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As the Link light rail service expands across the region, Metro plans to transition into a feeder system for Link. The agency was already moving in that direction. The agency plans to add back even more service in October and hopes to bring back service to pre-COVID levels next year.Īs demand changes, Metro plans to redistribute some of the peak-hour service to all-day routes to boost frequency. The agency is hearing from employers that they expect half of their workers back in the office by the fall, O’Claire said. “Our ridership is coming back, but the question is how fast and when will it come back.” “As vaccines get into arms, ridership is at an all time high post-COVID,” O'Claire said. This could mean a cut of 500,000 service hours, or about 13% of the current level. Service cuts are looming in 2025 if fares, which account for about a quarter of revenue, and other revenue, such as sales tax, don’t rebound. They cut or reduced many peak-hour buses - the ones that shuttled commuters to and from jobs - where large drops in ridership occurred.Ĭurrently the agency is operating at 85% service levels compared with before the pandemic, while ridership slowly rebounds. Then ridership plunged more than 70% as those who could do so nestled into home offices and transit agencies pared down. Between 20 transit ridership in the Puget Sound grew nearly 20%, according to the Puget Sound Regional Council. “We’re not seeing employers move away from public transportation and their commitment,” said Chris O'Claire, Metro’s director of mobility.īefore the pandemic, more and more people in the region were riding public transportation, bucking the national trend. The agency relies heavily on sales tax, which in 2019 made up 57% of total revenue, followed by fares, which represents about a quarter of the budget.
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All major employers renewed their transit business accounts this year, according to King County Metro Transit. More than half of King County Metro’s fare revenue in 2019 came from transit passes companies provide at a discount, or for free, to employees. the office is still very valuable,” Scholes said. With only a handful of downtown offices shutting down completely, employers are keeping around another perk from pre-pandemic days - the transit pass. “Most employers envision a hybrid workplace,” said Jon Scholes, president and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association.įew are staying fully remote, and few are demanding workers come to the office every day, Scholes said, which gives employers flexibility over when and where they work. While most people will likely revert to being mostly in the office, he envisions some might start or end the day working from home. “That isn’t impossible in the remote world, but it's not easy.” “The way we were used to working was very collaborative,” Shema said. At Hewitt, an architectural firm, many are eager to get back working in the office most days, said Paul Shema, president of the downtown Seattle company. Some people, however, are ready to get back in the office. “People have the flexibility to live where they want,” Ellis said. Two colleagues relocated across the country, and a new hire plans to stay in Chicago, he said. This policy change also dispersed Ellis’ team. With a revamped work-from-home policy coming from the online real estate company he works for, Ellis plans on venturing into the office only a few times a month for meetings. Snug in his home office in Everett, Ellis’ much-shortened commute is now just a few stairs. Tim Ellis plans to get back on the bus at some point, though not for a daily commute. About a quarter of people who rode public transportation before the pandemic may never ride again, according to an April Crosscut/Elway Poll.
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If a large percentage of workers continue to skip the commute, that could leave a lasting dent on the region’s transit ridership. She isn’t alone - many employees covet the flexibility that comes with working from home. But that’s not enough for Melanie, who says she wouldn’t quit if the company said she would need to come in only a few times a week. Melanie’s company recently announced that, when the office reopens, employees will only be allowed to work from home once in a while. The former music and French teacher lives in Seattle to be close to jobs, but prefers living in the countryside at least part time, something a remote job would allow. “In the office, I had to put on headphones to drown out the sound.” I love the quiet and I can concentrate much better,” said Melanie, who asked that her last name not be used because she is worried about the reaction from her company. In her home office, she has a window seat and she’s able to sneak in a yoga session during lunch.