Transportation: Bus boost

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

For years now the Puget Sound region has been focused on transportation "megaprojects," such as light rail and replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the Evergreen Point Bridge. But as worthy and welcome as all those developments are, the quickest and most economical way to boost mobility and free up road capacity is with the humble bus.

King County Executive Ron Sims has proposed an additional one-tenth-cent sales tax to buy 190 not-so-humble buses. Metro would use them on five new "Rapid Ride" routes -- three of them in Seattle -- and to improve service on 35 of the most heavily used existing routes. Riders could expect a bus every 10 minutes on the Rapid Ride routes and every 15 minutes on those 35 busiest routes.

The buses would be air-conditioned, and about half of them would be hybrid gas-electric models.

Details of costs and routes are yet to be worked out and Sims' proposal requires approval of the King County Council, and the voters this fall.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels says he wants to put a citywide transportation tax on the ballot this fall and a vote on a Regional Transportation Investment District may come the following fall. This is a good test of the voters' willingness to be taxed for transit.

But Sims' idea offers an excellent way to make transit a more viable option to more people, especially with buses so frequent on some routes that riders virtually don't need a schedule.

The viability of transit increases as service becomes increasingly frequent, dependable and comfortable, and as it becomes available for more hours in the day.

Soundoff (Read 109 comments)
Tell us what's on your mind.


Would you be willing to spend another penny on a $10 purchase to pay make Metro buses a more attractive alternative to single-occupancy vehicles?
60.0% Yes.	37.6% No.
2.5% Don't know or care.
Total Votes: 442