Takko wants to help rural bus riders ‘one way or another’

Senate bill, not Longview lawmaker’s House measure, will pass – but that’s fine with him

February 19, 2008         

OLYMPIA – It’s not his specific House bill to help rural bus riders and potential bus riders that is moving through the legislative process, but a Southwest Washington legislator is fine with that.           

State Rep. Dean Takko said his own measure, House Bill 3058, would let public buses stop in rural areas to pick up or drop off passengers “as long as it’s safe for them to make the stop. One way or another, I want to see this idea get signed into law.”           

The Longview Democrat said it is the twin Senate legislation, Senate Bill 6569, that will actually pass the House and Senate and go on to become the law of the state in the not-too-distant future.           

“These two bills would get us to the same goal,” he said. “And this goal is that we want public-transit buses to be able to serve more citizens in unincorporated areas.  

“It’s just simple commonsense to make it easier for people to ride the bus in order to get to and from their work and appointments and so forth.”           

His plan, which is contained in both legislative proposals, would allow buses to make more stops outside of cities and towns.

The buses can currently stop only at marked stops, which must be compliant with the rules spelled out in the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. There are very few stops currently in rural areas.

“Provided that the driver can do the stop safely and it isn’t dangerous for passengers or other motorists, the bus should be allowed to stop wherever there’s a need for it,” Takko said. “Garbage trucks can stop about anywhere they want, and they make a lot more stops than buses would – and the garbage trucks aren’t involved in many collisions at all.” 

The policy proposal includes public-transit vehicles run by nonprofit groups among the buses that could make additional rural stops in unmarked stop zones.

Takko is a member of the House Transportation Committee where the House legislation was originally approved, and where the Senate measure will also soon be reviewed. Representatives from the Washington State Transit Association, Pacific Transit, and Mason Transit have testified for the legislation.