Drafter
Clerk 09/18/2012
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A MOTION accepting a Five-Year Implementation Plan for Alternatives to Traditional Transit Service Delivery, as required by Ordinance 17143, Section 7.
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WHEREAS, the King County council adopted the King County Metro Transit Strategic Plan for Public Transportation 2011-2021 ("Strategic Plan") and Service Guidelines in July 2011, and
WHEREAS, strategies 2.1.1 and 2.1.3 of the Strategic Plan encourage Metro to design and offer a variety of products and services, including non-fixed-route transit, that meet different mobility needs and provide value to all parts of King County, and
WHEREAS, strategy 6.2.3 of the Strategic Plan calls for Metro to "develop and implement alternative public transportation services and delivery strategies," and
WHEREAS, Section 7 of Ordinance 17143, which adopted the Strategic Plan, included specific requirements requiring the King County executive to transmit a five-year implementation plan for alternatives to traditional transit service delivery by June 15, 2012, and
WHEREAS, Section 10 of Ordinance 17169, which approved the temporary congestion reduction charge in August 2011, includes specific direction concerning alternative service delivery and, in particular, calls for Metro to begin implementing new, right-sized services provided at reduced operating costs, and
WHEREAS, Metro staff conducted required research, compiled supporting materials and developed an implementation plan;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
A. The King County Metro Transit Five-Year Implementation Plan for Alternatives to Traditional Transit Service Delivery, which is Attachment A to this motion, is hereby accepted.
B. The transit division is requested to accelerate the timetable for implementation of the additional alternative services, slated for 2015 through 2017, to mid-2014.
C. To establish alternatives to traditional transit service as an integral part of a comprehensive transit system, the executive is requested to:
1. Develop and propose Strategic Plan for Public Transportation amendments and amendments to the King County Code that would include implementation of alternatives to traditional transit service in all funding environments, not just when Metro Transit dedicated revenues are increasing, and utilize it as an option:
a. to provide the last public transit connection in a community;
b. to support restructuring the transit network;
c. to complement existing fixed route service; and
d. to meet unmet travel needs, including "first-mile" and neighborhood connections to transit activity centers and regional growth centers; and
2. Develop and propose as part of the April 2013 update to the King County Metro Service Guidelines amendments that would:
a. establish a clear role for alternatives to traditional transit service as an integral part of a comprehensive transit system;
b. implement alternatives to traditional transit service consistent with the funding environments at the time of initiation of the alternative service planning and evaluation processes, not just when Metro Transit dedicated revenues are increasing or decreasing, and utilize it as an option:
(1) to provide the last public transit connection in a community;
(2) to support restructuring the transit network;
(3) to complement existing fixed route service; and
(4) to meet unmet travel needs, including "first-mile" and neighborhood connections to transit activity centers and regional growth centers; and
c. Consistent with the productivity, social equity and geographic value policies of the Strategic Plan for Public Transportation, establish a set of performance measures for alternatives to traditional transit service, monitor alternative service performance, and establish how alternative transit service and levels of service should be adjusted in the future;
3. Fares for alternative services, if they are to be charged at all, should be transmitted to the council as an update to fare policy, and should be consistent with and compatible with fares for traditional fixed route service;
4. Develop and propose Strategic Plan for Public Transportation amendments to incorporate annual reporting on and updates to implementation of alternatives to traditional transit service;
5. Continue to explore future policy changes identified in the Five-Year Implementation Plan ("Policy Changes for Further Consideration"), which include potentially expanding Community Access Transportation eligibility requirements, raising the percentage cap on dial-a-ride transit service hours, broadening the applicability of the taxi scrip program and lifting restrictions on Metro funding for new alternatives; and
6. Work in collaboration with local jurisdictions who have secured funding for an alternative-service program to develop and implement that program.
D. The executive is requested to provide an annual progress to date report on these topics by December 15 each year, beginning in 2013, and to transmit the amendments to the Strategic Plan for Public Transportation and King County Metro Service Guidelines with the April 30, 2013, update. The executive shall file the annual report in the form of a paper original and an electronic copy with the clerk of the council, who shall retain the original and provide an electronic copy to all councilmembers. The transit division shall make the draft amendments to the Strategic Plan for Public Transportation and King County Metro Service Guidelines identified in section C. of this
motion available for review by councilmembers and staff before submission to the clerk of the council.