[0:07] Good afternoon. Welcome to the
[0:09] JULY 15th, 2026 meeting of the
[0:10] Regional Transit Committee. I
[0:11] m
[0:12] the chair, King County Council
[0:14] member Steffanie Fain. We
[0:14] re
[0:15] going to start the meeting
[0:17] today by calling roll. And
[0:18] would you please call the roll?
[0:20] Thank you. Chair. Deputy Mayor
[0:23] Black here. Council member
[0:27] Harris. Council PRESIDENT.
[0:29] Honda here. All the way from
[0:31] Washington, dc.
[0:33] Thank you. PRESIDENT Pro Tem
[0:35] McIrvin here. Council member
[0:38] Stewart here. Deputy mayor
[0:40] Taylor here. Council member
[0:45] Troutner here. Mayor. Rubio.
[0:49] Council member. Bhargava. Here.
[0:50] Council member.
[0:52] Shea here.
[0:55] Council member. Goldman here.
[0:58] Mayor. Mayhew here. Council
[1:01] member. Rinke. Council member.
[1:04] Rob Saka. Council member.
[1:11] Foster. Council member. Perry.
[1:12] Councilmember von Reichbauer.
[1:15] Here. Chair. Fain.
[1:15] Here.
[1:16] Can you have a quorum?
[1:19] Thank you. Um. I am very
[1:21] excited to have Vice Chair
[1:22] McIrvin here in chambers with
[1:24] me this afternoon. Thank you
[1:25] for being here. Would you
[1:27] please, uh, move to approve the
[1:29] minutes from our JUNE 17th
[1:30] meeting?
[1:31] Thank you, MADAM Chair. I move
[1:32] approval of the minutes.
[1:33] Thank you. All those in favor,
[1:34] please say aye.
[1:35] Aye. Aye.
[1:39] Any opposed? All right. Thank
[1:41] you. The minutes are approved.
[1:43] All right. Well, it has been a
[1:45] very busy few weeks. So before
[1:45] we begin, I
[1:46] d like to
[1:48] congratulate Metro and all of
[1:48] our region
[1:50] s transit agencies
[1:52] on an outstanding World Cup
[1:55] performance. Yourselves. I know
[1:57] the work is still ongoing until
[1:59] the last game is over. With a
[2:01] lot of watch parties around the
[2:03] region. But, um, for the games
[2:06] that were held here in Seattle,
[2:07] you delivered exceptional
[2:09] service and carried record
[2:12] number of riders. And really
[2:15] demonstrated and showed off our
[2:18] regional transit system. And
[2:20] you did that all with very
[2:22] thoughtful, careful planning,
[2:24] years long planning and
[2:26] collaboration and regional
[2:28] coordination. So it was a ton
[2:29] of work, and we very much
[2:31] appreciate it. Um, we did
[2:34] spend, um, we had an
[2:35] opportunity to have a joint
[2:37] meeting with our transit
[2:38] committee at the council
[2:40] earlier this year. And so, um,
[2:41] I
[2:42] d like to think about an
[2:44] opportunity to collaborate
[2:46] again on a joint meeting.
[2:50] Maybe, um, this fall to talk
[2:52] about and reflect on, um,
[2:54] lessons learned and things that
[2:56] we can do going forward and
[2:58] implement without World Cup
[3:00] here. But for today, please
[3:01] share this committee
[3:03] s
[3:05] appreciation to all of your
[3:07] teams and operators and
[3:09] maintenance crew workers and
[3:10] everyone who participated in
[3:12] the planning and the execution
[3:15] of a very smooth transit
[3:17] experience during World Cup. So
[3:20] thank you. All right. Members,
[3:21] today during our meeting we
[3:21] re
[3:23] going to focus on two very
[3:25] important issues. First, we are
[3:27] going to receive the briefing
[3:30] that we postponed from our last
[3:30] meeting on Metro
[3:32] s next stop,
[3:34] which is the planning effort,
[3:36] um, for investments through the
[3:38] late 2030s. And then we
[3:38] re
[3:40] going to receive an update on
[3:43] the work Metro and, um, uh,
[3:46] some of our regional partners
[3:48] are doing to enhance safety and
[3:50] security for our riders and
[3:52] employees. First, however, we
[3:54] are going to turn to public
[3:56] comment. Uh, clerk do we have
[3:57] anyone signed up for public
[3:59] comment today?
[4:01] Uh, chair we we do have one
[4:04] person. Um, in in zoom. Sorry.
[4:07] So any is there anyone in
[4:09] chambers? All right, let
[4:10] s call
[4:12] on the person on zoom. And
[4:15] before we get started, um, I
[4:15] m
[4:17] not sure if this person has
[4:18] spoken here before, but we do
[4:21] have the same rules, uh, in
[4:22] this committee that we do at
[4:24] the King County Council. And
[4:28] that is to, um, you are allowed
[4:30] to speak for two minutes and
[4:33] everything must be related, or
[4:34] your comments must be related
[4:35] to the items on today
[4:36] s meeting
[4:37] agenda and not used for the
[4:39] purpose of assisting a campaign
[4:40] for election of any purpose to
[4:42] any office, or for the
[4:45] promotion of or opposition to
[4:47] any ballot proposition. Um, and
[4:52] if there are any, uh, if any
[4:53] speech does violate those
[4:56] restrictions, we will, uh, mute
[5:00] you. So I will have you go
[5:02] ahead and call on the person.
[5:07] Uh, Joe, counselor.
[5:08] Hi. Thanks, everybody. Joe.
[5:11] Counselor. Here. Um, I want to
[5:12] thank King County. Start by
[5:13] thanking King County Metro for
[5:14] your awesome service during the
[5:16] airplane expo. Uh, last week, I
[5:18] was able to buy a, uh, $18
[5:20] transit pass and had a very
[5:22] effective and safe, uh, transit
[5:24] on King County Metro bus routes
[5:26] and also the sexy light rail.
[5:30] Um, I will also add here that I
[5:32] fully support your efforts to
[5:35] make transit more safe. Um, and
[5:36] feel these are important
[5:37] investments, uh, transit
[5:40] operators are our limbs for
[5:42] many of us in a disability
[5:43] community. And I want to note
[5:45] that on Disability Pride month,
[5:45] um, I think it
[5:46] s important to
[5:47] do everything we can to keep
[5:49] our wonderful transit operator
[5:51] safe and appreciated for all
[5:53] the hard work you do. And with
[5:53] that, I don
[5:54] t think I need to
[5:55] take up my whole two minutes
[5:56] and look forward to the
[5:57] briefing on transit safety.
[5:59] Thank you.
[6:03] Thank you. Any other folks you
[6:04] wish to speak?
[6:05] Uh, no one else has our hand
[6:06] raised chair.
[6:07] Thank you very much. With that,
[6:08] we will close public comment.
[6:10] It does look like someone just
[6:11] raised their hand. Apologies.
[6:14] Um. Pink Park. Um.
[6:15] Please go.
[6:18] Ahead.
[6:20] Hello. Thank you. For council
[6:22] members. My name is Pankaj
[6:23] Parag, and I
[6:24] m a South Seattle
[6:27] resident. And, uh, daily Metro
[6:28] Choice writer. I
[6:30] m here to, um,
[6:32] shed some light on the problems
[6:33] or, you know, all of the things
[6:36] I have. And hoping that I can
[6:38] do that in the next two
[6:40] minutes. So I live at a 15
[6:42] minute walk from the light
[6:43] rail, but only two minutes away
[6:46] from the route 106 bus stop. On
[6:47] paper, I
[6:48] m a transit target
[6:50] audience in. In practice, when
[6:52] the 106 is anywhere from 2 to
[6:53] 20 minutes away, the system
[6:55] fails me. And like many others,
[6:58] I end up driving. Unreliability
[7:00] is actively driving commuters
[7:02] back into cars. Right now, the
[7:05] region is planning to spend up
[7:07] to $214 million on the Graham
[7:10] Street infill station. While
[7:11] well-intentioned, this capital
[7:13] heavy mega project creates
[7:15] permanent pedestrian hazards
[7:16] and years of traffic
[7:18] disruption. If we instead
[7:19] directed those millions towards
[7:21] bus service hours, we could
[7:22] instantly create a high
[7:24] frequency grid on neighborhoods
[7:26] like mine, moving people safely
[7:28] and reliably without a decade
[7:30] of construction. I know Metro
[7:35] faces a $755 million reserve
[7:37] shortfall by 2033, but trying
[7:38] to solve this one on the backs
[7:39] of riders through fare
[7:41] collection is a losing game. In
[7:43] 2025, the Metro collected $78
[7:45] million in fares, but the
[7:47] nonpayment still sat at 35%. To
[7:49] show is that we spent million
[7:51] on Arkansas infrastructure,
[7:52] administrative overhead and
[7:54] enforcement. We are paying a
[7:55] massive premium to enforce the
[7:56] system that is already
[7:58] functionally an honor system. I
[8:00] urge this council to lead a
[8:01] transition to a frequent, free
[8:03] and fair model, eliminate fares
[8:05] to speed up boarding, and
[8:06] redirect those collection
[8:08] savings into an onboard safe
[8:10] ambassador and mandatory end of
[8:12] run sweeps to address safety
[8:14] and loop riding to replace the
[8:16] revenue. I propose that we
[8:18] establish a regional transit
[8:19] payroll tax on our wealthiest
[8:21] corporate employers. Treat
[8:23] transit as a public utility? It
[8:25] is, and we will decongest our
[8:26] roads and meet our climate
[8:27] goals.
[8:29] Thank you. I appreciate your
[8:31] public comment and I apologize
[8:33] for having to cut you off, but
[8:36] I, did receive your written
[8:37] public comments and we will
[8:39] share those with the committee
[8:39] if we haven
[8:40] t already. And as
[8:44] well as Metro. Thank you. Any
[8:44] other.
[8:45] Um, I
[8:46] m not seeing any other
[8:47] hands raised at this time.
[8:47] Chair.
[8:49] Great. Thank you. All right. We
[8:53] will close public comment.
[8:55] Next, uh, we will have the
[8:57] opportunity to hear from our
[8:59] general manager. Um, Michelle
[9:01] Allison, on the latest and
[9:04] greatest for Metro. Thank you.
[9:05] Thank you so much for having us
[9:06] here today. Thank you, chair,
[9:07] and members of the committee.
[9:07] It
[9:09] s really good to be back.
[9:11] After a busy couple of weeks,
[9:13] Metro, as you noted, Metro and
[9:14] our transit partners really
[9:15] rose to the occasion for the
[9:18] World Cup. Anything that moved,
[9:20] whether it was a boat or a lime
[9:21] scooter, but especially the
[9:22] buses and the light rails and
[9:24] the shuttles, really did the
[9:25] heavy lifting for our region.
[9:27] And it was incredible to watch
[9:28] and see the creativity, the
[9:30] customer service and the
[9:32] dedication to the system and to
[9:33] the region. So hopefully you
[9:34] all got to experience it as
[9:36] well. It was quite an energetic
[9:37] event for us. We
[9:38] ve also
[9:41] celebrated Juneteenth and Pride
[9:43] and the 4th of JULY and the
[9:44] beginning of baseball season,
[9:46] and the return of cruise ships.
[9:47] So no rest for the weary at
[9:50] Metro. What we are hearing is
[9:51] that the World Cup fans really
[9:52] enjoyed the ease of getting to
[9:53] Seattle Stadium for their
[9:55] matches, and also really
[9:57] important to our system that
[9:58] regular riders were still able
[10:00] to get to work and to use our
[10:01] system as well. So really
[10:03] managing both of those
[10:05] ridership populations was
[10:07] really important to us across
[10:08] six match days, the region
[10:11] tallied an estimated 3.4
[10:13] million boardings on King
[10:15] County Metro and Sound Transit.
[10:17] Overall, Metro estimates 1.9
[10:19] million boardings across its
[10:21] buses, boats, shuttles and
[10:23] streetcars, and Sound Transit
[10:25] estimates 1.5 million boardings
[10:26] on Link light rail. Both the
[10:28] one and the two line. There are
[10:30] still watch parties going for
[10:31] the games this week, and we are
[10:32] going to encourage people to
[10:33] use transit to get there and
[10:35] back. It is still a very, very
[10:37] energetic Pioneer Square for us
[10:40] down here in downtown. And as
[10:41] you noted, chair, later this
[10:42] fall, we will come back with
[10:44] more information, both on data,
[10:45] but also really importantly,
[10:46] lessons learned. And we
[10:47] re
[10:48] considering these lessons not
[10:49] just for large scale
[10:51] international events, but also
[10:52] items that can help our system
[10:53] every day. How can we help
[10:55] interagency planning? We did an
[10:57] incredible amount of work
[10:59] across jurisdictions, also with
[11:01] different transit partners. One
[11:03] of those lessons will live on
[11:04] so we can continue to improve
[11:05] the customer experience
[11:07] regardless of your mode or
[11:08] transit agency that you depend
[11:09] on. So we
[11:10] re looking forward to
[11:12] reporting back on those lessons
[11:14] learned. And while the World
[11:15] Cup has wrapped up, there
[11:15] s
[11:16] still a whole lot to be excited
[11:18] about. As was noted, this is
[11:20] Disability Pride Month, and i
[11:21] m
[11:23] really proud that Metro worked
[11:24] with our partners to run an
[11:27] access a match day shuttle for
[11:28] fans with disabilities so they
[11:30] could get between light rail
[11:31] and the Seattle Stadium drop
[11:33] off more easily. That was used
[11:35] by several, uh, fans of the
[11:37] game. So we also experienced
[11:39] some lessons learned in that
[11:40] service as well, and will
[11:43] report out on those. But I also
[11:44] want to return to the fact that
[11:45] King County Metro has a long
[11:46] commitment to this
[11:48] conversation. We were the first
[11:50] transit agency in the country
[11:52] to successfully test and deploy
[11:53] reliable wheelchair lifts.
[11:57] Beginning as early as 1978. Our
[11:58] commitment to getting everyone
[12:00] to where they need to go,
[12:01] regardless of the ability,
[12:03] remains today, and I look
[12:04] forward to continuing that
[12:05] conversation about investments
[12:06] our system needs in planning
[12:08] and infrastructure to meet this
[12:11] objective. Starting AUGUST 29th
[12:12] for our full service change.
[12:14] There is a lot coming online.
[12:17] Metro is adding over 140,000
[12:20] annual service hours for scale.
[12:22] This is the largest growth in
[12:23] one of our service chains in
[12:25] recent years. So this is a very
[12:26] large investment for our
[12:28] system. The service change will
[12:29] mark the full delivery of
[12:31] service for the Fleet
[12:32] Connections project in South
[12:34] King County and Lynnwood Link
[12:35] Connections project in North
[12:36] King County, and it will also
[12:38] deliver nearly all of the
[12:39] remaining service change for
[12:41] Eastlink connections. So really
[12:42] leveraging the infrastructure
[12:44] of Sound Transit and then
[12:45] adding new connections in
[12:46] neighborhoods so people can
[12:48] really experience that trip
[12:50] downtown on light rail and also
[12:52] more neighborhood and node
[12:53] connections to serve their
[12:55] mobility needs. A couple of
[12:57] examples of the scale of this
[12:59] investment include 13 routes
[13:00] that are more frequent. We know
[13:02] frequency really is the name of
[13:03] the game, so we
[13:03] re excited to
[13:05] bring that online. Ten routes
[13:07] that will run more times of day
[13:09] and night, three routes with
[13:10] new weekend service. As we know
[13:11] from our ridership trends, this
[13:13] is an incredibly important part
[13:13] of people
[13:14] s choice to use
[13:16] transit more than ever before.
[13:17] Weekends are becoming an
[13:18] element of need for us, and so
[13:19] we
[13:20] re able to address that to
[13:21] some extent here. With this
[13:23] service change, we will also be
[13:25] bringing on line two new Metro
[13:27] Flex pilot programs in Auburn
[13:28] and Federal Way. And we know
[13:29] that they have been long
[13:30] awaited. So thanks for your
[13:32] patience and many others as we
[13:34] planned. Those now pivoting a
[13:37] little to our ridership data,
[13:39] excluding our groundbreaking
[13:40] numbers for the World Cup in
[13:45] JUNE, we had 289,000 average
[13:47] weekday boardings for just
[13:49] metro buses. In comparison, and
[13:51] to hold ourselves accountable
[13:52] to the year over year ridership
[13:54] growth. This means that we are
[13:57] 2.9% higher than JUNE of 2025,
[13:59] so that is good news for us.
[14:00] Thank you for noting the items
[14:02] on the agenda today. There
[14:03] could be nothing more important
[14:04] for us to talk about than how
[14:06] we are focusing on the safety
[14:07] of our system. So that is a
[14:09] very timely and will always be
[14:11] an important topic for us. And
[14:14] also the importance of the
[14:14] Regional Transit Committee
[14:15] s
[14:16] conversation on our policy
[14:18] documents that was introduced
[14:19] last month. I really
[14:21] appreciated the feedback that
[14:22] we heard and really engaged
[14:23] conversation. Metro
[14:24] s exploring
[14:26] opportunities to carry out
[14:27] earlier and informal engagement
[14:30] with rtc members in late 2026.
[14:32] Based on the feedback that we
[14:33] received at that last meeting,
[14:36] this engagement will be before
[14:39] our formal launch of our
[14:41] engagement with rtc in 2027,
[14:43] and it will include smaller
[14:45] meetings, workshops or
[14:46] invitations to enjoy. To join
[14:48] us at community engagement
[14:49] meetings. So stay tuned for
[14:51] various ways to start the
[14:52] conversation with us sooner
[14:53] rather than later. We heard
[14:54] that as a priority from this
[14:56] body, so thank you so much for
[14:57] the opportunity to share both
[14:59] our successes, but also some of
[15:00] the challenges that are still
[15:02] facing us as an organization
[15:02] and how we
[15:03] re working to tackle
[15:04] them together. We appreciate
[15:05] it.
[15:08] Thank you so much. Um, just to
[15:09] flag, if you didn
[15:11] t catch, um,
[15:13] what the general manager shared
[15:15] was that folks who serve on
[15:18] this board, um, now and this
[15:20] committee now will have an
[15:22] opportunity to provide some
[15:26] feedback and guidance before we
[15:28] formally launch the work on the
[15:30] policy documents next year,
[15:32] because all of you have spent
[15:34] so much time on these and
[15:35] received updates. And I think
[15:35] it
[15:37] s really, um, it would be
[15:39] unfortunate to lose that. So
[15:39] I
[15:41] m really appreciative that
[15:42] you are making that
[15:43] accommodation and really
[15:45] weaving in our regional
[15:48] partners. Now, um, before in
[15:48] case there
[15:51] s turnover, um, any
[15:52] questions for our general
[15:58] manager? And I have, yeah. Yes.
[15:59] Council member.
[16:01] Can you hear me? All right.
[16:02] Yes.
[16:04] I just had a follow up question
[16:05] to the presentation. If it
[16:05] s
[16:06] all right.
[16:07] Of course.
[16:10] Uh, could the director not just
[16:12] include the number, the raw
[16:14] number of passengers, but also
[16:17] the increase in revenue? As
[16:18] part of that, I
[16:19] d like to know,
[16:20] uh, in terms of not just the
[16:22] physical impact of passengers,
[16:24] but the financial impact as
[16:26] well. So I would like to see a
[16:28] follow up based upon what the
[16:29] numbers she gave us today.
[16:31] Happy to thank you for that
[16:34] suggestion. Council member.
[16:37] Thank you. Councilmember von
[16:39] Reichbauer. All right. I have
[16:42] also been advised that um,
[16:44] General manager will be
[16:45] sticking around for the whole
[16:46] meeting. So if there are any
[16:47] follow up questions later, um,
[16:48] I
[16:48] m sure she
[16:49] ll come back to
[16:52] the table. So thank you so much.
[16:54] All right. Moving to our next
[16:56] item, we have a briefing on
[16:57] Metro
[17:00] s next stop. Um, I think
[17:02] we talked about this on several
[17:04] occasions, but our, uh, the
[17:05] adopted metro connects long
[17:07] range plan was not fully
[17:10] funded. And so in order to
[17:13] achieve those long term growth
[17:15] plans, Metro requires
[17:16] additional funding. So Metro
[17:17] s
[17:19] next stop is that planning
[17:24] process. And I will leave it to
[17:24] Metro
[17:26] s chief of staff, Deanna
[17:29] Martin, to finish. Um, probably
[17:30] a better explanation of what
[17:32] that is.
[17:34] Thank you. Chair. Uh, again, my
[17:35] name is Deanna Martin. I
[17:35] m
[17:37] chief of staff at King County
[17:38] Metro and really glad to be
[17:40] back this month to share our
[17:42] enthusiasm for and connect you
[17:42] with Metro
[17:45] s next stop. Uh,
[17:46] next. So we
[17:46] re getting slides
[17:48] up. Good. Okay. Next slide
[17:50] please. So I want to talk to
[17:52] you about why we did this. You
[17:53] talked a little bit about that.
[17:56] Thank you. Um, we have spent a
[17:57] number of years talking about
[17:59] recovery from the pandemic and
[18:01] questions about. So what
[18:02] s next,
[18:04] Metro. And if you say you need
[18:05] more money, you have this
[18:08] financial cliff coming. What
[18:09] can you do and what could you
[18:10] do with additional funding. And
[18:12] we have worked over the last
[18:13] year and a half to really
[18:14] answer that question. With
[18:14] Metro
[18:16] s next stop, it shows
[18:17] what transit improvements we
[18:20] can implement by 2038. With
[18:21] that additional funding, it
[18:22] s
[18:23] intended to help bridge the gap
[18:24] between our day to day
[18:26] operations and the 1 to 2 year
[18:27] budget, and our long term
[18:29] vision of Metro Connects. We
[18:31] wanted to have a product that
[18:32] we could use both internally
[18:34] and externally, to point us in
[18:35] the same direction in the near
[18:37] term, with the resources we
[18:39] think we could get, what we
[18:40] could deliver and how we could
[18:43] deliver on customer priorities.
[18:44] And we wanted it to be
[18:46] optimistic, but also realistic.
[18:47] Not like Metro Connects, which
[18:49] we continually talk about this
[18:51] under unfunded vision that we
[18:51] have, that we
[18:52] re never quite
[18:54] getting to, um, we wanted this
[18:54] to be something we could
[18:56] realistically deliver with what
[18:57] we think we could get in the
[18:59] next ten years. And we want to
[19:00] thank many of your city staff
[19:02] who helped work on this and
[19:04] develop this with us. Your
[19:06] perspectives of growth and
[19:07] transit priorities are
[19:08] reflected in what you
[19:08] re going
[19:10] to see here today. And while
[19:11] the final document, which you
[19:12] got a copy of and I
[19:13] m kind of
[19:15] showing you here in the in the
[19:16] packet of materials for the
[19:17] meeting, it
[19:18] s supported by a
[19:18] lot. It
[19:19] s a primarily
[19:20] communications piece, but it is
[19:22] supported by a lot of rigorous
[19:24] technical work, ensuring we
[19:26] have a strong and accurate
[19:27] technical foundation to answer
[19:28] questions about our funding
[19:30] future and help start a
[19:31] conversation about the funding
[19:32] we need. It
[19:34] s not a new policy
[19:35] document. It is built on the
[19:36] foundation of our adopted
[19:38] policy documents, which you
[19:39] heard about last month. The
[19:41] work we did will help provide
[19:43] inputs for the policy updates.
[19:45] It affirms our current approach
[19:47] and plans, and for the first
[19:49] time tells the story of what we
[19:51] do and what we are doing in the
[19:52] mid-term in a way that we hope
[19:53] is accessible to multiple
[19:56] audiences, not just transit
[20:00] planners. Next slide please. So
[20:02] the region is changing, and
[20:03] metro and public
[20:04] transportation, we think is
[20:06] really key to connecting
[20:07] communities. Metro
[20:08] s next stop
[20:09] is a tool to help us
[20:12] communicate our value, confirm
[20:14] community priorities, identify
[20:15] investments towards our long
[20:17] term vision. Metro connects,
[20:19] update our financial delivery
[20:21] and growth assumptions. Build
[20:23] support and trust of partners,
[20:24] and improve coordination,
[20:26] clarity and confidence across
[20:28] Metro and with our partners.
[20:33] Next slide please. By 2038,
[20:34] King County is expected to have
[20:37] almost 244,000 more residents
[20:38] than today, and that
[20:38] s
[20:40] equivalent to 56 people
[20:41] arriving every day. It
[20:43] represents an increase in the
[20:43] county
[20:44] s population of about
[20:47] 11% over the next 12 years. The
[20:49] region is also expected to add
[20:52] 231,000 new jobs, which is a
[20:54] 16% increase. That growth will
[20:56] occur all across King County,
[20:58] and while nearly one third of
[20:59] new residents and jobs are
[21:01] anticipated in Seattle, most
[21:02] growth the size of growth will
[21:04] be felt and happen in other
[21:05] cities and towns across the
[21:08] region. At the same time,
[21:09] rising housing costs have
[21:10] pushed many lower income
[21:12] households and communities of
[21:14] color farther from job centers
[21:15] and frequent transit service,
[21:17] and these changes reinforce the
[21:19] need for a transit system that
[21:20] helps people stay connected to
[21:21] opportunity, no matter where
[21:24] they live. In King County. Next
[21:26] slide might be a familiar
[21:26] chart. We
[21:27] ve gone over it
[21:30] before. Uh, funding is needed
[21:31] to meet the growth of the
[21:32] region, and Metro
[21:33] s next stop
[21:35] will require more than our
[21:37] existing resources can provide.
[21:39] So in this familiar chart, the
[21:41] blue line equals the total
[21:42] ending fund balance. According
[21:44] to our financial plan. And the
[21:46] red line is our net fund
[21:48] balance that we have left over.
[21:49] After accounting for our
[21:51] reserve requirements. And the
[21:53] graph illustrates Metro
[21:53] s
[21:55] projected ending fund balance
[21:56] over time, based on our adopted
[21:59] budget. Of the 2627 budget
[22:01] cycle, and it was updated for
[22:05] the MARCH 2026 for forecast.
[22:07] Metro maintains cash reserves
[22:08] and carefully planned spending
[22:10] to balance needs with
[22:11] resources. However, inflation
[22:13] means that over the long term,
[22:13] Metro
[22:14] s revenues will not keep
[22:16] pace with rising costs for
[22:17] staff, operations and
[22:19] construction projects. Both
[22:21] lines decrease over time as
[22:21] Metro
[22:23] s projected spending
[22:23] exceeds Metro
[22:25] s projected
[22:27] revenue, and our financial plan
[22:29] projects us not meeting our
[22:31] reserve requirements by 2031,
[22:33] and a negative fund balance by
[22:34] 2033 without additional
[22:37] changes. The investments
[22:37] contemplated in Metro
[22:38] s next
[22:40] stop represent the needs of a
[22:41] growing region. Metro
[22:42] s next
[22:43] stop is designed to continue
[22:43] the agency
[22:44] s commitment to
[22:46] financial responsibility by
[22:47] carefully prioritizing these
[22:49] investments, while seeking
[22:50] resources that have the least
[22:52] impact on our highest burden
[22:54] communities in order to deliver
[22:57] on our promises. Next slide
[22:59] please. So Metro
[23:00] s next stop
[23:02] outlines the investments needed
[23:03] to create a safer, more
[23:05] welcoming transit experience,
[23:07] improve speed and reliability
[23:10] of trips, expand service and
[23:12] access to transit. Modernize
[23:14] customer information tools, and
[23:16] continue efforts to reduce our
[23:19] ghg emissions. Next slide
[23:22] please. And before I describe
[23:23] the investments we plan to
[23:24] deliver in greater detail, I
[23:26] want to share a quote from our
[23:28] equity cabinet co-chairs,
[23:30] Sandra Evans and Hina Vara. The
[23:32] Equity Cabinet has been devoted
[23:33] to this project for about a
[23:35] year. Every step of the way.
[23:37] And they say transit plays a
[23:39] critical role in helping people
[23:40] access essential places and
[23:42] stay connected to their
[23:43] communities. Metro
[23:44] s next stop
[23:45] represents an important step in
[23:47] planning for that future,
[23:48] shaped not only by quantitative
[23:50] data, but also by the voices
[23:51] and experiences of people in
[23:53] King County who rely on transit
[23:55] every day. The Equity Cabinet
[23:56] did a great job of rolling up
[23:58] their sleeves to understand how
[23:59] much her works and what our
[24:01] constraints and goals are, and
[24:02] helping make hard choices when
[24:04] they had to. It was their
[24:05] leadership that formed the
[24:06] basis of what we
[24:06] re
[24:07] prioritizing in Metro
[24:08] s next
[24:12] stop. Next slide please. So
[24:13] they the equity cabinet were
[24:15] one of three main engagement
[24:16] groups. In addition, we had a
[24:18] partner review board and staff
[24:20] from local jurisdictions that
[24:21] were part of more than a dozen
[24:23] meetings and helped us gather
[24:25] feedback. As you know, Metro
[24:26] works closely with community
[24:28] members, community based
[24:29] organizations, city
[24:31] representatives and local
[24:32] leaders to understand the
[24:33] issues that matter most across
[24:35] the region. We have for years,
[24:36] and so that past engagement in
[24:38] the research we do also fed
[24:39] into the investments that
[24:40] you
[24:41] re seeing outlined in
[24:41] Metro
[24:44] s next stop. Next slide.
[24:47] Top priorities across all three
[24:49] engagement groups, where the
[24:50] participants consistently
[24:52] identified more service,
[24:54] improved safety and faster,
[24:56] more reliable travel times as
[24:57] top priorities for improving
[24:59] the rider experience. When
[25:01] asked about whether to
[25:02] prioritize strengthening the
[25:03] service we have versus
[25:05] providing new service and new
[25:07] places, they supported a more
[25:09] balanced approach to expanding
[25:10] service, calling for greater
[25:12] frequency on key routes and
[25:13] adding new routes where they
[25:15] are most needed throughout the
[25:16] county. We heard that same
[25:18] message loud and clear people
[25:19] care deeply about high quality
[25:21] bus service they can trust to
[25:22] bring them to their
[25:24] destinations safely, quickly
[25:26] and reliably. And that feedback
[25:28] directly shaped the investments
[25:30] and priorities included in
[25:30] Metro
[25:32] s next stop. Beyond
[25:33] service, safety and speed and
[25:34] reliability. We also heard
[25:36] participants highlight
[25:37] improving existing flexible
[25:39] services, such as reducing wait
[25:41] times and ensuring service
[25:43] matches advertised expectations
[25:45] before expanding to new service
[25:47] areas, better lighting and
[25:49] safer pathways as important
[25:50] amenities and more community
[25:52] transit oriented development at
[25:54] bus stops. Improved waste
[25:56] collection, better landscaping
[25:58] near bus stops and transit
[25:59] information in more languages
[26:01] to be easier to understand and
[26:02] use, including clearer signs,
[26:04] maps, and simpler tools for
[26:05] planning, booking and paying
[26:07] for trips. And we mentioned
[26:08] some of these details because
[26:09] those are things we do together
[26:11] with you and your cities to
[26:12] make transit more accessible
[26:15] and work for folks. Next slide
[26:17] please. So now I
[26:18] m going to run
[26:18] through a high level of what
[26:18] s
[26:19] in Metro
[26:20] s next stop. If we had
[26:22] additional funding and what are
[26:23] the key things we could
[26:24] deliver. You
[26:25] ll see on this
[26:27] slide the nine new bus routes
[26:30] for new rapid ride lines, five
[26:31] more routes running more
[26:33] frequently, a 12% overall
[26:37] service increase by 2038. More
[26:39] midday and weekend service. And
[26:41] really, what that means is by
[26:42] implementing these
[26:45] improvements, 71% of county
[26:47] residents by 2038, including
[26:49] 80% of residents in priority
[26:51] equity areas, would live within
[26:52] a quarter mile of transit
[26:55] services. In addition, 51% of
[26:57] King County residents will live
[26:58] within a quarter mile of
[26:59] transit, arriving every 15
[27:02] minutes or better. And also by
[27:04] 2038, nearly 90% of jobs in
[27:05] King County will be located
[27:07] within a quarter mile of
[27:09] transit. Many of these new
[27:10] routes, while new to riders,
[27:12] are projects you MAY already be
[27:14] aware of, new service that will
[27:15] come online in the next two
[27:17] years, but our customers will
[27:18] experience it as new. And we
[27:20] also need to emphasize we need
[27:21] those new funds to sustain
[27:26] those commitments over time.
[27:29] The reminder. Um, so just a
[27:31] reminder that when we say nine
[27:32] new bus routes or five more
[27:34] routes running every 15 minutes
[27:36] or more, um, that is determined
[27:38] using our service guidelines,
[27:39] sort of their examples,
[27:42] representative routes and how
[27:42] we you
[27:43] ve got an update on how
[27:45] we do that in your meeting last
[27:47] month. Um, and sort of we have
[27:49] an approach to how we do that.
[27:50] The methodology, as well as
[27:51] using community engagement
[27:52] feedback to determine which
[27:54] specific routes those would be
[27:57] that are getting their. And
[27:59] that analysis prioritizes
[28:01] investments based on three
[28:02] factors. Um, in the service
[28:04] guidelines, in the following
[28:05] order. So first is social
[28:08] equity priority populations or
[28:09] the proportion of them near a
[28:11] particular route land use,
[28:12] which would mean access to
[28:14] jobs, education, housing and
[28:16] park and rides and geographic
[28:18] value, which we define as
[28:19] connections between activity
[28:23] centers. So you see our
[28:25] analysis every year included in
[28:26] a summary appendix table in the
[28:28] annual system evaluation
[28:29] report. So that would give you
[28:30] some more specific examples of
[28:31] where we
[28:32] d prioritize these
[28:36] additions. Next slide please.
[28:37] Also included in Metro
[28:37] s next
[28:39] stop is faster and more
[28:41] reliable transit by improving
[28:43] busy corridors through projects
[28:44] that give buses more dedicated
[28:45] space on roadways and help
[28:48] transit move more efficiently.
[28:49] And these investments mean less
[28:51] time waiting at stoplights for
[28:53] buses, more consistent arrival
[28:54] times, and overall shorter
[28:56] travel times for riders. So
[28:57] it
[28:58] s no secret to many of our
[28:59] city partners that with
[29:01] dedicated bus lanes and transit
[29:02] signal priority on our rapid
[29:04] ride and other high ridership
[29:05] routes, they move faster and
[29:07] more reliably through traffic.
[29:09] Although congestion is expected
[29:10] to increase in the coming
[29:12] years. Transit travel time is
[29:14] expected to improve with these
[29:16] investments in bus and also
[29:18] light rail infrastructure, with
[29:18] the investments in Metro
[29:19] s next
[29:20] stop, we can estimate that our
[29:22] travel times are expected to
[29:25] improve 4 to 8%, saving riders
[29:26] an estimated 3 to 5 minutes per
[29:28] trip. And we heard very clearly
[29:29] from city staff that we need to
[29:31] be aligned on what, where and
[29:32] when we work together on a
[29:34] range of speed and reliability
[29:36] interventions. Metro can make
[29:37] everything from the big rapid
[29:39] ride projects to corridor
[29:41] improvements to spot
[29:42] treatments, the small and the
[29:45] mighty, all, all and all in
[29:47] between. So new rapid ride
[29:49] routes that we will deliver in
[29:50] the next 13 years, between now
[29:52] and 2038 will connect Auburn,
[29:54] Kent and Renton on the eye
[29:55] line, the University District
[29:57] in Belltown on the Jay Line in
[29:59] Seattle in South Seattle, and
[30:01] Rainier Avenue on the r Line,
[30:02] and Bellevue and Kirkland on
[30:07] the k line. Next slide please.
[30:10] To improve response times and
[30:11] incidents, uh incident
[30:12] Follow-Up procedures. Metro
[30:13] s
[30:14] expanding the presence of law
[30:15] enforcement and security
[30:16] officers across the system, and
[30:17] we
[30:17] ll talk more about that
[30:19] soon. So Metro
[30:20] s next stop, in
[30:22] partnership with all those
[30:23] folks that help us do those
[30:25] things, will sustain those
[30:26] services and increase them
[30:28] slightly. In partnership with
[30:29] the King County Department of
[30:31] Community and Human Services.
[30:32] Our behavioral behavioral
[30:33] health specialists will
[30:34] continue to provide
[30:36] de-escalation support, crisis
[30:38] intervention, peer support, and
[30:40] connections to social services
[30:41] for riders experiencing mental
[30:43] health or substance use
[30:45] challenges. Our ambassadors
[30:46] also often in person
[30:48] assistance. Um, and we are
[30:50] developing some easier ways for
[30:51] riders to report safety
[30:53] concerns and other issues in
[30:53] Metro
[30:55] s next step. So this
[30:57] maintains those higher levels
[30:58] of safety and security
[31:00] investments we operate now. And
[31:02] we will sustain some higher
[31:03] levels of behavioral health
[31:04] specialists in Metro
[31:04] s next
[31:08] stop. Also, Metro
[31:08] s next stop
[31:09] will continue our enhanced
[31:10] cleaning investments that we
[31:11] re
[31:14] doing now, including higher bus
[31:16] cleaning levels as well as stop
[31:20] and station cleaning. So next
[31:21] slide please. Metro
[31:21] s
[31:23] investments go beyond service
[31:25] safety, speed and reliability.
[31:27] The agency is also improving
[31:28] flexible services, rider
[31:30] amenities, cleanliness, rider
[31:32] information and integrating new
[31:33] low emissions vehicles to
[31:35] expand our environmentally
[31:38] sustainable fleet. So some
[31:40] examples of that investment in
[31:40] Metro
[31:42] s next stop include
[31:43] integrating our flexible
[31:44] services. We
[31:45] re planning for a
[31:46] new integrated app that will
[31:48] make it easier to plan, book
[31:50] across flexible services and
[31:52] alongside fixed route services.
[31:54] Um, upgraded bus stops and
[31:55] transit hubs serving new rapid
[31:57] ride lines, link light rail and
[31:59] Stride Bus rapid transit
[32:02] stations. Continued investment.
[32:03] As I mentioned in maintenance
[32:04] and cleanliness. So that
[32:05] creates a more welcoming
[32:08] transit space and also
[32:09] mentioned making transit
[32:11] information easier to find
[32:12] using new digital tools that
[32:14] will simplify trip planning and
[32:17] fare payment, and included
[32:18] investment in new lower
[32:21] emission vehicles that we have
[32:23] in electric trolley buses,
[32:24] battery electric buses and
[32:26] hybrid vehicles powered by
[32:28] renewable fuels that help
[32:30] reduce emissions and improve
[32:34] air quality. Next slide please.
[32:35] So Metro
[32:36] s next stop does
[32:38] require additional funding.
[32:40] This chart shows the funding
[32:42] gap and annual terms to deliver
[32:45] and sustain the investments
[32:46] that we are promising. In
[32:46] Metro
[32:48] s next stop, the annual
[32:51] funding gap shown here varies
[32:53] between 200 million and 600
[32:57] million. Between 2031 and 2038.
[32:59] The spike in spending in 2033
[33:01] and 34 is due to a very large
[33:03] fleet replacement, including
[33:04] replacing the entire trolley
[33:06] fleet. And this funding gap is
[33:08] based on all the investments
[33:08] outlined in Metro
[33:09] s next stop.
[33:11] So we are looking at funding
[33:12] tools like the King County
[33:14] Transportation District, making
[33:16] current resources more
[33:19] flexible, partnership funds or
[33:21] in-kind investments. Additional
[33:23] state and federal support, as
[33:24] well as Metro
[33:25] s fares, fees and
[33:27] fines, and how we can leverage
[33:29] more resource there. And in
[33:31] addition to new revenue, Metro
[33:32] continues to find ways to
[33:34] control our cost growth
[33:36] whenever possible so that we
[33:38] can invest more in community.
[33:39] And that means exploring
[33:40] innovative ways to change how
[33:42] services are delivered and
[33:43] implementing cost saving
[33:45] measures to keep improving how
[33:47] much reserves its customers and
[33:48] remain worthy of the public
[33:48] s
[33:50] trust. Growing ridership is
[33:52] also critical to support more
[33:53] productive service and boost
[33:54] our fare revenue, and we
[33:56] believe these investments in
[33:58] service will help to do that.
[34:02] Next slide, please. Metro works
[34:04] very closely, as you know, with
[34:06] all 39 cities and towns to
[34:07] provide transit service
[34:08] tailored to each city
[34:09] s unique
[34:10] needs. And additionally,
[34:11] Metro
[34:12] s support service in both
[34:15] rural and urban areas. Uh, we
[34:17] learned from your cities
[34:19] throughout this engagement that
[34:20] and what we will be doing is
[34:22] working to communicate earlier
[34:24] and more often with you about
[34:24] what we
[34:25] re planning and what
[34:27] you all are working on to make
[34:29] the case for transit with both
[34:31] qualitative and quantitative
[34:32] data, and set clear
[34:33] expectations about how we can
[34:36] work well together. We invite
[34:38] your partnership, including but
[34:39] not limited to, speed and
[34:41] reliability improvements,
[34:43] flexible services, rider
[34:45] amenities, and cleanliness, and
[34:46] many of your cities already
[34:48] partner with us. So Bellevue,
[34:49] Redmond, Kirkland partnering on
[34:52] transit demand management. Um,
[34:53] working with Snoqualmie and
[34:54] North Bend to promote Trailhead
[34:56] Direct and the community van. A
[34:58] lot of partnership with cities
[35:00] during South Link connections
[35:01] and that big service change we
[35:03] have this fall. Federal Way
[35:05] partnering with us to include
[35:07] bus stops in their critical
[35:09] capital work for 2026 that will
[35:11] help riders take advantage of
[35:12] new South Link connections.
[35:14] Auburn engaging with us on
[35:16] Metro Flex pilot zones that
[35:17] will work well for their
[35:19] residents, as well as with the
[35:20] Regional Transit Safety Task
[35:20] Force, which we
[35:21] ll talk more
[35:24] about. So these partnerships
[35:26] that we make with all of you,
[35:27] they help make our service
[35:30] dollars go much further, um, by
[35:31] maintaining the roads and
[35:32] providing the infrastructure
[35:35] needed for a service dollar to
[35:37] get people in the speed by
[35:38] which they want to get to a
[35:39] place and maintain our
[35:41] headways. So it comes when
[35:43] people expect it to come. And
[35:46] that is really needed. So we
[35:47] look forward to continuing to
[35:51] work with you on that. Okay,
[35:54] last almost to the end, this is
[35:56] it. So we end with a quote from
[35:57] our general manager, Michelle
[35:59] Allison, here in the audience.
[36:00] Delivering these outcomes will
[36:02] require partnership,
[36:03] innovation, investment and long
[36:05] term collaboration. It will
[36:06] require metro local
[36:07] governments, community
[36:09] organizations, employers and
[36:10] writers all working together
[36:13] towards shared goals. So the
[36:13] ask isn
[36:15] t a vote here because
[36:15] this isn
[36:16] t a policy document.
[36:17] But we do want your support and
[36:19] partnership to focus on
[36:20] delivering these things and
[36:22] bringing the benefits to your
[36:23] communities, in your budgets.
[36:24] In the King County Council
[36:26] budget to tell the story with
[36:28] us and affirm that Metro has a
[36:29] plan. When people ask what
[36:29] we
[36:30] re doing, we now have a
[36:32] community informed answer. We
[36:34] feel confident in delivering
[36:35] and sustaining with additional
[36:37] resources. So Metro
[36:38] s next stop
[36:40] is a realistic but optimistic
[36:41] delivery roadmap that gets us
[36:44] closer to Metro Connects. And
[36:46] the analysis. As I mentioned
[36:47] before, and engagement will be
[36:48] the foundation and starting
[36:50] point for updates to Metro
[36:51] Connects as well. And we
[36:51] ll
[36:53] continue to engage with you all
[36:55] on both. Metro connects the
[36:56] Strategic Plan and our service
[36:59] guidelines in 2027.
[37:02] Great. Thank you so much. Um,
[37:05] before we get, um, or open it
[37:06] up for questions, I wonder if
[37:07] you could share a little bit
[37:09] about the time frame that Metro
[37:11] is thinking about as it relates
[37:15] to that funding fiscal cliff
[37:15] that
[37:20] s coming up in 2031? Um,
[37:23] this will frame that I assume a
[37:24] request to the executive or
[37:29] the, um, county as a whole. The
[37:33] council on how to or what
[37:35] investments are needed. Could
[37:36] you share a little bit more
[37:39] about, um, if you can kind of
[37:41] the timing of that and how that
[37:43] might frame up some of the
[37:44] service guideline work that
[37:44] we
[37:45] re also going to be taking
[37:47] up in the next year or two?
[37:48] Yeah. To answer the first part
[37:50] of that, which is sort of when
[37:51] do we need to know how we
[37:51] re
[37:53] going to address things before
[37:55] we reach that financial cliff?
[37:58] I think we are anticipating and
[37:59] hope to work with everyone to
[38:03] figure out a plan by 2028. Um,
[38:05] that is sort of a combination
[38:06] of all those various funding
[38:09] mechanisms that I laid out. Um,
[38:11] if we have that plan by 2028, I
[38:13] think that can partner well
[38:14] with policy updates and then
[38:16] help us avoid having a planning
[38:18] conversation in the 2829
[38:20] biennium about reducing service
[38:22] or delaying growth or making
[38:24] other difficult choices about
[38:26] that financial cliff. So that
[38:27] is our goal would be to have a
[38:29] plan by 2028.
[38:31] Great. Thank you. Colleagues,
[38:32] do you have any questions
[38:34] please. If you are online,
[38:35] please go ahead and raise your
[38:37] hand. If you
[38:38] re in person, you
[38:41] can just tap me on the shoulder.
[38:45] All right. Oh, Councilmember
[38:47] Bhargava.
[38:49] Yeah. Thank you. Chair Fain I
[38:49] m
[38:51] going to stay off video just to
[38:52] make sure my audio comes
[38:53] through. Clearly. Last time
[38:55] there were some challenges, but
[38:56] I just want to start by saying
[38:57] thanks to the presentation. And
[38:59] Bellevue really appreciates
[38:59] Metro
[39:02] s inclusive approach to
[39:02] developing Metro
[39:04] s next stop.
[39:06] Bellevue staff has participated
[39:08] in the jurisdictional partner
[39:09] meetings, and those meetings
[39:11] have provided really meaningful
[39:13] opportunities for feedback and
[39:15] regional coordination. Metro is
[39:17] also really where
[39:18] jurisdictional jurisdictions,
[39:20] well informed by sharing input
[39:22] from the equity cabinet, as
[39:24] well as the Partner Review
[39:26] Board throughout the process.
[39:29] The question I have is, do we
[39:30] have clarity on what the cost
[39:33] is funding only the existing
[39:36] services? Is, and how much of
[39:39] that cost is fully funded
[39:41] already? And the second
[39:43] question, somewhat unrelated,
[39:46] is, uh, what is the framework
[39:47] that has been used to determine
[39:49] the need for growth? And how do
[39:50] we know which of those
[39:52] components that have been, um,
[39:57] outlined are really critical?
[40:00] I got two questions. So the
[40:03] first one, um, what I think is
[40:04] something like, what would it
[40:05] cost us to maintain our
[40:08] existing service versus growth?
[40:10] And so about 90% of the
[40:11] estimated costs for Metro
[40:11] s
[40:13] next stop would maintain
[40:13] today
[40:15] s service levels. And
[40:16] that includes capital
[40:17] investments like fleet
[40:18] replacement, state of good
[40:21] repair, but and excludes things
[40:23] like anticipated service
[40:25] restoration and growth, new
[40:26] rapid ride speed and
[40:27] reliability investments,
[40:29] facility and passenger
[40:30] infrastructure improvements,
[40:32] and zero emissions. That was, I
[40:34] think, one of the questions,
[40:35] um, and then the framework that
[40:37] we use to determine the need
[40:38] for growth, I think was the
[40:41] second one. Um, and you MAY
[40:42] remember some of that from last
[40:42] month
[40:44] s presentation on our
[40:46] adopted policies and service
[40:47] guidelines. Those really help
[40:49] us determine where we add
[40:51] service. So within the service
[40:51] guidelines, there
[40:52] s three
[40:54] priorities for investment. The
[40:56] first is reducing crowding. The
[40:57] second is improving
[40:59] reliability. And the third is
[41:01] service growth. And within that
[41:02] third priority of service
[41:03] growth there
[41:04] s a prioritization
[41:07] approach embedded. Step one is
[41:09] determining um sorry. Step one
[41:10] for determining that growth is
[41:12] to document the gap between
[41:13] where we are today and the
[41:15] target set in Metro connects.
[41:17] And if we see a gap, we track
[41:19] it. Once we see which routes
[41:21] need service growth to align
[41:23] with our vision, then step two
[41:25] is to prioritize them based on
[41:28] three factors. So first we sort
[41:30] them into five categories based
[41:31] on their equity score. Next, we
[41:32] rank them within these
[41:34] categories based on their land
[41:36] use score. And then we also use
[41:38] a tiebreaker of that geographic
[41:40] value. So um, for routes out of
[41:41] the same scores across those
[41:43] first two measures, which will
[41:44] evaluate their connections
[41:47] between major activity centers.
[41:48] So this provides us with the
[41:50] priorities for service growth
[41:51] that you find in our annual
[41:54] service system evaluation. And
[41:55] comes after the priorities of
[41:57] reducing crowding and improving
[41:59] reliability, because
[42:00] essentially, we want current
[42:01] services to have the resources
[42:02] to function well before adding
[42:06] new services.
[42:10] All right. Thank you very much.
[42:10] Um, I
[42:11] m sorry.
[42:13] Thank you.
[42:19] Councilmember. Okay. I think we
[42:22] have, uh, Mayor Mayhew.
[42:23] Yes.
[42:26] Thank you. Um, just my question
[42:28] is around. I know a topic that,
[42:30] um, uh, is sort of perennial
[42:32] topic that we, we grapple with,
[42:32] but I
[42:33] ll call it the topic of
[42:36] geographic equity. Um, out in
[42:38] Snoqualmie, which is the upper
[42:39] Snoqualmie Valley. But really
[42:41] across the entire Snoqualmie
[42:43] Valley, when we measure, um,
[42:46] the level of service and
[42:48] against sort of metrics and
[42:51] compare that, uh, against the
[42:53] rest of the metro service area,
[42:56] the service level is is really
[42:58] substantially below, uh, what
[43:00] say an average would be. And
[43:01] even some of the other rural
[43:04] community areas, um, that
[43:04] aren
[43:06] t Snoqualmie Valley. So my
[43:08] question is, as as we kind of
[43:11] look at the policy documents
[43:13] that will be behind this next
[43:15] round and thinking about this
[43:18] presentation, um, can you kind
[43:20] of comment on or include in
[43:22] that process, uh, perhaps a
[43:24] greater discussion of
[43:25] geographic equity and how
[43:25] that
[43:27] s being factored in? You
[43:28] know, I know that geographic
[43:30] equity is not part of how Metro
[43:33] defines the concept of equity
[43:35] right now. Um, one thing is
[43:37] that if we think about route
[43:39] 215 and the proposal for that,
[43:41] we actually saw that proposal
[43:43] cut back even further in order
[43:45] to shift service to some of the
[43:47] other equity target categories
[43:49] that were going after. But, um,
[43:52] perhaps just, um, more focus on
[43:53] geographic equity. My
[43:54] questions, could there be more
[43:56] focus on geographic equity,
[43:57] particularly for rural
[43:59] communities? Uh, up and down
[44:02] the Snoqualmie Valley?
[44:03] I think that
[44:05] s great feedback.
[44:05] You
[44:06] re right. As we enter the
[44:08] policy update conversation. And
[44:09] so I think we look forward to
[44:11] having more conversations with
[44:12] you all as current members of
[44:14] rtc through the end of this
[44:15] year. Before we start the
[44:17] formal engagement, to get more
[44:18] of your input about what that
[44:19] means to you and what that
[44:21] could look like, I mean, one of
[44:22] the changes we made in the last
[44:24] service guideline update was
[44:26] not comparing rural routes with
[44:27] urban ones, right? We broke out
[44:28] those routes because that
[44:29] s not
[44:30] a fair comparison. Right? So I
[44:32] think we are open to looking at
[44:33] how we do that analysis to best
[44:35] meet the needs of the King
[44:37] County diversity of the King
[44:39] County region. And so that
[44:39] s
[44:41] great feedback that we can dive
[44:42] more deeply with you as we get
[44:44] into the policy updates.
[44:46] Thank you very much.
[44:48] Great point. All right. We
[44:48] ll
[44:50] take this last question and
[44:52] note that Council Member Harris
[44:54] is here. For the record. Um, go
[44:56] ahead, Councilmember.
[44:57] Um.
[44:59] Thank you. I just do you have
[45:01] any kind of, like, intention on
[45:04] like a post game of, uh, World
[45:08] Cup activities? Um.
[45:12] Just. Yeah. Does it make sense
[45:12] what I
[45:13] m saying?
[45:14] Yes.
[45:16] Yeah, absolutely. And I know,
[45:18] um, we are planning to do that
[45:20] at, uh, King County Council and
[45:21] the Transportation Committee.
[45:23] Uh, in OCTOBER. And that
[45:24] s the
[45:26] meeting, um, that we are
[45:27] looking to set a special
[45:29] meeting to potentially do
[45:32] another joint meeting so that,
[45:33] um, the regional transit
[45:35] committee can join in on that.
[45:36] Um, did you have anything else
[45:37] to add, Deanna?
[45:37] I don
[45:38] t think so. Well, just.
[45:40] I attended three of the games,
[45:42] and I just. That
[45:42] s not a, like,
[45:44] a flex or anything. It
[45:44] s just
[45:47] that, um, this was sort of a
[45:51] stress test, and it felt to me
[45:53] anecdotally, like a success
[45:57] story, um, largely. And I at
[45:59] least in my neck of the woods,
[46:01] I think there is a certain
[46:04] amount of salesmanship that is
[46:07] necessary going forward, um, to
[46:10] just get people to understand
[46:13] the benefits.. And that
[46:13] s
[46:14] really all I got.
[46:15] Thanks.
[46:15] Yeah, i
[46:16] m really glad you had
[46:18] that experience. I think we do
[46:20] feel like it has been a success
[46:22] and demonstrates our ability to
[46:23] deliver the growth it is we
[46:23] re
[46:24] promising. In Metro
[46:25] s next stop
[46:27] and build that, um, positive
[46:28] recognition and continue the
[46:30] public trust to continue to do
[46:32] these things for the region.
[46:34] Yes. Thank you. Councilmember.
[46:36] That is, uh, something that I
[46:36] m
[46:38] hoping we can address in our
[46:39] follow up meeting, because not
[46:41] only was it a success for the
[46:42] region, um, as it relates to
[46:45] transit, it was, um, just an
[46:47] incredible show of safety
[46:50] across, um, in and around all
[46:54] of the games and the match
[46:57] viewing parties. And it was a
[47:00] great showcase of what a lot of
[47:02] investment can do. Um, and so
[47:04] how can we translate that into
[47:05] something that
[47:06] s more
[47:09] maintainable for us here? Um,
[47:12] going forward, but not let it
[47:14] go? So, uh, we will be doing a
[47:14] follow up and I
[47:16] ll loop you all
[47:18] in, um, on that recap. All
[47:21] right. With the time moving
[47:22] along here, I want to make sure
[47:24] we get to our next item, which
[47:25] is the Transit Safety and
[47:27] Security briefing. And I think
[47:29] we can all agree that ensuring
[47:31] that riders and operators feel
[47:33] safe is fundamental to our to a
[47:35] successful transit system. And
[47:37] I think that is what we all saw
[47:40] and felt during the World Cup.
[47:41] Um, and Metro has made a
[47:43] significant number of
[47:44] investments in safety and
[47:45] security over the past several
[47:47] years and is continuing to work
[47:49] with regional partners through
[47:51] the Regional Transit Safety
[47:54] Task Force and supported this
[47:56] incredible um coordination
[47:58] effort during World Cup. So
[47:59] today
[48:00] s briefing is a great
[48:02] opportunity to understand what
[48:03] those investments have
[48:05] accomplished and how Metro is
[48:07] measuring success, and where we
[48:09] have additional work to do. So,
[48:11] uh, Deanna Martin will remain,
[48:14] um, at the table here, and we
[48:15] are joined by Rebecca Frank
[48:17] Hauser to update us on Metro
[48:18] s
[48:19] safety and security efforts. So
[48:25] welcome and thank you.
[48:27] Thanks. Yeah. Staying here and
[48:28] joined by Rebecca. Thanks for
[48:29] joining. We
[48:30] re grateful for the
[48:31] opportunity to share what we
[48:31] re
[48:33] doing to make our system safer
[48:35] and to communicate to our
[48:36] riders what Metro has been
[48:37] doing, what our plans are to
[48:38] continue to address the
[48:41] conditions on our system. And I
[48:42] know we have some slides that
[48:43] are going to be shared, and I
[48:43] m
[48:43] going to turn it over to
[48:44] Rebecca.
[48:45] Okay.
[48:45] Uh.
[48:46] Thank you. Deanna, I
[48:47] m Rebecca
[48:48] Fankhauser, I
[48:48] m Metro
[48:49] s chief
[48:50] safety officer and director of
[48:52] safety, security and quality
[48:54] assurance. Uh, I think we
[48:54] ll
[48:56] move straight into the first
[49:01] slide. Thank you. Uh, so at
[49:01] Metro, we
[49:03] re focused on doing
[49:05] what is within our control to
[49:06] provide safe, clean and
[49:08] reliable service and noting
[49:10] that safety is first in that
[49:12] list for a reason. Um, so we do
[49:14] this by being values driven and
[49:17] data informed. Uh, so let
[49:17] s
[49:19] start with some of our data.
[49:21] Uh, the trips that we provide,
[49:23] uh, to 1 million people per
[49:24] week on Metro are
[49:26] overwhelmingly safe when
[49:27] incidents on our system do
[49:29] occur, uh, employees call into
[49:32] the transit control center, um,
[49:33] there, they talk to a
[49:35] coordinator, which creates a
[49:37] coordinator service record. So
[49:38] these MAY not reflect every
[49:40] single incident that happens on
[49:42] our system, but they do reflect
[49:43] most incidents and illuminate
[49:45] the trends that inform how we
[49:48] take action. An incident is
[49:50] defined as anything that a bus
[49:52] operator needs assistance with,
[49:54] ranging from various unlawful
[49:56] transit conduct where people
[49:57] might be using the bus for the
[49:59] purpose of sleeping up to
[50:00] criminal activities such as
[50:02] assaults, which include
[50:04] spitting or unreasonable
[50:07] disturbances. So on this graph,
[50:08] you can see the coordinator
[50:09] service record per million
[50:10] boardings. It
[50:11] s important to
[50:12] note that benchmarking these
[50:14] incidents against 1 million
[50:15] riders really shows the
[50:17] frequency of our incidents
[50:19] relative to the millions of
[50:20] customer interactions that
[50:22] occur each year. That
[50:23] perspective supports more
[50:25] informed decision making by
[50:26] helping distinguish between
[50:28] isolated events and systemic
[50:31] trends on our system. So Metro
[50:32] uses this data to identify
[50:34] incident trends along routes,
[50:36] locations, time of day, and
[50:37] deploys security and law
[50:38] enforcement resources
[50:40] accordingly. We know this
[50:41] approach works because we see
[50:43] that our incident rates have
[50:45] been declining during the peak
[50:47] of the pandemic. You can see
[50:49] when the ratio of incidents to
[50:50] boardings was uniquely
[50:51] pronounced due to low
[50:53] ridership. We experienced a
[50:57] high of 243 per 1 million
[50:59] boardings in JUNE of this year.
[51:01] I am pleased to report that we
[51:04] had a post-pandemic low of 58
[51:06] incidents per million
[51:07] boardings, so we know our
[51:09] approach is working. This
[51:11] reduced rate has been stable
[51:13] and continues to trend
[51:14] downward, so we
[51:15] re continually
[51:16] reviewing our trends. We
[51:16] re
[51:18] adjusting our deployment to
[51:20] ensure the right resources are
[51:22] put where the right needs are,
[51:24] and we continue to work with
[51:25] Metro and our partners to
[51:27] decrease our incidents. I
[51:27] ll
[51:31] move to the next slide, please.
[51:33] So how we approach safety on
[51:35] our system has changed
[51:36] significantly over time, and
[51:37] we
[51:38] re working hard to ensure
[51:39] that we show up in the right
[51:40] way and with the right
[51:43] resources for the situation.
[51:46] Next slide. Historically,
[51:47] Metro
[51:48] s used a traditional
[51:49] public safety model, which
[51:51] relied heavily on Metro transit
[51:53] police and transit security,
[51:54] which is illustrated on the
[51:56] left of this chart. We have
[51:59] moved into more of a care and
[52:00] presence model. As you
[52:01] ll see,
[52:04] um. In 2020, Metro launched the
[52:05] safety, security and Fare
[52:07] enforcement reform initiative
[52:09] that really centered the voices
[52:12] of Bipoc and those that
[52:13] intersect with other
[52:15] marginalized and historically
[52:16] underserved communities to help
[52:18] reimagine and reform the
[52:19] security functions on our
[52:21] system. One of our main goals
[52:23] is to achieve safety while
[52:24] supporting community members
[52:26] who have the greatest needs and
[52:28] without perpetuating systemic
[52:30] racism. Recognizing that not
[52:32] every situation needs a law
[52:33] enforcement response, the Care
[52:34] and Presence model focuses on
[52:36] visibility, customer
[52:37] engagement, and support for
[52:39] transit workers. So we
[52:40] ll talk
[52:42] about what each of those
[52:44] resources, um, the role that
[52:45] each of them plays. Go the next
[52:48] slide, please. All right. First
[52:49] looking at our transit control
[52:52] center or the tcc, this is
[52:53] really the nerve center of
[52:55] metro bus operations. It
[52:56] s not
[52:57] new, but I think for the
[52:59] purpose of this presentation, I
[53:00] did want to highlight that
[53:00] we
[53:01] ve changed how we
[53:01] ve
[53:03] equipped those resources to be
[53:04] even more responsive to our
[53:06] writers and our employees. The
[53:08] tcc is the main hub and hub for
[53:10] anything that employee
[53:11] experiences or needs out in the
[53:13] field. So the coordinators in
[53:15] the tcc support service
[53:16] delivery by monitoring bus
[53:18] operations, they respond to
[53:19] calls for assistance. They
[53:21] organize and direct responses,
[53:22] and they communicate with
[53:23] internal and external parties.
[53:24] The operators are trained to
[53:26] call the tcc whenever an
[53:28] incident occurs, and we have a
[53:29] dedicated continuous
[53:30] improvement project where we
[53:31] ve
[53:32] surveyed operators to ensure
[53:34] that the tcc is meeting their
[53:36] needs. Um, whenever they have
[53:38] deployed an emergency alarm,
[53:40] which this is the highest level
[53:40] of support that can be
[53:42] requested from the control
[53:44] center. Um, and so we get their
[53:46] feedback on the experience and
[53:48] what could be improved as a
[53:49] result of the findings. We
[53:50] re
[53:51] working to implement
[53:53] recommendations to continue to
[53:55] improve how we respond when our
[53:57] employees need us most. We
[53:57] re
[53:58] also making sure that the
[53:59] transit control center and our
[54:01] service quality supervisors,
[54:03] who will see in the next slide,
[54:05] um, have trauma informed
[54:06] training so that we can lead
[54:08] with care in how we respond to
[54:10] affected employees.
[54:13] Next slide please.
[54:15] All right. This is one of our
[54:17] service quality supervisors.
[54:18] This group works really closely
[54:20] with the transit control Center
[54:21] to support operators out in the
[54:23] field. They proactively monitor
[54:25] our transit operations. They
[54:27] respond to operator calls for
[54:29] assistance and to conditions
[54:30] that affect or disrupt the
[54:32] efficient delivery of our
[54:32] service.
[54:35] Next slide.
[54:37] Moving into our Metro Transit
[54:39] Police, Metro contracts with
[54:40] the King County Sheriff
[54:40] s
[54:42] Department for Metro Transit
[54:44] police officers because they
[54:44] re
[54:45] part of the sheriff
[54:46] s office,
[54:47] they operate in all parts of
[54:49] our region depending on need.
[54:51] They not only respond to and
[54:52] investigate crimes on transit
[54:54] and transit properties, but
[54:55] they also work upstream to
[54:57] prevent crimes from happening
[54:58] on law enforcement side of
[55:00] things, the bicycle emphasis
[55:02] and enforcement squad of the
[55:04] Metro Transit Police conduct
[55:06] proactive patrols where they
[55:07] address unlawful conduct,
[55:09] unlawful transit conduct, and
[55:11] respond to 911 calls. Other
[55:13] types of policing services that
[55:15] Metro Transit Police provide
[55:17] includes investigating criminal
[55:19] activity and also working with
[55:21] partners on complex operations
[55:22] for narcotics and weapons
[55:26] related criminal offenses.
[55:27] Metro Transit Police also has
[55:29] Transit Resource Officers.
[55:30] These individuals provide more
[55:33] of a direct link between the
[55:35] community service providers and
[55:36] address more complex issues
[55:36] that don
[55:38] t need typical law
[55:40] enforcement response.
[55:43] Next slide please.
[55:45] All right. Our transit security
[55:46] officers are contracted
[55:48] personnel that provide security
[55:50] presence, deter incidents and
[55:51] monitor activities. They
[55:54] address behavioral issues and
[55:55] assist customers and operators
[55:57] with questions and life safety
[55:58] concerns.
[55:59] They also provide.
[56:02] Customer service. Um, to and
[56:04] make contact with anyone using
[56:05] the bus zone for non transit
[56:08] purposes and help move them on.
[56:09] In recent years, we
[56:10] ve not only
[56:11] doubled the number of
[56:13] contracted transit safety
[56:14] security officers, but further
[56:16] increased the number to better
[56:17] meet the needs of our system.
[56:19] Last year, we relaunched fare
[56:20] enforcement, which you
[56:20] ll
[56:22] recall on our system, which is
[56:24] a subset of the contracted
[56:27] transit security officers. And
[56:28] these are known as fare
[56:30] enforcement officers. Uh, fare
[56:31] enforcement officers inspect
[56:33] fares from all riders and
[56:35] educate on fare media and
[56:36] policy, which drives
[56:38] accountability on the system.
[56:40] Our goal is to increase our
[56:41] safety presence through
[56:44] incremental and continuous
[56:45] improvement.
[56:47] Next slide please.
[56:49] All right. These are two of our
[56:50] behavioral health
[56:53] Support specialists. These
[56:54] teams provide basic needs for
[56:56] customers in crisis, which
[56:58] often includes food, hygiene
[57:00] products or cold weather
[57:02] supplies, as well as providing
[57:03] connection and referral to
[57:06] shelters, housing and case
[57:08] management. So they consist of
[57:09] a combination of a mental
[57:11] health professional and a peer
[57:13] who has lived experience with
[57:14] housing instability,
[57:18] homelessness or addiction. Uh.
[57:22] Okay. Next slide please. And
[57:25] these are our safe ambassadors.
[57:27] Metro safe ambassadors create a
[57:28] welcoming presence and provide
[57:30] in-person customer service,
[57:32] which includes wayfinding and
[57:34] fare payment and general metro
[57:35] information. Um, they
[57:36] re also
[57:37] touch points for our employees
[57:39] out in the field. Uh, the
[57:42] metro. Metro safe Ambassador
[57:44] program embodies requests from
[57:45] community for not just security
[57:47] presence, but it
[57:47] s an
[57:49] alternative. Um, presence for
[57:51] alternative presence as well.
[57:53] So I will turn it over to
[57:55] Deanna.
[57:58] Thanks. Next slide please.
[58:00] Addressing security concerns on
[58:02] transit or near it is a
[58:04] responsibility shared across 20
[58:06] metro teams. Multiple King
[58:08] County agencies, 39
[58:09] jurisdictions, each with their
[58:10] own departments and
[58:12] partnerships, and many
[58:14] communities. So the goal of our
[58:16] Safety Emphasis program is to
[58:17] strengthen partnerships with
[58:18] jurisdictional partners,
[58:20] elected leaders, community
[58:22] members, community based
[58:24] organizations, and businesses
[58:25] to develop timely and equitable
[58:27] solutions for safe, clean and
[58:29] reliable transit. Next slide
[58:32] please. Metro Safety Emphasis
[58:35] Program was established in 2024
[58:36] to bring together these
[58:37] different agencies to address
[58:39] what some refer to as hot
[58:40] spots, or what we like to call
[58:42] safety emphasis. Areas in the
[58:44] region. Safety emphasis areas
[58:46] are identified by a variety of
[58:48] data sources holistically,
[58:50] including reports from
[58:52] employees, formal complaints
[58:53] from customers, or community
[58:54] based organizations and
[58:56] institutions, and work order
[58:58] requests. Additional factors
[59:00] considered are the quantity,
[59:01] severity, and trends of those
[59:04] reports. Ridership data, equity
[59:05] scores, or who
[59:07] s impacted, and
[59:08] additional feedback from
[59:09] jurisdiction and community
[59:11] partners based on research and
[59:13] customer feedback. The program
[59:15] focuses primarily on the three
[59:17] key areas that most impact
[59:19] customers sense of safety, the
[59:21] physical environment of the
[59:23] area, how others in the area
[59:24] are behaving, and what is
[59:26] communicated as it pertains to
[59:28] that area. For what
[59:28] s within
[59:30] our control. At Metro, this
[59:31] looks like facilitating
[59:33] localized engagement to bring
[59:35] together writers, staff, agency
[59:37] and community partners, law
[59:38] enforcement and security staff
[59:40] and businesses to understand
[59:40] what
[59:42] s going on its impacts,
[59:43] and to generate ideas to
[59:45] address what is being
[59:46] experienced. Addressing
[59:48] physical conditions so that
[59:50] getting to, waiting for, and
[59:52] using transit feels clean, safe
[59:53] and welcoming. By cleaning,
[59:55] maintaining and fixing lighting
[59:55] on Metro
[59:56] s property that we can
[59:58] address independently.
[1:00:00] Optimizing presence of
[1:00:01] outreach, security and law
[1:00:03] enforcement teams to improve
[1:00:05] social conditions by increasing
[1:00:06] adherence to the Code of
[1:00:08] Conduct through equitable
[1:00:10] enforcement, as well as placing
[1:00:11] our non enforcement teams in
[1:00:12] areas where they are most
[1:00:13] needed, and strengthening
[1:00:15] communication with the public
[1:00:16] to improve trust in metro
[1:00:19] safety responses by sharing
[1:00:20] with stakeholders what Metro is
[1:00:22] doing to improve safety and
[1:00:23] safety emphasis areas and
[1:00:25] communicating with customers
[1:00:26] their options for how to
[1:00:28] request help with safety
[1:00:29] incidents, concerns and what we
[1:00:31] do with those requests. We have
[1:00:32] some cards that we hand out. I
[1:00:33] brought some if you
[1:00:34] d like to
[1:00:36] pick up some English or Spanish
[1:00:37] little wallet cards that help
[1:00:39] writers know what to do, how to
[1:00:41] report incidents. That includes
[1:00:41] both while they
[1:00:42] re writing the
[1:00:43] service, but also at a stop or
[1:00:45] station. They might be at.
[1:00:45] There
[1:00:46] s a lot that Metro can
[1:00:47] t
[1:00:48] do alone, and we
[1:00:48] ve
[1:00:49] successfully worked with some
[1:00:51] of your teams at your
[1:00:53] jurisdictions, um, to address
[1:00:55] these issues. We welcome that
[1:00:56] additional partnership and more
[1:00:58] opportunities to do that. And
[1:00:59] some of those examples you saw
[1:01:00] on Rebecca
[1:01:01] s slides at the
[1:01:02] Aurora Village Transit Center
[1:01:03] with shoreline and how we
[1:01:05] coordinate resource deployment
[1:01:06] there. The Burien Transit
[1:01:08] Center with Burien, Eastgate
[1:01:10] Park and Ride with Bellevue,
[1:01:11] the Kent James Park and ride
[1:01:13] with Kent. And we are aware
[1:01:15] that Issaquah Highlands parking
[1:01:15] garage that
[1:01:16] s also been
[1:01:17] elevated to this team, and
[1:01:17] we
[1:01:18] re currently working to
[1:01:20] assess what might be needed
[1:01:22] there. So together we can more
[1:01:23] efficiently deploy the
[1:01:25] resources we are investing in
[1:01:27] safety and security to address
[1:01:28] physical conditions and the
[1:01:30] built environment, provide
[1:01:32] appropriate forms of presence
[1:01:33] to promote safety and resolve
[1:01:35] incidents on our system, and
[1:01:36] have accessible public health
[1:01:38] and human and social service
[1:01:39] options available when that
[1:01:39] s
[1:01:41] the right thing to provide to
[1:01:43] an area around transit. Next
[1:01:46] slide please. And at the heart
[1:01:49] of our commitments is
[1:01:50] continuing to focus on how we
[1:01:51] care for our employees and how
[1:01:54] we care for our riders. As
[1:01:55] Rebecca talked about our care
[1:01:57] and presence approach. Well,
[1:01:57] we
[1:01:58] d already been making
[1:01:59] progress. Shawn Jim
[1:02:00] s murder in
[1:02:02] early 2025 was a reckoning that
[1:02:04] more needed to be done. And at
[1:02:05] the direction of King County
[1:02:06] Council, the Regional Safety
[1:02:09] Task Force was established,
[1:02:10] recognizing that while there
[1:02:11] were many things Metro could do
[1:02:12] independently, there
[1:02:13] s also a
[1:02:14] need for us to collectively
[1:02:15] work on the larger safety
[1:02:19] landscape. Next slide please.
[1:02:21] Since then, the task force has
[1:02:22] brought together partners from
[1:02:23] across the region, including
[1:02:27] atu local 587, advocacy and
[1:02:28] community groups, Behavioral
[1:02:30] Health and Alternative Response
[1:02:32] teams, city and county
[1:02:34] officials, law enforcement,
[1:02:36] public health representatives,
[1:02:38] and other transit agencies.
[1:02:39] Last year, more than 110
[1:02:41] organizations and agencies
[1:02:43] participated, including 25
[1:02:45] cities, to inform the creation
[1:02:48] of 158 solutions split into
[1:02:50] regional solutions. 60 of those
[1:02:52] and 98 transit focused
[1:02:54] solutions. So by that we mean
[1:02:56] the transit focused solutions
[1:02:57] are things Metro and Sound
[1:02:58] Transit can really focus on and
[1:03:00] control within our our, our
[1:03:02] sphere. The 60 regional
[1:03:03] solutions are things we really
[1:03:04] need partnership across the
[1:03:07] region to, to implement. And so
[1:03:07] this year we
[1:03:08] ve established
[1:03:09] clear and transparent
[1:03:10] structures to make sure that
[1:03:12] those regional recommendations
[1:03:12] don
[1:03:13] t stay in a binder
[1:03:15] collecting dust, but turn into
[1:03:17] concrete actions. And for the
[1:03:18] transit specific solutions,
[1:03:19] we
[1:03:20] ve already made some
[1:03:22] incredible progress with,
[1:03:24] including purchasing new buses
[1:03:25] with enhanced operator
[1:03:27] partitions and working to
[1:03:28] retrofit our existing fleet,
[1:03:30] which we expect and anticipate
[1:03:33] having complete by 2027.
[1:03:35] Launching a three part series
[1:03:36] of de-escalation training for
[1:03:38] our operators, with more than
[1:03:40] 80% having completed the two
[1:03:42] modules and the third on the
[1:03:45] way. Improving how we follow up
[1:03:46] with employees when they have a
[1:03:48] security incident, including
[1:03:50] some of the changes that you
[1:03:51] heard earlier about our transit
[1:03:53] control center, the regional
[1:03:54] solutions expand beyond what
[1:03:56] transit agencies can address
[1:03:58] and include solutions requiring
[1:04:00] coordination between transit
[1:04:02] agencies, law enforcement,
[1:04:03] behavioral health and housing,
[1:04:06] the judicial system, and more
[1:04:08] so, for the regional solutions,
[1:04:09] we have established an
[1:04:11] implementation partnership,
[1:04:12] which is chaired by King County
[1:04:14] Executive Zahilay and our
[1:04:16] General Manager, Michelle
[1:04:18] Allison, and the implementation
[1:04:19] partnership is central. That
[1:04:19] s
[1:04:21] the central entity responsible
[1:04:23] for guiding, prioritization,
[1:04:25] alignment and progress and
[1:04:27] monitoring action taken on
[1:04:28] those regional solutions. So
[1:04:30] last month, that partnership
[1:04:32] met to determine which of the
[1:04:33] 60 solutions we should
[1:04:35] prioritize on coordinating for
[1:04:38] more impactful results. 60s a
[1:04:39] lot. And within the next year
[1:04:40] and a half, we wanted to make
[1:04:41] sure we were focusing on the
[1:04:42] things that could have the
[1:04:44] biggest amount of impact with
[1:04:46] the partners that are willing
[1:04:48] to sit at the table with us. So
[1:04:48] we
[1:04:50] re excited that with those
[1:04:52] next steps and from that
[1:04:55] prioritization process, 20
[1:04:56] regional solutions were
[1:04:57] prioritized, we
[1:04:58] re actively
[1:05:00] establishing working groups
[1:05:01] that are going to turn those
[1:05:02] solutions into action plans
[1:05:04] with clear owners timelines and
[1:05:06] operational steps, we can hold
[1:05:07] ourselves accountable to some
[1:05:09] examples of those. Regional
[1:05:10] solutions include, but are not
[1:05:12] limited to, clarifying roles
[1:05:13] and responsibilities of
[1:05:16] enforcement personnel across
[1:05:18] both transit agency and
[1:05:19] security staff, and law
[1:05:21] enforcement personnel.
[1:05:22] Improving safety and security
[1:05:23] coordination at transit sites
[1:05:25] where we have multiple services
[1:05:27] coming into use, a similar
[1:05:29] location, improving safety and
[1:05:32] security coordination. Oh, I
[1:05:32] mentioned that one and
[1:05:34] launching a unified code of
[1:05:35] conduct campaign across
[1:05:36] agencies. So the expectations
[1:05:39] to ride and the acceptability
[1:05:41] of riding should be the same no
[1:05:41] matter what service you
[1:05:42] re
[1:05:42] writing on. So we
[1:05:43] re going to
[1:05:44] work on communicating that more
[1:05:46] clearly to riders across the
[1:05:46] region and what the
[1:05:48] consequences are. Should people
[1:05:50] not be following the code of
[1:05:54] conduct? We also plan to share
[1:05:55] updates on this work with you
[1:05:58] all throughout the process. Um,
[1:05:59] including by presenting to you
[1:06:01] all here and individually or in
[1:06:03] other spaces that you
[1:06:04] d like,
[1:06:04] and through the Regional
[1:06:06] Transit Safety Task Force
[1:06:07] newsletter, which you all
[1:06:09] should be assigned to and
[1:06:12] receive those updates. Next
[1:06:14] slide please. So a little bit
[1:06:16] of a shift. Uh, this was a
[1:06:17] question that had come up. What
[1:06:17] are Metro
[1:06:19] s efforts in
[1:06:21] combating human trafficking. So
[1:06:25] um, since 2018, uh, Metro has
[1:06:26] been very aware and through the
[1:06:28] leadership of past folks on
[1:06:30] King County Council, that there
[1:06:31] is a nexus between human
[1:06:32] trafficking and public
[1:06:34] transportation. We have been
[1:06:35] one of King County, King
[1:06:35] County
[1:06:36] s partners for the
[1:06:38] business, ending Slavery and
[1:06:39] Trafficking campaign that
[1:06:39] s
[1:06:41] designed by and for victims of
[1:06:43] trafficking. So every year
[1:06:43] we
[1:06:44] ve participated in a
[1:06:46] campaign around that. Um, and
[1:06:47] this year, with major sporting
[1:06:49] events like fifa, we know
[1:06:49] there
[1:06:51] s typically an increase
[1:06:52] in both human trafficking,
[1:06:53] including fraudulent and
[1:06:56] exploitative work. So, during
[1:06:57] fifa this year, we
[1:06:58] ve partnered
[1:06:59] with the Seattle Hotel
[1:07:01] Association and best to sponsor
[1:07:02] interior and exterior ads on
[1:07:04] our coaches to create awareness
[1:07:06] of human trafficking and
[1:07:07] connects people with a hotline
[1:07:08] where they can learn more or
[1:07:11] get help if they are a victim.
[1:07:14] Next slide please. As much as
[1:07:14] safety is Metro
[1:07:16] s priority, we
[1:07:17] know you all get a lot of
[1:07:19] feedback on safety and transit
[1:07:21] safety in particular. So we
[1:07:22] want to share a couple of
[1:07:23] resources that can be helpful
[1:07:25] for you as you respond to those
[1:07:28] concerns. Next slide please. We
[1:07:30] need people to report. And I
[1:07:32] showed up those cards earlier.
[1:07:33] Uh, that reporting is stuff
[1:07:35] that we look at. We can
[1:07:36] investigate, we can make
[1:07:38] changes and we can address a
[1:07:40] request, additional service
[1:07:41] resources with that
[1:07:43] information. If we don
[1:07:43] t know
[1:07:44] about it, we can
[1:07:44] t do anything
[1:07:48] about it. For writers in urgent
[1:07:50] or emergency situations, they
[1:07:52] should contact their driver. If
[1:07:53] you are seeing something that
[1:07:53] s
[1:07:54] uncomfortable, say something
[1:07:56] about it. If the situation
[1:07:56] s
[1:07:57] life threatening, they should
[1:08:00] call or text 911. Calling is
[1:08:02] preferred and faster, but know
[1:08:02] that that
[1:08:03] s not always feels
[1:08:04] like a safe or comfortable
[1:08:05] option. When you
[1:08:05] re in the
[1:08:07] middle of something. If the
[1:08:07] situation doesn
[1:08:08] t require an
[1:08:10] immediate response, but is
[1:08:12] still a concern, we encourage
[1:08:13] writers to report it with as
[1:08:16] much detail as possible to our
[1:08:17] our phone. We also have a web
[1:08:18] form that
[1:08:19] s noted on this card
[1:08:19] that I
[1:08:22] ll share. So that is the
[1:08:23] additional information that
[1:08:24] helps us to know what
[1:08:24] s
[1:08:26] happening and where is
[1:08:28] including the bus route, the
[1:08:29] bus number. There
[1:08:29] s a coach
[1:08:30] number on every bus. It
[1:08:31] s the
[1:08:32] four digits at the front and on
[1:08:34] the back of the bus or the bus
[1:08:36] stop location, and the bus stop
[1:08:37] number. At every bus stop,
[1:08:37] there
[1:08:38] s a number on the bus
[1:08:40] stop sign. So that tells you
[1:08:40] what bus stop you
[1:08:42] re at the
[1:08:43] time of day, and the report and
[1:08:44] then the description of the
[1:08:47] incident that occurred. And as
[1:08:48] I said, that can be reported
[1:08:49] calling our customer service
[1:08:51] line or through an online form.
[1:08:53] We also have an additional form
[1:08:55] for stop maintenance requests
[1:08:56] or cleaning requests so that we
[1:08:58] can provide that information as
[1:09:01] follow up as well. Next slide
[1:09:04] please. Safety is everybody
[1:09:04] s
[1:09:06] responsibility, and we
[1:09:06] re
[1:09:08] hoping to make it easier for
[1:09:09] you all to partner with us on
[1:09:11] addressing safety issues in
[1:09:13] your jurisdictions. And what
[1:09:13] s
[1:09:14] most helpful is if you can
[1:09:15] share ways for your
[1:09:17] constituents to report. You can
[1:09:18] do that by sharing the
[1:09:19] information in the previous
[1:09:21] slide or through these safety
[1:09:22] contact cards. We can provide
[1:09:25] those to you to distribute to
[1:09:27] writers, and we also appreciate
[1:09:27] it. If there
[1:09:28] s a central point
[1:09:30] person at your cities that we
[1:09:31] can coordinate different safety
[1:09:34] requests on your end for Metro,
[1:09:36] you can reach out to Maria
[1:09:37] Jimenez Zepeda and Amanda
[1:09:38] Pleasant Brown for safety
[1:09:40] requests, or to request the
[1:09:42] safety contacts cards. You saw
[1:09:43] that I that
[1:09:44] s there on the
[1:09:46] slide and also in person here.
[1:09:48] So that I think is the end of
[1:09:49] our presentation and we
[1:09:49] re
[1:09:52] happy to take questions.
[1:09:53] Great. Thank you so much. That
[1:09:54] was a lot of information. I
[1:09:55] have a couple questions, but I
[1:09:56] want to turn it over to my
[1:09:59] colleagues to see what
[1:10:02] questions you all have. We
[1:10:03] ll
[1:10:05] take down the slides so we can
[1:10:08] see. All right. Why don
[1:10:09] t i
[1:10:11] kick us off. And then if there
[1:10:12] are additional questions,
[1:10:14] please do feel free to raise
[1:10:16] your hands. Um, around the
[1:10:18] regional transit safety, uh,
[1:10:19] task force. It
[1:10:21] s somewhat of a
[1:10:23] question, but I was. I
[1:10:24] m very
[1:10:26] honored to be serving on that,
[1:10:29] um, task force and work
[1:10:30] directly with the general
[1:10:33] manager and, um, a number of
[1:10:37] other leaders on really nailing
[1:10:42] down that coordination. And,
[1:10:44] collaboration between
[1:10:46] jurisdictions and law
[1:10:47] enforcement and transit
[1:10:49] agencies. So if you think of a,
[1:10:51] um, transit station into the
[1:10:53] Tukwila International Boulevard
[1:10:56] with Sound Transit on an
[1:10:58] elevated platform, and then we
[1:11:01] have um, Metro Rapid ride stop
[1:11:02] at the bottom, a number of
[1:11:04] stops is a transit center and
[1:11:06] then a large parking lot, and
[1:11:07] then the street with the city
[1:11:10] of Tukwila. And we have Sound
[1:11:11] transit law enforcement really
[1:11:13] managing the top floor. We
[1:11:17] have, um, metro security and
[1:11:17] sheriff
[1:11:19] s office doing this,
[1:11:21] you know, bottom of where the
[1:11:23] buses are. And then maybe I
[1:11:23] think it
[1:11:24] s Tukwila that does
[1:11:27] the parking lot. I mean, and
[1:11:28] yet we don
[1:11:29] t have any sort of
[1:11:30] formal arrangement or
[1:11:31] discussion around what happens
[1:11:33] in between an overlap. And so
[1:11:34] what happens on the escalators
[1:11:37] or the elevators. And everyone
[1:11:39] jumps in when needed. But we
[1:11:40] should have really clear
[1:11:43] expectations of how to manage
[1:11:43] that and make sure we
[1:11:44] re all
[1:11:46] operating on the same page. So
[1:11:47] I think this is a really good
[1:11:50] opportunity for us to clear
[1:11:52] that up, make sure everyone
[1:11:54] knows what our expectations are
[1:11:55] and what their responsibilities
[1:11:57] are, which will make it safer
[1:12:00] for our riders or operators and
[1:12:02] our community in general. So it
[1:12:06] is a lot of work. And, um, I
[1:12:07] you might not know this, but we
[1:12:09] did meet last month and we
[1:12:12] narrowed down some priorities
[1:12:14] and just for context, I think
[1:12:30] one of the things we put not as
[1:12:30] a non priority, but down at the
[1:12:30] bottom is, um, building an
[1:12:30] operations center for all the
[1:12:31] agencies to have a central hub,
[1:12:31] which would be ideal. But, um,
[1:12:31] a tremendous amount of
[1:12:32] resources. So we wanted to
[1:12:34] prioritize the things we can
[1:12:36] within the resources available.
[1:12:37] Uh, but there is a lot of work
[1:12:39] happening. Do you happen to
[1:12:42] know the time frame on when we
[1:12:43] will be getting more
[1:12:46] information about next steps
[1:12:48] for the priorities we did push
[1:12:49] push forward?
[1:12:50] Yes. Over the next couple of
[1:12:51] months, the summer months,
[1:12:52] we
[1:12:53] re working on, uh, picking,
[1:12:55] uh, kind of stakeholder mapping
[1:12:56] who should be involved in each
[1:12:58] of the, uh, prioritized
[1:12:59] solution working groups and
[1:13:00] making sure we have the right
[1:13:02] representation from different
[1:13:04] agencies. So this fall would be
[1:13:06] when those like late AUGUST,
[1:13:07] SEPTEMBER would be when those
[1:13:09] groups would convene to really
[1:13:11] develop that more formal action
[1:13:13] plan, more clearly defining
[1:13:14] what success looks like to
[1:13:15] like, what would it mean to
[1:13:16] accomplish this thing? How can
[1:13:16] we say we
[1:13:18] re done? And who
[1:13:18] s
[1:13:20] going to take responsibility
[1:13:21] for what to make it happen?
[1:13:22] Thank you. And you are
[1:13:24] reminding me that we did
[1:13:25] include additional partners
[1:13:27] throughout, that we wanted to
[1:13:29] make sure that for the cities
[1:13:32] that do have those
[1:13:34] multi-jurisdictional transit
[1:13:38] agencies. So Tukwila and Kent,
[1:13:40] with Sound Transit, Metro and
[1:13:41] our local law enforcement that
[1:13:43] we are all at the table there.
[1:13:45] So thank you for that reminder.
[1:13:48] Um, any questions,
[1:13:50] Councilmember Bhargava? And if
[1:13:52] you could speak up, we had a
[1:13:54] little trouble hearing you. Um,
[1:13:56] before.
[1:13:57] Okay. Can you hear me now? I
[1:13:57] m
[1:13:59] going to try and speak loud.
[1:14:00] Much better. Thank you.
[1:14:02] Okay. Excellent. Um, thank you
[1:14:04] very much. First of all, for a
[1:14:06] really excellent presentation.
[1:14:09] Very informative. Um, the staff
[1:14:11] report in the agenda package
[1:14:16] states that for the 2627
[1:14:19] biennium, Metro has added ten
[1:14:22] Metro Transit Police deputies
[1:14:24] for a total of 89. We
[1:14:24] ve also
[1:14:26] heard from Bellevue Transit
[1:14:28] Police that King County has had
[1:14:31] some challenges in filling
[1:14:33] those positions. Uh, my
[1:14:34] question is, how many of those
[1:14:37] have been filled? And then more
[1:14:38] systematically, what are we
[1:14:40] doing to address some of the
[1:14:42] hiring challenges that we
[1:14:42] ve
[1:14:46] had?
[1:14:48] Uh, thank you for the question,
[1:14:49] Councilmember. Uh, Metro
[1:14:51] Transit police contracts
[1:14:52] through the sheriff
[1:14:52] s
[1:14:54] department. So any questions
[1:14:56] about recruiting or staffing
[1:14:58] would probably be best answered
[1:14:59] by them. I can
[1:15:00] t directly
[1:15:02] answer for them. Um, but I will
[1:15:04] commend them. We have a very
[1:15:05] long standing partnership with
[1:15:06] them, and they have been
[1:15:09] really, um, excellent in
[1:15:13] continuing support of Metro.
[1:15:13] I
[1:15:15] ll just add that that is an
[1:15:19] ongoing, um, uh, challenge that
[1:15:19] we
[1:15:20] ve been working on, uh,
[1:15:22] making sure that our sheriff
[1:15:22] s
[1:15:24] office is fully staffed, which
[1:15:26] it is not, and that our
[1:15:29] contracts, um, cities and
[1:15:30] jurisdictions receive the
[1:15:31] supports that they are
[1:15:34] contracting for. Um, Council
[1:15:36] member, I will look to see if
[1:15:37] we can
[1:15:38] t find the latest
[1:15:40] information for you and send
[1:15:43] that out so that, um, or at the
[1:15:45] very least, find the right
[1:15:46] contact person, because it
[1:15:46] s a
[1:15:47] very good question. It
[1:15:47] s an
[1:15:50] important question. Um, and we
[1:15:53] do track that in other
[1:15:55] committees at the council. So
[1:15:57] we will help facilitate that
[1:15:58] for you.
[1:15:59] Okay, I appreciate that.
[1:16:02] Thank you. All right. I think
[1:16:02] it
[1:16:06] s Council member Goldman.
[1:16:07] Um, yes. Thank you, MADAM
[1:16:09] Chair. Um, thank you for the
[1:16:11] presentation. Um, I have a
[1:16:13] question about data. So at the
[1:16:14] beginning, you kind of
[1:16:15] presented the number of
[1:16:16] incidents. And it seems over
[1:16:17] the past couple of years,
[1:16:18] they
[1:16:20] ve plateaued around the 50
[1:16:22] to 70 range. So I guess my two
[1:16:24] part question is, number one,
[1:16:26] what level is Metro aiming for?
[1:16:28] And number two, how will you
[1:16:30] evaluate some of the many
[1:16:31] suggestions that are coming
[1:16:33] from the task force as to
[1:16:34] whether they have been
[1:16:43] effective or not?
[1:16:45] Sorry, technology is hard. Uh,
[1:16:48] thank you for the question. Um,
[1:16:48] we
[1:16:50] re very happy with the
[1:16:52] continued reduction. I think
[1:16:53] you get to a certain point and
[1:16:55] ridership is increasing, and so
[1:16:57] your trends are going to show,
[1:16:58] um, that they
[1:16:59] re plateauing a
[1:17:01] bit, as you noted. Uh, but I
[1:17:03] think continued improvement is
[1:17:03] what we
[1:17:06] re aiming for. Um, I
[1:17:09] would say, and we want to honor
[1:17:10] all of our employee
[1:17:12] experiences. And so we continue
[1:17:14] to do outreach with our
[1:17:16] employees, um, to encourage
[1:17:17] them to report. And this is
[1:17:19] really anything that they
[1:17:19] re
[1:17:21] experiencing on our system. So
[1:17:22] those are not necessarily
[1:17:24] indicative of serious events.
[1:17:27] This could be, um, anything
[1:17:30] from people that are using
[1:17:33] transit to shelter to, um,
[1:17:35] unwanted disturbances or
[1:17:41] assaults on the system.
[1:17:43] And I would just add, I think
[1:17:43] everybody
[1:17:45] s goal would be zero
[1:17:46] security incidents anywhere for
[1:17:48] writers and employees. Uh,
[1:17:49] recognizing that
[1:17:50] s very hard to
[1:17:54] achieve. Um, that the decline
[1:17:56] and continuing to find ways to
[1:17:57] reduce them is really what
[1:17:57] we
[1:17:59] re focused on. So when we
[1:18:00] look at the Regional Safety
[1:18:03] Task Force recommendations, I
[1:18:03] think that
[1:18:04] s part of this
[1:18:05] action planning work that we
[1:18:07] need to do is what how will we
[1:18:09] know that that particular thing
[1:18:10] is making a difference or not?
[1:18:11] And when I talked about what
[1:18:12] success looks like, really
[1:18:13] defining what that might be, it
[1:18:15] might be particular measures.
[1:18:17] It might be tasks or activities
[1:18:18] to accomplish. But I think we
[1:18:20] want to really think carefully
[1:18:22] about that and have a adaptable
[1:18:23] mindset. As Rebecca talked
[1:18:23] about, we
[1:18:24] re trying to have it.
[1:18:25] Metro. If something
[1:18:25] s not
[1:18:26] working, we shouldn
[1:18:26] t keep
[1:18:28] doing it. And if it is, we
[1:18:29] should keep doing it. But we
[1:18:30] have to have a shared
[1:18:31] understanding of what that
[1:18:33] success looks like, and we hope
[1:18:34] to develop that through the
[1:18:36] action. Planning next steps for
[1:18:39] the regional task force.
[1:18:42] I would add. Thank you. Um, and
[1:18:45] great questions as I look at
[1:18:49] the chart. So that was page two
[1:18:51] of this presentation. It
[1:18:52] s page
[1:18:55] 66 of 84 in the packets. If
[1:18:55] you
[1:18:57] re following along. Um, it
[1:18:59] is interesting to see kind of
[1:19:01] the overall trends in the year
[1:19:03] and wonder if you, if I
[1:19:04] m on to
[1:19:07] something here with, um, seeing
[1:19:09] kind of the peaks in each year
[1:19:13] starting in 22, in the later
[1:19:16] holiday months, is that
[1:19:18] something that, um, you
[1:19:20] recognize and kind of account
[1:19:22] for? I guess going forward, if
[1:19:24] you were seeing kind of peaks
[1:19:25] in incidents or incidents that
[1:19:27] are reported, what those align
[1:19:29] with.
[1:19:29] Sure. That
[1:19:30] s an excellent
[1:19:33] observation. Uh, we are aware
[1:19:34] of that. I think anytime
[1:19:34] there
[1:19:36] s inclement weather, we
[1:19:37] definitely see incidents going
[1:19:38] up. And we account for that in
[1:19:40] our deployments. We have very
[1:19:42] agile, uh, security and Metro
[1:19:44] Transit Police deployments. So
[1:19:45] during particularly the winter
[1:19:46] months, we know that there are
[1:19:48] going to be an influx of folks
[1:19:51] that are using our system. So
[1:19:52] we want to make sure that we
[1:19:54] are providing resources to
[1:19:56] them, um, and ensuring that
[1:19:58] they have a safe place to
[1:19:59] shelter. Um, but it doesn
[1:19:59] t
[1:20:01] necessarily need to be on Metro
[1:20:05] Transit.
[1:20:10] Thank you. Any other questions?
[1:20:12] All right. Well, thank you all
[1:20:14] so much for being here and
[1:20:16] presenting. And it is a lot of
[1:20:17] information. It is a lot of
[1:20:19] work. And so appreciate your
[1:20:21] partnership. And that and also
[1:20:24] um, your, uh, coordination with
[1:20:25] the cities and reaching out to
[1:20:26] make sure that they all have
[1:20:30] that same level of input and,
[1:20:33] um, information. And I would
[1:20:35] just share with my colleagues
[1:20:37] on the committee that if you do
[1:20:38] need more information, please
[1:20:40] feel to reach out, um, and
[1:20:42] share that with your
[1:20:43] constituents and your
[1:20:44] newsletters or your social
[1:20:47] media. Um, it helps to spread
[1:20:48] the word. And that
[1:20:48] s part of
[1:20:51] what I see our role here as,
[1:20:55] um, all right. So just so you
[1:20:58] all know, as part of, um, our
[1:21:00] custom on this committee, we do
[1:21:03] not hold a meeting in AUGUST.
[1:21:03] Um, it
[1:21:04] s in deference to the
[1:21:06] recessed schedules of many of
[1:21:08] our jurisdictions. So our next
[1:21:10] meeting will be on SEPTEMBER
[1:21:12] 16th. And at that meeting,
[1:21:12] we
[1:21:13] ll hear about the ongoing
[1:21:15] transition to a zero emission
[1:21:18] fleet. Progress on rapid ride
[1:21:20] implementation. And Orca use
[1:21:24] and distribution. And with no
[1:21:25] other business to come before