Drafter
Clerk 5/2/2007
Title
AN ORDINANCE relating to certain transit service partnerships authorized in the Transit Now Ordinance, 15582; adopting prioritization criteria for selecting among eligible partnership applications and establishing procedures for entering into agreements for the service partnerships; and adding new sections to K.C.C. chapter 4.29.
Body
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings.
A. The Transit Now Ordinance, Ordinance 15582, adopted by the council on September 5, 2006, and the subsequent Transit Now proposition approved by the voters in the general election on November 7, 2006, provides funds for new transit services. In addition to those services, the Transit Now Ordinance authorizes King County Metro Transit to enter into certain service partnerships with public and private service partners to add other transit services mutually agreed to by the service partners and Metro Transit. Two types of service partnerships are authorized by the Transit Now Ordinance: direct financial partnerships and speed-and-reliability partnerships.
B. According to the Transit Now Ordinance, service partnership agreements are intended to: "leverage Metro's service resources to increase overall transit resources;" to be located "where transit service investments will generate the most riders;" to "act as a toolÂ…to meet growth targets and improve transit market share to support employee commuting;" and to "target but not limit partnerships to designated urban, manufacturing, and industrial centers."
C. The Transit Now Ordinance establishes the maximum number of annual service hours available for service partnerships, and sets minimum requirements for service partnership proposals to be eligible for service partnership agreements. Those proposals will be developed and evaluated using the criteria established by this ordinance.
D. The criteria set forth in this ordinance for selecting among eligible service partnership proposals are consistent with the requirements and directives of Ordinance 15582.
SECTION 2. The criteria in section 3 of this ordinance establish the method for developing and evaluating eligible public agency and private entity service partnership proposal applications. The council hereby approves the criteria in section 3 of this ordinance.
NEW SECTION. SECTION 3. There is hereby added to K.C.C. chapter 4.29 a new section to read as follows:
The following criteria for entering into Transit Now service partnership agreements shall be applied on a yes/no basis and are listed in priority order. The criteria provide a foundation for the development and evaluation of proposals for service partnership agreements. These criteria are further intended to provide guidance to potential partners as to how partnership proposals succeed in meeting the objectives, guidelines and implementation strategies of the service partnership program.
A. Direct financial partnerships shall have priority over speed and reliability partnerships. Proposals for direct financial partnerships with public and private entities that meet the minimum eligibility requirements of this chapter will be evaluated for implementation according to the following criteria, in priority order:
1. The partnership service will improve access to, from or between designated Urban and Manufacturing Centers as defined in Countywide Planning Policies LU-40 and LU-52;
2. The partnership service will improve service on the network of core service connections as defined in the King County Metro Transit Six-Year Transit Development Plan, Service Strategy S-3;
3. The partnership service by a public agency will improve access and circulation within designated Urban and Manufacturing Centers as defined in Countywide Planning Policies LU-40 and LU-52 or will provide service consistent with King County Metro Transit Six-Year Transit Development Plan, Service Strategy S-13. A circulator or ride-free service partnership with a public agency also will provide service in a manner that supports enhancement of existing transit centers by providing frequent connections between a transit center and major destinations within the urban center;
4. The partnership service will improve other services that support the goals and objectives of the King County Metro Transit Six-Year Transit Development Plan;
5. The partner or partners will commit to continue the partnership for more than five years;
6. The partner or partners will agree to fund more than the minimum one-third share of the fully allocated service cost;
7. The partner or partners will commit to implementation of additional actions that are likely to increase ridership on the new services, such as:
a. conducting promotional activities;
b. providing incentives to employees and riders;
c. establishing limits on parking supply or price for single occupant vehicle parking within the area served by the new service;
d. implementing parking management to increase the attractiveness of transit and ridesharing;
e. taking other policy actions that support the new service; or
f. taking other actions that are likely to increase ridership on the new services; and
8. Projected ridership gain in annual boardings over the term of the agreement.
B. Speed and reliability partnerships shall have a lower priority than direct financial partnerships. Proposals for speed and reliability partnerships that meet the minimum eligibility requirements of Transit Now will be evaluated for implementation according to the following criteria, in priority order:
1. The partner's capital investment or traffic operations change will create a transit speed and reliability benefit along a continuous RapidRide bus rapid transit corridor;
2. The partner will commit to additional traffic operations management actions that achieve transit priority in excess of the required projected ten percent travel time savings;
3. The improvements can be completed within five years; and
4. The partner will commit to provision of complementary actions that improve transit operations or ridership, such as:
a. implementing innovative transit signal phases and timing;
b. providing the infrastructure, preferably fiber, required to support communication between transit signal priority equipment in the field and from the field back to the applicable agency and to Metro;
c. adding curb space for transit terminal or layover;
d. establishing limits on parking supply or increasing prices for single occupant vehicle parking within the area served by the new service;
e. implementing parking management to increase the attractiveness of ridesharing;
f. implementing pass subsidy and promotional programs that achieve higher ridership; or
g. taking actions that improve the pedestrian environment.
NEW SECTION. SECTION 4. There is hereby added to K.C.C. chapter 4.29 a new section to read as follows:
For those service partnerships expected to be implemented after 2007, Metro Transit shall issue a call for service partnership proposals from potential public and private partners. The call for proposals shall describe the minimum requirements for eligible proposals as set forth in Ordinance 15582 as well as the prioritization criteria to be utilized by the county in selecting among eligible service partnership proposals as set forth herein at Section 3. A deadline will be set for submission that is not less than 90 days after the call for proposals has been issued. Metro Transit shall make staff available to answer questions potential service partners may have in order help facilitate the development of proposals that are consistent with the eligibility requirements and prioritization criteria. After the initial proposals received in response to the first call for proposals have been evaluated, subsequent opportunities may be provided for additional potential service partners to submit proposals up until such time as all the service partnership resources have been committed.
The executive shall transmit proposed service partnership agreements, identifying the year in which the proposed service partnership is expected to begin, for approval by the Council. Council approval shall not be unreasonably withheld from service partnership proposals that meet the objectives, guidelines and implementation strategies of the service partnership program as described in Attachment A to Ordinance 15582.
SECTION 5. The authority granted in this ordinance is supplemental to all other powers of the county and nothing in this ordinance shall be construed as limiting or restricting any powers or authority conferred upon the county by law.
SECTION 6. If any provision of this ordinance or its application to any person or
circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the ordinance or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.