faces cutbacks; Metro asks City for help 

Exciting news! Yesterday the King County Council formally approved the formation of a Low Income Fare Advisory Committee, which will meet for the first time on January 30, 4:00 to 6:30 pm at the King Street Center (201 S. Jackson St.), 8^th Floor Conference Center.

The committee will meet every 3 to 4 weeks and is scheduled to give its recommendations to the Council by July 1, 2013. Transit Riders Union organizer Katie Wilson will represent the TRU as a member of this committee.

These meetings are open to the public and include a public comment period. Please attend and testify to the need for a low income fare! [Correction: public comments can be submitted in writing and a summary of comments will be read at the next meeting.]

Check back for updates, including the dates of future meetings.