Comments

1
Would that fee apply statewide, or just to the counties that Metro serves? If statewide, you have your answer.
2
@1

The answer is in the first paragraph:

"given King County Metro the ability to put a $20 car tab fee on the ballot to help fill its estimated $100 million funding shortfall. The fee for transit, if approved by King County voters, would have provided between $25 and $30 million a year for additional bus service.

I don't think King County voters can vote in a fee for eveyone in the state.
3
Unbelievable. So sad. Republican Schwarzenegger is transit-friendlier than Gregoire. How I hope gas prices soar.
4
Yeah because the STATE never benefits from Seattle actually attracting business and having a great standard of living and *gasp* having more people want to live there.

BISH PLZ.
Just one more symptom of the NIMBY thinking that really holds Seattle back. It's not like people's tazes in Seattle go into helping to pay for road repaving or construction anywhere else in the state.

Of course, would Rossi have been any better? I am willing to cut the gov. some slack but this constant jacking of transportation options in this state has to stop somewhere.
At least if things get too bad I can wake up a few hours early and WALK to downtown Seattle (from Ballard) or refurb one of the ancient bikes I've found rotting on sidewalks around town and try not to die on the roads with all the crazy drivers.

It's time that the rest of the state stopped treating Seattle like a freaking city-state and started accepting that Seattle is the MAIN reason that most people and or businesses consider moving to the state or doing business in the state in the first place.

5
Metro is not the only transit agency that would have been helped. Every transit agency in the state (except Sound Transit) would have had the option of asking the voters if they wanted to prevent severe budget cuts by approving a $20 car tab. Many other transit agencies, including Pierce Transit, face severe budget cuts as well. Kitsap Transit has already made drastic cuts and other agencies are likely to follow soon.
6
Fucking car worshipping tyrants, denying folks the right to tax themselves by public vote to support transit.

And brown nosing transportation choices says this is getting tough? Gregoire vetoing transit funding options is getting tough on cars?

Are they on LSD?
7
"Just got word" from whom, Erica? I'm gonna keep my panties from bunching until I get a little more info on this issue.
8
odd and unfortunate to not even have the local option.
9
Why does metro have such deficits? Don't they have more riders? Did they order a bunch of new buses without the funds? Are they not getting funds that they use to get? What is going on here?
10
It is time for Seattle legislators to stand up and ROAR.

Without us, nothing would pass.

Make it so! Give no quarter!
11
So disappointing that Governor Gregoire vetoed this section from the bill. She snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Here's a little background information for Erica Barnett, because apparently she can't dig deep enough for factual information... the car tabs section of 5433 was not part of the original legislation "pushed by King County." The car tabs section was added to the bill as an amendment from the floor of the House by Rep. Simpson LD47 (bless his heart) to the disbelief of conservative Democrats who didn’t think the votes would be there. The votes were there in the House. The amendment stayed in through Conference Committee. Finally, it squeaked through the Senate and was delivered to the Governor.

Oh and here's a helpful note for your future stories... it's Rob Johnson of the Transportation Choices Coalition, not Ron. You can find his name on the TCC Website, again if only you took steps to research and fact check your information.
12
Another failure of Democratic Party leadership to explain why we have government and to raise taxes for it to continue to function.
13
We can pay over 4 BILLION dollars for a two mile car tunnel, but we can't fund transit and we have to lay off teachers. I can't believe it.
14
@13 - exactly. We're being taken to the cleaners by the Billionaires that wanted the tunnel for them that we in Seattle (where they don't live) have to pay for.

If you represent Seattle, don't represent the Eastside ... represent Seattle.
15
Senator Haugen was reportedly pushing hard for the veto of this section, using the specious argument that the amendment didn't go through her committee. That's true, it didn't but lots of amendments added onto bills have the same characteristics and don't get vetoed. Haugen just got all pissy because some transportation policy was made without her and she would rather see it die than not be in control.
16
@9

the deficit is largely due to expensive diesel and plummeting sales tax receipts, which fund transit.

the money you pay when you board does not come close to "covering" the cost of your bus ride. so even though ridership is higher than it's been since the fifties, the money is not there when most needed.

it's a dreadful situation.
17
I think that it's time to primary the bznatch, and discover a progressive with some f'ing backbone. For that matter, lets primary some of the other spineless dem's as well. (chop chopp?)

Please wait...

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