King County needs to be it's own state and let the rest of Washington go fuck itself. The rest of them simply aren't worth it.

Yeah man. I hate the natural beauty in all the other counties. Fuck the mountains, rivers, orchards, hiking trails and all that noise. King County 4 lyf yo.

@2, yeah..if we broke away we could never visit the rest of the state ever again..yeah, that's right...

Goldy is the worst journalist.

Paragraphs 1-4: "Here are some scary figures I found on the Internet! The sky is falling!"

Paragraph 5: "...but please pretend you never read them, because they don't really mean anything."

Paragraphs 6-7: "Anyway, I'm just here to remind the world that I don't like Republicans."

How about they raise the rate to ride the bus by 1.5 percent and see how that goes.

@5: Um, they're raising it by $0.25 in 2014...that's an 11% increase on off-peak fares and an 8% increase on peak fares. Way more than the 1.5% you're proposing.

@ 4 who writes: "Goldy is the worst journalist."

That is most certainly untrue!

(Have you read Mudede?)

Public transportation is an important service that affects us all, whether we use it or not. It reduces the traffic on roads, provides an affordable way for thousands of people to get to work and school and reduces the polution that would be caused by more private vehicles. If the legislature fails to allow the fees to fund the buses, then we will need to raise the price of each ride. We also could increase the $0.75/trip price of the wonderful ORCA card that I as a senior get to use. Or, you could tax me. Please do something.

Another thing to keep in mind in all this... the overwhelmingly most populous county in the State already approved to tax itself for this sort of thing... and the so-called Republican coalition in the State Senate is sticking to the "new new taxes" mantra of the National GOP and seeking to instill its own brand of austerity on the State. They should, of course, realize that the the more populous counties generally vote (1) democratic and (2) pay the most in taxes that then receive (3) less back per capita then are paid to the State. Perhaps these most populous regions should push an initiative for tax funding equity where the dollars paid into the state by the counties STAY within the counties within which they are generated? Hey, that would show them, wouldn't it? Also, it would certainly keep the transit system afloat..

Just a reminder Stranger Readers:

1) This is an INCEASE of 1.5%.

For a $5,000 car, that's a $75 increase.
For a $10,000 car that's $150 increase.
For a $15,000 that's a $225 increase.

On top of the $60 you already have to pay.

2) In Wyoming, they have a 1.8% MVET, with discounts for age. Unless your car is $20k (or more) and brand new, you'll be paying more here than in Wyoming, while the people with more expensive cars are paying less.

3) In San Francisco, I would be paying 40% less than I would here. YMMV, do your research.

The above are facts designed to make you think about the actual expense of the tax increase.

Ridership is up, there has been a recent increase of fare (the same price to ride the HIGHLY EFFICIENT subway in NYC) and there no more ride free area so why is Metro still in trouble and depends on the government for more money? I blame money management. Just because Metro is government funded does not mean it should be dependent. Another thought if they had bus only lane along routes then they wouldn't be caught in traffic all the time and it would be much more efficient.

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/Br…

See bottom. Instead of delivering on the 45000 hours of new service, Metro mosty gave it self raises and benefits. They are pretty swift at fucking taxpayers over.

Unfortunately, this is what you get when you have a severely divided red - blue state. Elected farmer fucks from Ritzville and Okanogan deciding what's best for Seattle. And vice versa.

Why not go all the way. Let have MVET at 100% of value!

Then those few people (fat cat bastards) who can then still afford vehicles can fund all of the Buses, trolleys and Bike lanes. Of course if they all buy electrics we are royally fvcked!

I was in Malaysia and Australia in March , Seattle's transit is way cheaper than both places.We should incrementally raise fares to $3 a zone for Sound Transit and Metro . Increase ORCA prices also

It's still a bargain at that price.

@18: At $3/zone it'd be cheaper for me to drive in and pay to park than to ride the bus. Not much of a bargain.

The MVET doesn't scare me much because my car is a $2000 beater. I can handle $30/year. Frankly that's pocket change compared to the operating costs of a car; I pay more than that per MONTH in insurance premiums.

@19

So for the additional 75c/ (ok $1.50 R/T) you are going to drive?

The IRS says 55.5c / mile , yes I also drive a beater so it's cheaper than that but cost is more than just gas.

How do you drive in and park all day for $6?

I suspect a significant majority of bus commuters wouldn't have that option. My SO works in S Lake Union. No way they could afford to drive and park.

It won't go through anyway, MVET is very unpopular.

Uh, barely touched on is the fact that the majority of the people riding busses don't drive even if they wanted too. So, zero sum argument here.

@Texas1oR:are you an anti-Blackist?Charles Mudede is a fucking professor;what the fuck do YOU do?Sweep floors?(and burn crosses,bitch?).

CALL your state legislatewhores:demand they give King County more autonomy so that it can implement progressive revenue-making instruments (such as a progressive county income tax).Bing "find your legislator" . ----- http://www.bing.com

Los Seangeles

Seattle government hates private automobiles and their drivers.

How about raising the bus fares?

@26

We've raised bus fares by around 50% since the recession hit.

For a place that hates private automobiles and their drivers, I find it surprisingly easy to get around by car when I want to.

But Seattle government has nothing to do with this discussion. Metro is not a City department, they're County. And the County's tax authority is restricted to it's current level by State law.

Whoever wrote this is truly a moron.

The average car carries around 1.6 people, so if I-5 carries 250,000 VEHICLES per day, that would be about 400,000 PEOPLE per day.

One freeway lane can carry about 2,000 vehicles per hour. There are 24 hours in a day. Therefore one freeway lane has the capacity of around 48,000 VEHICLES per day. Cars have a capacity of around 6 people per vehicle (including SUV's). So, one freeway lane has the capacity of almost 300,000 PEOPLE per day.

Last I heard, buses need roads to operate on. You don't need buses -- you car travel by car, van, motorcyle, etc. But, everyone does NEED roads.