If nothing else, King County Metro seems to have learned from past Seattle weather insanity — like this! — that information is as important as snow chains when it comes to providing public transit service in adverse weather conditions. The agency rolled out a media message this week with a push for everybody to check out some of their new tools for staying informed. The full message from Metro is below. Here are the highlights:

• Sign up to receive Transit Alerts for the routes you use most often;
   (www.kingcounty.gov/metro/signup)

• Check the print and online timetables for snow route maps;
  (www.kingcounty.gov/metro)

• If the weather is bad, check the color-coded status map on Metro Online before you travel;
  (www.kingcounty.gov/metro/snow)

Plus, a bonus item not mentioned by Metro but surely loved by Capitol Hill bus geeks — a Metro alert Twitter account:
http://twitter.com/kcmetroalerts

Metro Transit readies for chilling winter weather

Agency asks bus riders to sign up for Transit Alerts and know their snow routes

With forecasts calling for harsh winter weather coming our way, King County Metro Transit is ready to roll out its revised snow operations and customer communications plan. And, as it prepares for snow and ice, Metro is asking bus riders to make their own preparations for winter travel.
 
“We had most of our improved plans in place last year, but we didn’t get the opportunity to test them because the weather was so mild,” said Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond. “Based on what we’re hearing about this coming winter, it appears we’ll have to put these plans into play and we want our customers to be ready, too.”

Already, more than 10,000 people have signed up for Metro’s popular Transit Alerts, and Desmond would like to see that number double by the end of the year.

Desmond said Metro has a three-pronged approach to operating bus service more reliably when snow and ice begins to affect travel in King County. It starts with preparation, advances into rerouting buses, and finally – under the worst conditions – will significantly reduce service. If that happens, Metro will operate with an Emergency Service Network (ESN) that substantially reduces the number of bus routes and only serves priority streets and highways where cities and other agencies have concentrated their snow clearing activities.

“Two years ago when we had a series of December and January snow storms, we probably tried to provide too much service,” said Desmond. “Our revised plans call for limited service during the worst storms. This may inconvenience some people, but it should help Metro provide safe service that is more reliable and predictable.”

After the 2008-2009 storms, Metro reviewed and revamped all of its snow routes based on plowing agreements with agencies in charge of roads throughout King County, since the buses do not operate well on unplowed plowed streets and highways. Those plowing agreements have been updated again over the past few months.

When snow begins to fall, Metro buses will go to snow routing as necessary given road conditions in a broad geographic area. All bus routes are now assigned into one or more of seven geographic areas within King County. The service status of each area will be color coded and displayed on an online snow map.

Green indicates buses are operating on normal routes; yellow that some – but not all – routes in the area are on snow routes (primarily in higher elevation areas); and red tells you that all bus routes in the entire geographic area are on snow routing. That means your own route may be on snow routing even though roads are bare and wet where you are. It will depend on whether there is snow and ice in other parts of that geographic area.

And, if the weather creates extremely dangerous driving conditions, Metro will reduce service down to the Emergency Service Network with about 70 routes operating on key corridors. The ESN is designed to be reliable in the worst weather or during a prolonged storm period, but customers will be advised to limit travel if possible.

Desmond is urging bus riders to make pre-season preparations of their own.

Start by signing up for Transit Alerts for the bus routes you use most often. If any of those routes begin operating on snow routing – which means some streets and bus stops may be missed – Metro will send an alert to route subscribers. The alerts can be received as email or text messages.

As the weather changes, customers should visit Metro Online before beginning their travel to see what is happening with their route. There is new snow routing in many areas that is different from previous winters, so be sure to check the snow routes for all the routes you use most often.

The best place to get information on transit disruptions is Metro Online’s Alerts Center, or by calling the Customer Information Office. And, when snow is on the way or on the ground, Metro will use Twitter to point followers to the changing information available via the Alerts Center and phone lines.

If possible, check the web first for the most current information. If you don’t have access to the web, call the Customer Information Office at (206) 553-3000. Be prepared for possible long waits on the phone lines because call volumes increase significantly during bad weather even with increased staffing assigned to the Metro call center.

More real-time information will be arriving in the next two years, as new GPS systems are installed in all Metro buses. 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.

“We’re all in this together, and it’s never easy,” said Desmond. “Metro has done a lot to be better prepared for winter driving conditions, and we hope our customers will do their part to be ready before bad weather hits.”

Here are some basic winter-travel tips for Metro customers:

• Sign up to receive Transit Alerts for the routes you use most often;
   (www.kingcounty.gov/metro/signup)

• Check the print and online timetables for snow route maps;
  (www.kingcounty.gov/metro)

• If the weather is bad, check the color-coded status map on Metro Online before you travel;
  (www.kingcounty.gov/metro/snow)

• Be patient. Buses are not always on schedule in snowy or icy conditions. And, increased ridership during bad weather can result in crowded buses and a longer-than-usual wait on the phone for the Customer Information Office (206-553-3000);

• Dress warmly for the walk to the bus stop, expect delays, and wear appropriate footwear for the weather;

• Head for bus stops on main arterials or at major transfer points such as park-and-ride lots, transit centers, or shopping centers; and

• Riders should wait at bus stops at the very top or very bottom of hills, because buses are often unable to stop for passengers on inclines.

More detailed information is available on Metro Online

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