 I am deeply saddened and horrified by the news that a Metro operator was killed while working on one of our buses. My heart goes out to his loved ones and the whole Metro family as they deal with this devastating loss. Our transit should be safe and welcoming for both riders and operators and yesterday we failed at that, with terrible consequences. I am committed to doing everything in my power to support the Metro team through this traumatic experience and to restore a sense of safety for transit riders and operators.
Yesterday morning following this tragedy, I joined the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 587 to remember King County Metro Transit Operator Shawn Yim, extend our condolences to his loved ones including the Metro family, and commit ourselves – with renewed energy and purpose – to improving transit safety.
Everyone – both our operators and riders – needs and deserves to be safe on our buses. We have a responsibility to the public and I am personally committed to doing everything in my power to make that a reality.
After listening carefully to our transit operators, I am committed to using all available tools to implement what we heard from them, as well as additional strategies, including:
- Adding safety features to our coaches, such as dividers that provide protection like that on light rail trains
- Adding additional police and security presence immediately and in the long term
- Putting into action the recommendations that come out of my recently adopted budget request for Metro to report on performance targets for security incidents, strategies and projected timelines to meet those targets, and resources needed to do so
- Working closely with labor representatives on immediate and longer-term actions, including (1) joining a regional task force on transit service and (2) adding a labor representative to King County’s Transportation Benefit District board as a nonvoting member so the voices and needs of our workforce are central in our planning and decision making
- Identifying additional prevention, law enforcement, and criminal justice response strategies to deploy in the community at large that will in turn make it safer for riders both at bus stops and on transit
To ensure we are making progress on these and other public safety efforts immediately, I will be convening a special meeting of the King County Council’s Committee of the Whole on January 13 for a public report on findings and progress. We can and must do more to make our transit safe now.
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