Pierce Transit Puts Measure on February Ballot

We attended the Pierce Transit board meeting yesterday when they voted to go to the ballot to save bus service in Pierce County. We testified in favor of their preservation plan and encourage them to ask voters for a modest sales tax increase, because if they don’t the proposed cuts will cripple transit access in Pierce County leaving thousands of commuters and transit dependent riders stranded on the side of the road. We live tweeted the meeting here. After robust discussion, the board decided to put a 0.3 percent tax increase on the February ballot. We will need your help in the months ahead to pass this important measure next February. This tax increase is estimated to raise $30 million to help Pierce Transit balance their budget and remain fiscally stable. They also "adopted the PT Tomorrow system redesign, which makes changes to some bus routes but generally preserves what’s there and moderately adds to it, if voters OK the sales tax hike." The News Tribune and Seattle Transit Blog have more details.