(The Center Square) – King County Metro is asking for more than $115 million in safety improvements in the wake of a fatal stabbing of a bus driver in December.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587 President Greg Woodfill, who represents transit workers, this week told members of the King County Council that their members had already been pleading for safety measures, many months before the murder of Shawn Yim, who was stabbed by a passenger on the bus in Seattle’s University District.
A suspect was later arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
“It was the horrific and brutal murder of our brother Shawn Yim while on duty serving the public that brought everyone to finally recognize the need for the task force that this union had been calling on for months,” Woodfill said. “Our members worked through COVID, exposed to increased violence and unsafe behavior, with those engaging in it not held accountable. When our members were sickened and hospitalized from daily fentanyl exposure, they were told that it was all in their minds or a form of group hysteria.”
Michelle Allison, general manager for Metro, spelled out the request.
“Right now, we have roughly $115 million represented in our program for safety items,” Allison said. “That could grow based on conversation with the council.”
Allison said Metro is committed to ensuring the safety of its employees and riders.
“We are working with our regional security, law enforcement and behavioral health partners to make sure we are doing what we can to improve the overall safety landscape,” she said.
Among the proposed safety upgrades is the completion of plexiglass shields to protect bus drivers. Many buses have already been retrofitted this year.
Council Chair Claudia Balducci said, despite the wide array of safety concerns that need to be addressed and budget constraints, the council should move forward with some immediate changes.
“I think it’s important for us to do something, or some things that show to our staff and the public that there’s change, something visible, something to build confidence that we are making a difference,” Balducci said.
Some of the proposed changes, which were developed by a task force formed after Yim’s murder, include having a section of the Sheriff’s Office dedicated to full-time transit security.
“We feel we are at a tipping point. Order and accountability must be restored on and around public transit. This region will not thrive without reliable public transit,” Woodfill said.
The union president also urged council members to help improve response times when drivers or riders call 911, suggesting that those response times are entirely dependent on where the call is being made from, with a wide variance from one city to the next.
The Center Square reached out to Woodfill for further comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
The Center Square also reached out to Balducci and fellow Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, as the two are facing off in the upcoming general election for King County Executive.
Neither responded to a request for comment.
Councilmember Pete Von Reichbauer emailed a response to a request for comment.
“Our passengers will not feel or be safe if our drivers are not safe. We must restore fare enforcement to ensure that our buses are being used by passengers going to and from work, to and from school, to and from medical appointments, to and from social and sporting events, etc.,” he said.
Councilmember Reagan Dunn also sent a comment via email.
“For years, against my objections, King County would not enforce our fare policies and put precious few transit police officers on our buses,” Dunn said. “These policies only served to encourage increasing drug use and violent crime. Finally, King County leaders got the message that these failed policies don’t work. Unfortunately, this was an expensive failed experiment that King County taxpayers will ultimately have to pay for.”
