Drafter
Clerk 08/12/2011
title
A MOTION requesting the executive to discontinue the downtown Seattle ride free area by October 2012, and to develop and submit to council, by May 2012, an implementation plan to guide the elimination of the ride free area.
Body
WHEREAS, the ride free area was established in 1973 in partnership with the city of Seattle to assist in economic development efforts in downtown Seattle, and
WHEREAS, bus riders in the downtown Seattle area are able to load and unload through all doors on buses during a specified time period without paying a fare if their trip is wholly within downtown Seattle. This includes the downtown tunnel, where buses are free but rail service is not, and
WHEREAS, K.C.C. 28.94.225 authorizes the executive, subject to council approval, to execute agreements to provide ride free services within geographic areas, and
WHEREAS, the most-recent agreement between King County and the city of Seattle in 1998, established terms for city payment to Metro transit to operate fare free in the downtown Seattle area and off-set the lost fare revenue, and
WHEREAS, the agreement with the city of Seattle has expired, but the city has continued to pay Metro transit an annual amount to offset some of the lost fare revenue, and
WHEREAS, approximately two-thirds of downtown ride free area users have already paid for their trips through the purchase of monthly passes or other fare media, with the remaining approximately nine thousand daily riders using Metro transit fare free in the area, and
WHEREAS, continued transition to the ORCA card system will increase the efficiency and speed of fare payment, and
WHEREAS, recent studies have shown that traffic and transit operations would not be significantly impacted if Metro transit began collecting fares when riders board in downtown Seattle, and
WHEREAS, the ride free area has always created some confusion for riders trying to pay their fare since riders pay as they leave on trips or...

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