With the hit the local economy has taken due to COVID-19-related government restrictions, King County will drop bus routes to 85% of their current level in the fall. | Pixabay
With the hit the local economy has taken due to COVID-19-related government restrictions, King County will drop bus routes to 85% of their current level in the fall. | Pixabay
With the hit the local economy has taken due to COVID-19-related government restrictions, King County will drop bus routes to 85% of their current level in the fall, Mass Transit reported.
King County Metro Transit, which will begin charging fairs again on Wednesday, July 1, has projected a $280 million loss in tax collections for this year. That figure is expected to rise to $615 million through 2022.
Included in those calculations is the expected loss of funding through the City of Seattle, with a 0.1% sales tax collected by the city to pay for transit expiring this year, according to Mass Transit.
Metro transit projects cutting both services and staffing in response to the revenue drops.
"We continue to stay in close contact with the city of Seattle, directly with the mayor's office and SDOT [Seattle Department of Transportation], to better understand what their intentions are," General Manager Rob Gannon told Mass Transit. "As of today we have not heard with any certainty they are going to move forward, but we know those conversations will continue."
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