A crowd of at least 50 people marched across the Magnolia Bridge at midnight on Sunday, April 7, in hopes of preventing further service cuts to the already-dwindling Metro Transit routes.
A brass band played tunes like “The Wheel on the Bus” as the crowd marched over the bridge to Magnolia Village Pub. The midnight march highlighted the late-night routes into Magnolia that King County Metro Transit discontinued last September because of cuts to the transit budget.
The Magnolia Transit Riders group and the Transit Riders Union organized the march after they challenged Metropolitan King County Councilmember Larry Phillips, who lives in Magnolia, to walk the extra mileage that they need to walk if they miss the last bus to central Magnolia at 10:20 p.m.
“I’m here to tell the Washington state Legislature that we need stable, progressive funding for service, and we need it now,” said Katie Wilson, co-founder of the Seattle Transit Riders Union, before the march began. “It’s hard to make a sacrifice, but this is the kind of dedication that will be required for the years ahead — not just to save our public-transit system but to organize and build a movement that can turn the tide and change our world in all the many ways that it so badly needs to be changed.”
Cutting back
Of the 40 bus routes that were changed last September, the elimination of Route 24, which provided late-night service to and from central Magnolia — was the last straw for local residents. Metro Transit representatives had said there weren’t enough riders on the route previously, but many riders who don’t have a vehicle say that they depended on the bus route.
Jim McIntosh, founder of the Magnolia Transit Riders group, wonders why Seattle’s second-largest neighborhood in area is receiving cuts to its late-night bus service. McIntosh, who is visually impaired and legally blind, said he depends on the late-night services. He pointed out that transit services used to be widely available but that there’s been retrograde motion in recent years.
The County Council instructed Metro to take 100,000 hours of low-performing service and put them in places with more densely populated bus routes. In February, an hour of late-night service was provisionally added to Route 24 due to a small reserve funding that was set aside by the Legislature, but unless significant funding is received, city officials warn that less-populated routes like 24 will be discontinued.
“We’ve had to make some cuts because of the great recession and the impact it had on our finances. We’ve weathered the last two years the best we could,” Phillips said before the march. “What has happened the last two years is nothing compared what will have to the system over the course of the next two years if we don’t get reform from Olympia that gives a permanent, progressive source of funds for Metro.... We need your help to go to Olympia and tell them to keep Metro for all of us.”
The future of local transit?
The future Phillips speaks of is bleak: A projected 17-percent cut to transit is expected in 2014, which will affect 70 percent of the riders in King County. Routes will be eliminated or re-routed, making bus rides more crowded and funneling people to more productive routes. Reserve and temporary funding runs out in 2014, and Metro will face a $75 million annual shortfall to maintain bus service.
Phillips said one of the best chances for reform is House Bill 1959, which calls for diversified local revenue options, in addition to increases in funding provided by things like motor-vehicle fuel taxes. It also asks that local governments coordinate with other municipalities, transit systems, transportation benefit districts, planning organizations and other transportation agencies.
The bill has returned to the House Rules Committee for a second reading. Phillips said they’ve had tremendous support from the business community in Olympia by making the case that economy will be heavily affected by the 17-percent cut.
McIntosh said the next two weeks are crucial in the Senate if Magnolia is going to maintain is late-night service. At a Magnolia Transit Riders meeting in January, the group discussed remedies for the service cuts. One such solution was extending Route 61 through Magnolia, which would allow Magnolia residents to use an existing route.
“We need to see serious thinking outside the box; right now, Metro is treading water,” McIintosh said. “By September 2013, Tacoma and Pierce County probably won’t have any evening service at all, if the recession gets worse. Extra services like transit that we need the most will be eliminated.”
McIntosh said there will be a long, drawn-out campaign this summer for the passing of the local option to add funding for transit services. The Magnolia Transit Union will have some events in the neighborhood to help provide information to the public, as the group hopes to keep protesting until an amicable solution is reached.
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