Last Saturday, King County Metro cut 28 bus lines and revised 13 others thanks to the first of three scheduled budget cuts.
But wait, nevermind.
Yesterday, King County Council suddenly voted to cancel the final two rounds of cuts scheduled for 2015, thanks to an apparent increase in sales-tax revenue (which is trending towards $32 million more than was intially expected).
“You can look at the budget, and easily conclude we are done cutting,” said Councilmember Rod Dembowski to the Seattle Times.
Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond and County Executive Dow Constantine think that the council’s budget projections that informed the sudden decision are too optimistic, but nonetheless, 16 routes that would’ve been cut in February are now safe.
This completely changes the narrative for Prop 1, which Seattle will vote on in November—a measure that was originally designed to stave off the 2015 cuts by raising the sales tax 0.1 percent and adding a $60 car-tab fee. Now, the propositon is being cast as an opportunity to bolster what transit we already have.
“Seattle voters are being asked to help stabilize, expand and improve transit service in the city,” Mayor Ed Murray said in a new statment. “I am looking forward to more frequent service on our city’s most crowded bus routes after the passage of Proposition 1.”