Transportation Tangle: Will bus service be beefed up?

| Alaskan Way Viaduct | Transportation | West Seattle news

Just got word that County Executive Ron Sims and West Seattle’s County Councilmember Dow Constantine (who chairs the council’s Transportation Committee) are about to announce “a proposed transit plan to add 4,000 more (daily) Metro bus rides during first phase of construction on the Alaskan Way Viaduct,” potentially starting next year (which is when a tangle of other transportation projects starts kicking in too). This comes days after Sims’ proposal of a two-stage 50-cent Metro fare hike in the next several months. They’re promising details at a media event tomorrow; we’ll be there.

chas redmond September 2, 2008 (12:09 am)

We really should start converting our petrol-based fleet into an electric one and stringing new overhead wires as well. WS used to have quite a network – look at old photos in Original Bakery or at the train store on California or in the Herald photo book (out of print, alas!).

WSB September 2, 2008 (12:41 am)

If that’s West Side Story – you can usually find copies on eBay or elsewhere on line – last time we were at the Log House Museum gift shop, they had a couple copies too. Our first copy fell apart and at the time we had to replace it, we had to buy via eBay!

Brandon September 2, 2008 (11:14 am)

yep, lets really encourage more transit riders by boosting fares. What might happen if they DROPPED the fare price (OMG, could it mean less cars and MORE riders?? what a crime that would be)? Its the time old story; we need to boost fees to cover more costs of materials (busses and drivers); or we need to boost fees because less people are riding (b/c of higher fares?) so we need to recover the missing revenue. Hear the same argument from the electric comapny when we have too much snow and water and usage is up, or when too much conservation leads to declining revenues. The Consumer Never Wins.

rockyraccoon September 2, 2008 (12:20 pm)

Yes, wouldn’t it be nice to just reduce fares, or hey, even make the bus free! Then ridership would increase and all our transportation problems would be solved. But is it so hard to understand that somebody has to pay for the bus service? That Metro’s expenses (fuel) are way up and it’s income (sales tax) is way down? Do you have the magic wand to make this reality go away?

E September 2, 2008 (1:31 pm)

My bus is so packed in the morning and afternoon that I doubt it could handle the increased business if they were free. And it’s still a heck of a lot cheaper than driving.

Brandon September 2, 2008 (2:50 pm)

Sure Rocky (stay off the streets Racoon). Quadruple the fuel tax, subsidize the transit system, waive the fares. If its free, and there is less traffic, then those willing to pay the extra taxes can solve the problem.

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