SEATTLE – King County’s Metro Transit painted a gloomy picture of what could happen to bus service this winter.
Metro said in the event of a big snowstorm it will not run its articulated buses or its trolley buses. Also, Metro said a big storm would disrupt Metro's communication system, making it impossible for people to get real-time information of bus routes.
King County Council members got a briefing on the region's transportation preparedness for severe weather. Forecasters say the La Nina climate pattern makes it likely the area will see more snow this winter.
Metro says its articulated buses and trolley buses get stuck in snow and therefore they’ll be pulled off the road if there is a big storm. That means fewer buses will be running. Metro also says it will be altering bus routes during those times.
When those route changes hit, riders could be left out in the cold.
The promised new bus radio system won't be ready for up to two years, meaning bus drivers won't be able to give dispatchers quick information on problem areas. Metro drivers will use phones, but getting information on real-time problems on specific routes won’t be possible.
"One of our issues is our new radio system is not installed in the very, very early stages of installation. It won't be installed fully until next winter,” a Metro official told the council members. “So there is still a bit of a bottleneck coming from the field into the control center. So, as the operatives are trying to report in on the status of their situation there is a bottleneck because of a limitation on radio channels."
In 2008, a snowstorm snarled Seattle's transportation system with Metro buses leaving thousands of people stranded. After that snowstorm, Metro revamped routes to follow street plowing plans.
Metro Transit is urging riders to sign up for alerts and check the Internet in the event of snow to determine which buses are running. Even so, bus riders may have trouble getting necessary information during snow events.
"But because traffic and road conditions change constantly, there is not full real-time information available for all Metro bus routes all of the time. Online programs like Bus Tracker and other privately developed apps become less reliable in bad-weather conditions, as more buses go to snow routing and service is increasingly disrupted. Also, the Trip Planner does not have real-time information once buses go to snow routing," Metro said in a news release.
King County says road crews are ready to battle snow and ice. The county says it has stockpiled salt, sand and deicing agents and put workers on overnight shifts to be ready to respond to weather problems. The county maintains 1,300 miles or roads.
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