fare-box recovery

King County Metro Bus Service: Contents Under Pressure

(This post also ran as an opinion article in Crosscut). With gas prices still on the north side of four dollars per gallon, more people than ever are riding King County Metro buses in Seattle and some parts of its suburbs. Ridership was up 7 percent last year, and as the Puget Sound Business Journal’s Dierdre Gregg reports, continued growth is straining the system. One effect: more riders get bypassed at stops as stuffed buses too often breeze right past. PSBJ: For riders of King County’s jam-packed buses, there’s good news and bad news. The good: The Transit Now program, which voters approved in 2006, will add 15 percent to 20 percent more service over the course of 10 years. Read More ›