Public Interest Transportation Forum - http://www.bettertransport.info/pitf

Sound Transit's plan for 2009 if
Prop 1 is rejected by voters

Sound Transit in mid October 2008 mailed every household in the region a summary description of its 15-year mass transit (mostly light rail) tax and spend plan on the November 4, 2008 general election ballot.  This region-wide mailer is full-color, 8 pages in length, and amounts to selective disclosure of information from the Prop 1 Plan description aimed at selling passage of the Plan to voters.

The legally-required mass mailing fails to provide a description of what Sound Transit will do if Prop 1 is defeated by voters. 

However, just a month earlier, Sound Transit issued a much thicker document that does describe the agency's plans for spending its existing taxes authorized in 1996.  This document, the 2009 Proposed Budget, is more detailed than the Prop 1 plan description.

Consideration of what is in these documents yields the following comparison of what happens with Prop 1 winning, or with Prop 1 rejected:

Sound Transit's Plan If Prop 1 passes Sound Transit's Plan If Prop 1 is defeated

Sound Transit taxes are doubled to support $18 billion in new light rail construction. Sound Transit taxes from 1996 continue, some of which go to continuing the light rail already in development.
Sound Transit continues building phase 1, and at the same time expands phase 1 with the first new light rail service opening in 2020. Sound Transit continues building the ten-year light rail phase 1, approved in 1996, and continuing through 2016..
Some parts of the 1996 light rail and Sounder plans are bailed out with the new taxes. Sound Transit is forced to continue building the 1996 plan with existing taxes.
5/10% new sales tax capacity is permanently assigned to Sound Transit, mostly for light rail. The region still has Sound Transit's sales tax capacity to re-assign to other transit priorities.
Sound Transit increases its regional express bus service by 17% with new taxes. Sound Transit has authority to increase its bus service by 30% or more with existing tax levels.
Sound Transit continues to build light rail from Sea-Tac Airport to Husky Stadium. Same as with Prop 1 passing -- light rail is constructed from the Airport (scheduled opening 2009) to Husky Stadium (scheduled opening 2016).
Sound Transit expands Sounder commuter rail service to Tacoma by 65% with new taxes. Sound Transit has authority to expand Sounder service to Tacoma as needed with existing tax levels.
All of Sound Transit's $18 billion in new taxes and services contribute to the regional total of 544 thousand daily transit trips 2030, 65% of them using Sound Transit. The region will experience about 15 million trips in 2030 over all modes.  Transit market share for all trips would be 3.6% with Prop 1 and 3.2% without Prop 1. All of Sound Transit's previously funded services contribute to providing 482 thousand daily transit trips in the 2030 region, 40% using Sound Transit.  This is just 62 thousand fewer than if Prop 1 passes, and assumes no reassignment of taxing authority to other transit agencies which could provide far more service and patronage for much less than $18 billion in new taxes.
65% of all transit trips in the region require a transfer between bus and train, or between two buses or two trains. Sound Transit says transfers are a good thing to let more people get on trains. 40% of all transit trips require a transfer between bus and train, or between two buses or two trains.  Many transit analysts note that transfers between vehicles, whether bus-to-bus or bus-to-train, are not popular with customers.  Today, prior to Sound Transit's light rail going into operation, only 29% of transit trips require a transfer.

 

Return to the Public Interest Transportation Forum home page.

Hit Counter                                                                       Last modified: February 07, 2011