Report * USA - Metro bus operating costs too high, strategy outdated
King County Metro Transit is hindered by high operating expenses and an outmoded service strategy, asserts a Municipal League of King County report issued today
Seattle,WASH,USA -The Seattle Times, by Mike Lindblom -25 Nov 2008: -- The findings are meant to provoke public debate, as County Council members try to pull Metro from a deep budget hole to prevent cuts in future bus rapid-transit service they promised to voters... The review, by the Municipal League of King County, calls for a "back-to-basics" approach to fit the weak economy. "As a community, we cannot afford to accept declining service, excessive costs and political definitions of equity," the report says... Metro provides 400,000 rides per weekday, a 7 percent from last year, and the report says "customer satisfaction is generally high"... The agency also has a "well-earned reputation for being an innovative leader in the transit industry" by providing hybrid buses, bike racks, van pools, and employer-sponsored passes, the Muni League says... But operating costs last year averaged $4.10 per trip, or 38 percent above the national average, as of 2005, the report said. Factors include Seattle's high living costs, automatic pay boosts in union contracts, articulated buses, park-and-ride lots, and a downtown tunnel...
Labels: buses' efficiency
posted by Unknown @ 10:35 PM
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