With the failure of Proposition 1 on April 22, the future of our public transit system hangs in the balance. In September King County Metro will implement the first of four planned rounds of bus service cuts. If all of these cuts happen, 16% of our bus service, or 550,000 annual service hours, will simply disappear.

We all know that these cuts are unacceptable. They are unacceptable from an economic point of view, they are unacceptable from an environmental point of view, and most of all they are unacceptable from a human point of view. To gut our public transit system when buses are already overcrowded, when the polar ice sheets are melting, and when tens of thousands of King County residents have no other way to get around, is nothing short of insane.

The City of Seattle and other cities in King County now have a duty to act to save as much bus service as possible. Mayor Murray has proposed a sales tax increase of 0.1% and car tab fees of $60 to be put on the ballot in November: Prop 1 replayed in Seattle only. While this is preferable to service cuts, we believe the city should consider more progressive options first. We strongly support the amendment put forward by Councilmembers Kshama Sawant and Nick Licata, to replace the sales tax increase with a Commercial Parking Tax increase and an Employer Head Tax.

But in the end, we cannot forget that all these local options are last-ditch emergency measures, and we cannot let arguments over which is the least bad distract us from the real question: Why are we even talking about cutting public transit? Public transit is basic infrastructure, and we should not be forced to vote to preserve it. Affordable mass transit is an environmental, economic, and social necessity, and it needs to be treated as such by those who represent us in government. Continue reading →

We just learned that signature-gathering for Initiative 118 has been suspended, and the Mayor is expected to announce a ballot measure to save Metro service this Tuesday, May 13.  Thank you to everyone who has been out collecting signatures.  You can read more here: https://www.keepseattlemoving.com/

Prop 1 went down hard, despite the heroic efforts of TRU members and volunteers and many other organizations and individuals.  But we’re not giving up the fight!  At our May Membership Meeting, TRU voted to endorse Initiative 118, which would at least save much of Seattle’s bus service by raising property taxes by $0.22 per $1,000 of assessed value.  And while TRU members and volunteers will be on the front lines of this effort, we’ll also be working to plan our strategy for the November elections and next session in Olympia.

We have only until June 4 to gather over 20,000 valid signatures.  Want to volunteer with us?  Email contact@transitriders.org or leave a message at 206-651-4282.  You can also stop by the Labor Temple, Hall 6 on Monday, May 12 between 6 and 8 pm to pick up petition sheets and other materials.  You can also print petition sheets here.  It is important that TRU can keep in contact with the riders we talk to, so please also print these TRU contact sheets and encourage petition signers to sign up for our email or phone lists.

If for some reason you haven’t gotten your ballot in the mail, you can vote in person at Union Station up until 8 pm tonight.

For printing – or contact us if you’d like some printed.

https://transitriders.org/pdf/SOM_Flyer_Espanol.pdf

This infographic from Sightline Institute’s blog helps to visualize it:

Come rally at Westlake Park from 12:00 to 2:00 on Wednesday, April 2, the day ballots are mailed!  Listen to speakers, and stop by TRU’s table to pick up flyers and posters, a button or a Save Our Metro shirt.

Expect your ballot by April 5!

Do your car-driving friends and relatives need some persuasion to vote for public transit? Here’s an adorable video made by Metro drivers Mark LaFalce and Linda Anderson. Please share far and wide!

Come on out and help the Transit Riders Union get this campaign rolling!  Are you a Metro rider? Then we need YOU to pitch in if we’re going to succeed in saving our bus service and winning an affordable low income fare.  Join us at our kickoff event next Monday, where you can sign up to volunteer with our street teams, take home a stack of flyers and posters, and get a button and a shirt. There will be refreshments, and we’ll keep it brief so that we can go out and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day afterwards.

Save Our Metro Campaign Kickoff
Monday, March 17, 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Labor Temple, Hall #8
2800 1st Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121

Take action to stop bus cuts and win a $1.25 reduced fare for all low income riders!

www.saveourmetro.org

The following statement was approved at TRU’s March Membership Meeting.  To get involved in the campaign to save bus service and win a more affordable reduced fare, email contact@transitriders.org and check out saveourmetro.org.

The Transit Riders Union strongly urges all transit riders and all voters in King County to VOTE in the April 22, 2014 special election and to APPROVE Proposition 1, the ballot measure regarding transportation funding.

Passage of this ballot measure will save our Metro bus service from devastating cuts. It will also make public transit more affordable, by lowering the new low income reduced fare from $1.50 to $1.25 for two years.

We urge approval of Proposition 1 despite our strong objections to the taxes proposed.A $60 Vehicle License Fee and a 0.1% sales tax increase are regressive taxes that will further burden the working and poor people of King County. Neither do these taxes constitute a stable or sufficient long-term funding solution for Metro. Nonetheless we strongly urge a YES vote for the following reasons:

• First, due to irresponsible neglect on the part of the Washington State Legislature, King County has no other realistic option for saving bus service.
• Second, the King County Council chose to include a $20 rebate of the Vehicle License Fee for low income car-owners, making this tax somewhat less regressive.
• Third, the immediate alternative to Proposition 1 is massive cuts to our Metro bus service that will increase congestion, harm the environment, and unacceptably lower the quality of life of working and poor transit riders throughout King County.

The Transit Riders Union therefore calls upon the transit riders and voters of King County to vote in favor of Proposition 1, and to join the Transit Riders Union and our allies in the long-term battle for sustainable, progressive funding for affordable mass public transit.

This is the moment of truth.  Yesterday the King County Council, acting as a newly-formed Transportation Benefit District, voted to put the question to the public on April 22nd:  Should we approve a 0.1% sales tax increase and a $60 Vehicle License Fee, in order to avert massive bus service cuts later this year?  60% of this revenue would go to Metro, with cities receiving the rest.  Ballots will be mailed on April 4th.

The County Council took two actions to mitigate the regressive nature of these taxes.  First, they approved a $20 rebate of the Vehicle License Fee for low-income car owners.  Second, they agreed that if the ballot measure passes, the new low income reduced fare and the youth fare will be set at $1.25 instead of $1.50 for two years.

Should the Transit Riders Union launch a campaign to pass this ballot measure?  This is the question before us at our upcoming Membership Meeting on Monday, March 3.  Do you want a voice and a vote in this crucial decision? Then join the Transit Riders Union and be there on March 3, 6:30 – 8:30 PM at the Labor Temple Hall #6, 2800 1st Avenue.

We did it!  After nearly a year and a half of campaigning for a low income reduced fare, we know it’s going to happen.  On Monday the County Council voted unanimously to create a low income fare program with a reduced fare of $1.50, to go into effect in March 2015.  And, due to pressure from the Transit Riders Union and our allies, the council added an amendment stating that if the April ballot measure passes, the new low income fare and the youth fare will be set at$1.25 instead of $1.50 for two years.

At our February Membership Meeting, TRU members voted to get involved in the fight for a $15 minimum wage in Seattle.  Want to help? You can sign up here, or email @transitriders.org.  Why “Transit Riders for 15“?  Here’s the Resolution in part: Continue reading →

The County Council is considering the following proposals that would change Metro’s fare structure, starting March 1, 2015.  Councilmembers will be hearing public comment on Tuesday, February 18, starting 1:30 pm in Council Chambers, 10th Floor of the County Courthouse.

1. $0.25 across-the-board fare increase affecting standard and peak fares, youth fares, senior and disabled fares

2. $0.50 ACCESS fare increase

3. A new Reduced Fare program for low income transit riders (up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level), with a reduced fare of $1.50

Come speak your mind! Join TRU members in speaking strongly in support of a low income fare program with a reduced fare of $1.00 or less.  Speak against fare increases, and especially against the $0.50 ACCESS fare increase, which will have a negligible effect on Metro’s revenue while hurting those who depend on public transit the most.

Rally to fund public transit now!  Next Wednesday, Bus Riders and Transit Workers will rally together to stop Metro bus cuts and say no to labor concessions.  We want stable funding for public transit and a fair contract for our hard-working drivers and mechanics.

Rally starts at 4pm
Wednesday, January 29
Westlake Park, 4th and Pine

This rally is sponsored by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587.

Come march with the Transit Riders Union and our allies SHARE, WHEEL, SAFE and Nickelsville in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day March!

Monday, January 20

Rally at 11:00 AM, March at 12:30 PM

Garfield High School Gym, 400 23rd Avenue, Seattle 98122

The Transit Riders Union stands in solidarity with Boeing workers of IAM District 751 in their fight to win a fair contract.

To the Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 751, we are writing to express our solidarity with you in your struggle to secure a fair contract extension from Boeing.

As we all know, Boeing has threatened to transfer production of the 777x plane to a “right to work” state to pressure workers to agree to a contract extension that would slash slash pension benefits, drive up the cost of healthcare, and reduce cost-of-living adjustment to just 1 percent every other year. Continue reading →

Mark your calendar!  On Thursday, January 16, TRU will be collaborating with Seattle Central Community College and other groups to hold a public forum on the planned Metro cuts, the public transit funding crisis, and what we can do about it.  Facebook page here.

What: Community Forum on Metro Cuts and the Transit Funding Crisis

When: Thursday, January 16, 12:00 – 2:00 pm or 4:00 – 6:00 pm (there are two sessions to accommodate students’ class schedules; both are open to the public)

Where: Broadway Performance Hall, 1625 Broadway Avenue (between Howell and Pine St., served by Metro routes 8, 9x, 10, 11, 43, 49, 60)

Who: YOU!  This event is open to the public and all are invited. There will be a panel of speakers followed by questions, discussion and a call to action!