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A MOTION relating to the King County Metro Transit Strategic Plan for Public Transportation 2011-2021 and King County Metro Transit Service Guidelines and accepting the King County Metro transit department 2021 System Evaluation.
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WHEREAS, the King County Metro Transit Strategic Plan for Public Transportation 2011-2021 ("the strategic plan") and the King County Metro Transit Service Guidelines ("the service guidelines") were adopted in July 2011 and revised in June 2016, and
WHEREAS, the strategic plan and the service guidelines were to follow the recommendations of the regional transit task force regarding the policy framework for the Metro transit system, and
WHEREAS, the regional transit task force recommended that the strategic plan and the service guidelines focus on transparency and clarity, cost control and productivity, and
WHEREAS, the regional transit task force further recommended that the policy guidance for making service reductions and service growth decisions be based on the following priorities:
1. Emphasize productivity due to its linkage to economic development, land use, financial stability and environmental sustainability;
2. Ensure social equity; and
3. Provide geographic value throughout the county, and
WHEREAS, Ordinance 17143, Section 5, directs that an annual service guidelines report of Metro's transit system, beginning with a baseline report in 2012, be transmitted by the executive to the council for acceptance by motion, and
WHEREAS, Ordinance 17143, Section 5.B., as amended by Ordinance 17597, Section 1, specifies that the annual service guidelines report be transmitted by October 31 of each year to the regional transit committee for consideration, and
WHEREAS, Ordinance 17143, Section 5.A., specifies that the annual service guidelines report include:
1. The corridors analyzed to determine the Metro All-Day and Peak Network with a summary of resulting scores and assigned service levels as determined by the service guidelines;
2. The results of the analysis including a list of transit corridors above and below their target service levels and the estimated number of service hours necessary to meet the needs of each corridor below its target service level;
3. The performance of transit services by route and any changes in the service guidelines thresholds since the previous reporting period, using the performance measures identified in chapter III of the strategic plan and in the service guidelines;
4. A list of transit service changes made to routes and corridors of the network since the last reporting period;
5. Network and rider connectivity associated with transit services delivered by other providers; and
6. A list of potential changes, if any, to the strategic plan and the service guidelines to better meet their policy intent, and
WHEREAS, the service guidelines task force called for in the 2015/2016 Biennial Budget Ordinance, Ordinance 17941, Section 113, Proviso P1, provided recommendations influencing updates to the strategic plan and service guidelines regarding:
1. How transit service performance is measured as specified in the service guidelines to reflect the varied purposes of different types of transit service;
2. Approaches to evaluating how the goal of geographic value is included in the service guidelines, including minimum service levels;
3. Approaches to evaluating how the goal of social equity is included in the service guidelines;
4. Financial policies for purchase of additional services within a municipality or among multiple municipalities; and
5. Guidelines for alternative services implementation, and
WHEREAS, Ordinance 18301 updated service guidelines policies and procedures regarding the evaluation and allocation of Metro transit service based on the recommendations of the service guidelines task force, and
WHEREAS, Motion 13736, Section D, adopting the Five-Year Implementation Plan for Alternatives to Traditional Transit Service Delivery, directs that, beginning in 2013, an annual report of alternative services be transmitted by the executive to the council, which report has been combined with the attached system evaluation to provide a comprehensive overview of services and performance, and
WHEREAS, Ordinance 18449 adopted Metro's long-range transit service and capital plan, titled METRO CONNECTS, and the Metro transit department (then known as the Metro Transit Division of the King County Department of Transportation) committed to the regional transit committee to clearly track progress toward the implementation of METRO CONNECTS as part of the service guidelines report, and
WHEREAS, Ordinance 18413 requires the planning, implementing, administering and operating of passenger ferry service in King County to be integrated with and subject to the methodology of the service guidelines, and
WHEREAS, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had significant impacts on Metro transit department service and ridership, and
WHEREAS, the pandemic’s impacts on service and ridership created several challenges for analyzing service change data from September 2020 to March 2021, and
WHEREAS, the 2021 System Evaluation excludes the Bus Service - Service Growth, Peak Analysis, and Metro Connects Progress Report sections because of data issues due to the pandemic, and
WHEREAS, the 2021 System Evaluation modified the Bus Service - Productivity section to remove grouping of routes by the top and bottom twenty-five percent because of the number of suspended routes due to the pandemic, and
WHEREAS, Metro transit department staff has compiled all other required information in the King County Metro Transit 2021 System Evaluation and the executive has transmitted this report, set forth as Attachment A to this motion, to the council and to the regional transit committee;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
The King County council hereby accepts as the service guidelines report required under Ordinance 17143, Section 5, as amended, the King County Metro transit department 2021 System Evaluation, which is Attachment A to this motion.