Because of on-going budget reductions, Metro Transit may have to cut 20 percent of their system-wide service next year. Metro officials have been working with representatives from our city (community members and city officials) to choose the least painful ways to make these cuts. On Monday they gave us an overview of how the likely reductions might affect Renton.

Today we received an email transmission of this information via our Public Works Administrator. I have included the details below for those of you who are interested.

Note that even though we are facing these cuts, we are likely to be beneficiaries of a new fast “F” Line, which would link the transit center and possibly the Landing (and Boeing) to the light rail system and Sounder Rail using “Bus Rapid Transit”. This new service may help offset the sting from the other service reductions. I covered this service in more detail an a journal entry here , and on Monday we received assurance that the new service still looks likely to go forward.

New red and yellow “Bus Rapid Transit” vehicles, with wider doors, easier access, and provisions for riders to pay before boarding may link the Renton Transit center and the Landing to the light rail and Sounder stations.

Here is more info on the planned service cuts:
___________________________________________________________________

Dear Mayor Law and City Council Members:

This memo is a follow up to the presentation provided by Metro during the Monday Committee of the Whole meeting. The Metro presenters went through some of the potential bus service cuts in Renton being explored by Metro as a result of their budget challenges. As the Metro representatives stated, the system-wide reductions could be as high as 600,000 service hours, or 20% of their current service. The attached spreadsheet summarizes the service cuts being considered by Metro for bus routes in Renton. Please be aware that these are potential reductions – decisions have not yet been made. The spreadsheet shows the route numbers, major stops , and headways in minutes (meaning the time between buses) for these routes. The proposed changes in the headways are shown in bold numbers. The routes shown in red are being discussed for elimination, the other colors may be disregarded. Please address questions you may have directly to Jim Seitz (x-7245). We would welcome any questions you may have, or comments/concerns about impacts of the contemplated reductions. Thanks.

Gregg Zimmerman, P.E.
Public Works Administrator
City of Renton
1055 South Grady Way

(You can click on the chart below a couple times to make it bigger)