Video: Seahawks fans lose shuttle service

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SEATTLE - A new federal regulation has taken public shuttle service away from football games nationwide, and Seattle is no exception.

The news has fans like Jim and Amanda Peterson upset.

The Petersons have held season tickets for six years. As parking became more expensive around Qwest Field, they let Metro Transit shuttles do the driving for them.

"It seems like the thing to do with gas prices, and it costs like $25 to $40 to park," said Amanda Peterson. "So it just made sense from a cost standpoint and freeing up traffic as well."

But that is all changing now, due to the federal regulation that passed in January. It prohibits public transportation agencies like King County Metro Transit from providing shuttles if a privately owned agency wants the job.

Federal officials say the goal was to create more free market competition, and not tie up taxpayer dollars.

But for the 5,000 Seahawks fans that use Metro shuttles on game day, the regulation means no shuttle service at all, since the Seahawks passed on the $20 per passenger bid offered by a single private operator.

Now instead of paying $12 for a round-trip for two, the Petersons expect to pay more than $50 for gas and parking per game. They're also worried about roads on the way home.

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Qwest Field

"We're concerned about the whole thing, people drinking and driving where maybe before they'd taken the bus home and somebody picked them up at the park-and-ride and so that makes us real nervous," Amanda Peterson said.

The Seahawks said they turned down the private company because it was too expensive and because the bid did not include approvals to use park-and-ride lots, roadways, and staging areas to operate the shuttles smoothly.

Although Metro will not run shuttles, it will run regular service at scheduled stops.