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Apr
15

Metro's Policies

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Metro's Policies

At King County Metro, we believe mobility is a human right. Metro’s policies—our Strategic Plan for Public Transportation, Service Guidelines, and Metro Connects (long-range plan)—will help us contribute to healthy communities, a thriving economy, and a sustainable environment, ultimately leading to the achievement of our Long Game goals.

Working together, these policies help our Metro teams plan for today, tomorrow, and beyond. Metro policies are co-created with input from community partners, elected officials, and other stakeholders countywide. Each reflects key elements of King County’s comprehensive policies, such as the King County Strategic Plan for Equity and Social Justice and the King County Strategic Climate Action Plan.

In this section

Contact

Tessa McClellan
Strategic Planning and Policy Lead
(206) 263-5750
Send Tessa an email

What the policies support

Strategic Plan

Metro’s Strategic Plan addresses opportunities and challenges facing King County residents, such as a growing, diversified population, historic inequities, and a worsening climate crisis. Our plan articulates Metro’s mission and vision, establishes 10 goals, objectives and strategies to achieve them, and includes performance measures to track our progress.

Our actions and more resources

Metro will work to implement our strategies to achieve the 10 key policy goals and track our progress through the web-based Strategic Plan dashboard.

Service Guidelines

Metro uses the Service Guidelines to evaluate, design, and modify transit services to meet changing needs and deliver efficient, high-quality service. These guidelines help ensure our decision-making and recommendations to policy makers are objective, transparent, and aligned with King County’s overall goals for public transportation.

Our actions and more resources

Metro uses the Service Guidelines to continuously review and develop changes to the transit system. Performance information and investment priorities are published in an annual System Evaluation Report that is transmitted to the King County Council and made available to the public. Metro uses the results of this evaluation, as well as guidelines concerning service design and flexible services, to develop service change proposals. This is one step in a planning process that starts with the adoption of Metro’s budget and results in changes to transit service.

Metro Connects

Metro Connects is our vision for bringing more improved mobility services to King County over the next 30 years. The goal is additional, frequent, reliable, and fast service—all day, every day—through an innovative regional and integrated mobility network. The service growth and capital improvements in Metro Connects will support healthy and equitable communities, a thriving economy, and a sustainable environment.

Our actions and more resources

Metro Connects includes a financially unconstrained vision, reflecting the imagination and input of many parties and partners. Delivering 70 percent more service by 2050 is ambitious. Metro will work to achieve the vision in Metro Connects through a cycle of growing our network and connecting people to mobility services, measuring progress, demonstrating value, securing additional funding, and continuing to expand.

Metro will work with elected leaders, regional partners, and communities to implement the service and capital changes. Click on the links below to view an interactive version of the planned Metro Connects interim network and 2050 network:

Metro Connects Interim Network   Metro Connects 2050 Network

Strategic Plan

The Strategic Plan establishes policy goals, objectives, outcomes, strategies, and performance measures.

More

Strategic Plan

Metro’s Strategic Plan addresses opportunities and challenges facing King County residents, such as a growing, diversified population, historic inequities, and a worsening climate crisis. Our plan articulates Metro’s mission and vision, establishes 10 goals, objectives and strategies to achieve them, and includes performance measures to track our progress.

Our actions and more resources

Metro will work to implement our strategies to achieve the 10 key policy goals and track our progress through the web-based Strategic Plan dashboard.

Service Guidelines

Metro’s Service Guidelines defines how Metro evaluates, designs, and modifies transit services to meet changing needs, aiding in the delivery of efficient, high-quality service

More

Service Guidelines

Metro uses the Service Guidelines to evaluate, design, and modify transit services to meet changing needs and deliver efficient, high-quality service. These guidelines help ensure our decision-making and recommendations to policy makers are objective, transparent, and aligned with King County’s overall goals for public transportation.

Our actions and more resources

Metro uses the Service Guidelines to continuously review and develop changes to the transit system. Performance information and investment priorities are published in an annual System Evaluation Report that is transmitted to the King County Council and made available to the public. Metro uses the results of this evaluation, as well as guidelines concerning service design and flexible services, to develop service change proposals. This is one step in a planning process that starts with the adoption of Metro’s budget and results in changes to transit service.

Metro Connects

Metro Connects is Metro’s vision for providing more service, more choices, and one easy-to-use system over the next 30 years.

More

Metro Connects

Metro Connects is our vision for bringing more improved mobility services to King County over the next 30 years. The goal is additional, frequent, reliable, and fast service—all day, every day—through an innovative regional and integrated mobility network. The service growth and capital improvements in Metro Connects will support healthy and equitable communities, a thriving economy, and a sustainable environment.

Our actions and more resources

Metro Connects includes a financially unconstrained vision, reflecting the imagination and input of many parties and partners. Delivering 70 percent more service by 2050 is ambitious. Metro will work to achieve the vision in Metro Connects through a cycle of growing our network and connecting people to mobility services, measuring progress, demonstrating value, securing additional funding, and continuing to expand.

Metro will work with elected leaders, regional partners, and communities to implement the service and capital changes. Click on the links below to view an interactive version of the planned Metro Connects interim network and 2050 network:

Interim Network   2050 Network

What drives us

Mission

Provide the best possible public transportation services and improve regional mobility and quality of life in King County.

Vision

Grow and deliver a regional, innovative, and integrated mobility network that aligns with Metro Connects and is safe, equitable, and sustainable. Realized policies will help Metro contribute to healthy communities, a thriving economy, and a sustainable environment, ultimately reaching our Long Game goals.

Long Game

Metro’s ability to help people move through the transit system can be life changing. Mobility connects people to opportunity—and that destination is sometimes more than an actual place. Metro’s Long Game is a blueprint for how Metro creates a mobility system that advances equity, provides new economic opportunities, and combats climate change.

More

About the Long Game

Metro’s Long Game is the blueprint to how we leverage the power of public transit to create a mobility system that advances equity by serving underserved communities, providing new economic opportunities in those neighborhoods, and combating climate change.

In order for Metro to reach our Long Game, we will

  • Build fast, frequent, reliable all-day services that are both prioritized and co-created for those with the greatest need of public transit
  • Transition to a 100% zero-emissions fleet powered by renewable energy no later than 2040
  • Modernize our system
  • Continue to demonstrate the value of public transit to grow capacity and resources, which will result in more service and measureable outcomes

By providing safe, reliable, and equitable public transportation services, we can—and will—improve regional mobility and quality of life in King County.

Periodic updates of comprehensive plans are an opportunity for cities and Metro to ensure our plans and policies are aligned, and work to achieve our common policy goals. These resources are intended to support Metro and city partners coordinated planning. The checklist provides guidance, examples, and links to integrate transit considerations into planning. In the webinar, Metro technical staff speak to land use, housing, and transportation policies, partnerships, and funding opportunities.

Mobility Framework

Co-created with Metro’s community-led Equity Cabinet, our Mobility Framework directed our teams to center equity advancement and climate change solutions in planning, policies, and operations.

Read more
Transit Facilities Guidelines

These guidelines are used internally and provide a framework for the design, permitting, and construction of transit facilities.

Download the PDF
Transit Speed and Reliability Guidelines and Strategies

This toolkit outlines strategies Metro can use to partner with jurisdictions and stakeholders to make transit faster and more reliable.

Download the PDF

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