Metro bus service for M’s games may return
From many places: Senator Patty Murray’s attempting to reverse via legislation the nonsensical Bush-administration “rule” that prohibited public transportation systems from offering special game-day service if a private company said they’d do it.
And again, not a “could do a better job” or “could save money” or any kind of selection. It’s “I’ve formed Joe’s Bus Company out of spite and I’ve decided to run shuttle service to M’s games for $100/seat” means Metro can’t even compete. And not just here, where we got particularly clobbered — everywhere teams partnered with local transit faced this.
So it’s not done yet, and yeah, it’s not a Big Issue in the grand scheme of things, but it’s the right thing to do and makes some small improvement to life. Kudos to Murray for looking out for a chance to fix this.
The M’s did a good thing in subsidizing special bus service to the games in partnership with Metro: those things ran like clockwork, helped a lot of people get to the game easily, and it’s a boon environmentally too. Hopefully we can get back to that.
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19 Responses to “Metro bus service for M’s games may return”
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Does anyone know or have an educated guess as to why this legislation would have gone through in the first place? Was it supposed to be some kind of economical boost for private companies?
No, it’s not that. American political dogma for 30 years has been to get government out of the business of doing business because they are no good at it. Someone viewed this as Metro somehow being this unfair government subsidized competition. Except that while private enterprise runs TRANSIT, only government runs MASS TRANSIT. The intentions were good but the application stupid. Kudos to Murray for bringing back the shuttle.
I really like how the company looking to run this service for the Mariners was also doing shuttles for Huskies games…and subcontracting with Metro to provide the service.
If you wanted to stand by that principle of keeping government out of business, I’d suggest you’d just have to allow private competition with the public service and offer that private enterprise all the same advantages (licensing, coverage of losses, etc.). The goal here isn’t supposed to be to keep government out of business, but to keep government from competing unfairly with private business.
I’d say this post has the potential to blow the ‘no politics’ code of this site clear into the stratosphere.
Mods to the battle stations!
I believe this was a decision made by the executive branch, the original decision having nothing to do with the legislature.
Correct me if I’m wrong.
I’d say the application was SO stupid, that it makes you wonder about the intentions. It was Bush at his finest.
But I love the distinction about “MASS TRANSIT”. Private enterprise frequently fails to serve the masses.
It’s basically the same debate as is currently going on over the “public health insurance option”. Yes, having it WILL cut profits to insurance companies, but then insurance companies are currently pricing many out of the market.
If Metro is able to serve again, there could be for fans at the game. This in turn suggests more revenue and which could translate into us being more aggressive in going after Lackey…. 🙂
We’re watching, but please be kind. I have a cold. 🙁
You know, sometime in 2016 (or, being realistic, maybe a year or two after that) I’ll be able to walk a couple of blocks, hop the subway, and be at Safeco in under 15 minutes, with no parking hassles and no changing buses. Just like in a real city. That’s public transit. Can’t wait.
Of course I’ll probably have moved by then, sigh.
But hey, at least I’ll be able to ride it all the way to the airport next week. B’uh bye, nasty expensive taxi cabs.
Just drive to the airport joser. You can park in my driveway for free. (I can walk to the terminal in 7 minutes from my house.)
Derek, thanks for posting this. I’d missed it in the news, though I’m not sure how given the number of sources a search turned up.
I sent thanks to Senator Murray via her website.
This correction needs to be made now. If someone wants to run private express buses to Enumclaw or Mt. Vernon or Moses Lake, then they should go for it. I have a feeling someone could make a killing selling weekend transpo/ticket packages to rsox/yank/angel/cubs. Leave the local stuff to the already in-place utility. It is like shutting off the water at The Safe because coca-cola can provide bottled water.
The goal here isn’t supposed to be to keep government out of business, but to keep government from competing unfairly with private business.
“unfairly?” Is METRO’s unique ability to transport the disabled an unfair advantage?
I’ll keep that in mind 😉
Though if we get another storm like last winter, it would be so much better to just put people on the light rail than to get out the 4WD to drive them to the airport.
I drove to Wrigley Field for a game, couldn’t find the parking lot, and stopped to ask an officer in the street where it was. He pointed to the overhead walkway leading from the stadium to the train station and informed me that people walk or take the train. Only an idiot drives, because they have no parking lot. I ended up paying some guy $20 to leave the rental in his driveway.
Thankfully, Bush didn’t get his hands on the ferry system, perhaps no one told him about it. I have a dingy. It could have been a new business.
Not a single Jarrod Washburn joke?
I think the M’s should hire the Moose to be the driver for this bus service.
The Moose has certainly demonstrated he has the necessary driving skills.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZe1hDIEHJM
Does that mean Washburn’s coming back?