Support a WA state transportation bill

There is a Senate hearing tomorrow on a transportation bill. RantWoman urges her WA state readers to look their WA State senator up at http://leg.wa.gov  and then contact them. Urge them to support a Transportation bill in the year's legislative session.

Here is an example outlining several things one might emphasize:, aA statement jus issued by the King County Transit Advisory Commission

Sent: Mon, Apr 22, 2013 11:40 am

Subject: FW: King County Transit Advisory Commission urges you to take action on a funding solution for public transportation

April 22, 2013
To the Honorable Members of our Washington State Legislature:


Funding for public transportation is vital to the economy of Washington. Without a good transportation system, the people and jobs needed for our economic recovery will go elsewhere. The damage to our environment from increased automobile usage due to loss in transit service and negative effects from climate change will degrade the high quality of life Washingtonians enjoy.


Investing in transit simply makes sense. Roads and transit are both vital parts of our transportation network. In King County, growth and development, preservation of our environment, the beautiful landscape we live in, and budgetary constraints mean that we cannot build our way out of transportation problems. We, the members of the King County Transit Advisory Commission, urge you during the current legislative session both to provide funding through the state budget for public transit and to provide local jurisdictions options for additional local funding for public transit. A dedicated state-level funding source is necessary in order to keep transit funding from being dependent on the ebb and flow of sales tax revenue. When transit is funded primarily by sales tax revenues, transit agencies are forced to adjust service levels in tandem with unpredictable business cycles. Transit agencies need to be able to offer dependable services and plan for the future.

A dedicated funding source will serve transit users and non-users alike, both of whom benefit from riders’ use of public transportation. We pay about a quarter of the cost of our service through fares; road users pay about 27% of the cost of roads through their user fees. Transit users keep cars off roads, a more efficient use of public resources.


We recognize different counties have different transportation needs. It is not reasonable to ask state taxpayers to shoulder the full cost of individual counties’ needs. While we all share needs for a transportation network, we believe it makes sense to give individual counties as much flexibility as possible. County councils need authority to tap local funding sources to address needs beyond what can be funded through the state budget. Public transportation serves many people. Young people, senior citizens and riders with disabilities use public transportation to do things they could not do otherwise. Visitors and students can enjoy our area car-free because of our excellent bus and light-rail system.


The King County Transit Advisory Commission is a citizen advisory commission, created by the Metropolitan King County Council to provide advice on policy issues affecting King County Metro Transit. We represent transit users who live in every part of the county and use a variety of transit modes. Half of us are either people with disabilities or represent organizations that serve people with disabilities. Some of us have disabilities that preclude driving. Some of us rely solely on fixed route transit or paratransit for all of our work travel, shopping and life activities. Everyone benefits from well-used, well-funded, well-thought-out public transportation. The transit agencies of our state need your help in funding it.

Sincerely,
Members of the King County Transit Advisory Commission