Metro and county leaders have been working for more than five years to reduce costs and achieve stable funding to preserve transit service. However, given our current finances, we have no choice but to reduce service levels to balance our budget. County Executive Dow Constantine recently sent the County Council a proposal to delete 72 bus routes and reduce or revise another 84 routes. (Learn more)

This proposal is now being reviewed by the Council, whose Transportation, Economy and Environment (TrEE) Committee will host three public hearings beginning next week:

• Tuesday, May 13 @ 5:30pm – Union Station (Ruth Fisher Boardroom) 401 S. Jackson St., Seattle
• Thursday, May 15 @ 5:30pm – Bellevue City Hall (City Council Chambers) 450 110th Ave. NE., Bellevue
• Tuesday, May 20 @ 5:30pm – Renton Pavilion Event Center 233 Burnett Ave. S., Renton

In addition to hearing public testimony at these events, the Council is accepting online testimony via a web form from residents who can’t come to a hearing.

Thanks to those who took part in our outreach

After months of public outreach about our proposed service cuts, our official public comment period ended Feb. 7. By then more than 15,000 people had taken our survey, come to meetings and/or other events, and given us comments via email, phone, etc. We reported on this input in our Public Engagement Report, which was transmitted to the County Council. The complete report is available on our website—or you can just read the executive summary.

Without new funding, Metro had limited flexibility to make changes to the proposal, but public participation helped us develop minor modifications that will minimize impacts on riders. Examples include maintaining service on Route 245 through the Bellevue College campus, continuing service from the Tukwila Park-and-Ride to First Hill on Route 193 Express, and keeping service on Route 7 to Upper Rainier Beach during peak periods. Visit our website FAQ page to learn more about how public feedback shaped our recommendations.

The Council plans to make a decision about the proposed service reductions by June 9. Visit their website to learn more about their outreach and decision-making process.