Title
AN ORDINANCE authorizing the county executive to execute an agreement between King County and the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority for operations and maintenance of ST Express Bus service.
Body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. The Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, also known as Sound Transit, contracts with King County for the operation and maintenance of ST Express Bus service.
2. That operations and maintenance agreement, originally signed in 2015 and administratively amended in 2017 and 2018, with two allotted one-year extensions, will expire December 31, 2019.
3. Sound Transit and the county desire to enter into a new agreement, to begin on January 1, 2020.
4. The agreement will benefit of the residents of King County. The partnership between King County and Sound Transit brings together operation of two complementary bus transit networks serving King County residents. In 2018, ST Express bus carried over 9.2 million passengers on King County operated routes, delivering 99.8 percent of scheduled trips.
5. Under RCW 39.33.050 and other authorities, the legislative bodies of King County and Sound Transit may enter into a contract for public transportation services, such as ST Express Bus operations and maintenance services.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings: The current operating and maintenance agreement between Sound Transit and the county expires on December 31, 2019. Unless this ordinance takes effect before that date, it will not be effective before the current agreement expires. To ensure that ST Express Bus may operate without interruption, this ordinance must take effect before December 31, 2019, so that the executive may execute the new agency agreement.
SECTION 2. The county executive is authorized to execute an agreement with Sound Transit, substantially in the form of Attachment A to this ordinance, to provide ST Express Bus operations and maintenance services.
SECTION 3. When coordination between the parties on proposed ST Express Bus service changes occurs in accordance to Section 7.2 of the Interagency Agreement between King County Metro and Sound Transit for ST Express Bus Service Operations and Maintenance 2019, Attachment A to this ordinance, the King County Metro transit department must notify King County council chief policy officer in writing of the Sound Transit Service Change Package #1 and Sound Transit Service Change Package #2,
within five business days of receiving each package from Sound Transit in accordance with the terms of Section 7.2 of the Interagency Agreement.