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Direct financial service partnerships

In a direct financial service partnership, a public or private partner (or more than one partner) contributes at least one-third of the fully-allocated cost (defined at bottom of page) of a new Metro route or new service on an existing Metro route. King County pays the other two-thirds. The agreement between King County and the partner(s) must span at least five years.

Metro Transit will evaluate proposals for direct financial service partnerships according to certain requirements and criteria (details below) that reflect such priorities as support of urban centers and the core transit network, sustainability of resources and services, gains in ridership, and a willingness by the partner to take additional actions to increase success.

Who can apply for a direct financial partnership

Potential direct financial partners include cities, employers or employer groups, developers, and combinations of such organizations that can contribute to the costs of bus service and thus fulfill Transit Now’s intent that Metro “establish partnership agreements where public and private entities have an economic incentive to create or sustain population and economic growth by increasing transit availability, and located where transit service investment will generate the most riders.”

Requirements for a direct financial partnership

• If the proposal is to add hours to an existing route or routes, partner(s) will contribute at least $100,000 per year for a minimum of five years (in 2007 dollars).
• If the proposal is to establish a new route or routes, partner(s) will contribute at least $200,000 per year for a minimum of five years (in 2007 dollars).
• The proposed service must be public transportation operated by Metro and available to the general public.
• The proposed service must operate primarily on local streets and arterials, not primarily on state or interstate highways where traffic operations are not managed by the local jurisdiction.
• The proposed new partnership hours must fit within the calendar-year limit of half of total new service hours funded by Transit Now. (Metro will determine this and let you know).

Priority criteria for proposals

Direct financial partnerships have priority over speed and reliability partnerships. On May 7, 2007, the Metropolitan King County Council approved an ordinance that sets additional priorities for selecting from eligible direct service partnership proposals. The Transit Now Service Partnership Criteria Ordinance lists the following eight criteria in order of priority (View the complete ordinance):

1. The partnership service will improve access to, from, or between designated Urban and Manufacturing Centers as defined in Countywide Planning Policies LU-40 and LU-52;
2. The partnership service will improve service on the network of core service connections as defined in the King County Metro Transit Six-Year Transit Development Plan (see page 5 and table 4-2 of linked document);
3. The partnership service by a public agency will improve access and circulation within designated Urban and Manufacturing Centers as defined in Countywide Planning Policies LU-40 and LU-52 or will provide service consistent with King County Metro Transit Six-Year Transit Development Plan, Service Strategy S-13. A circulator or ride-free service partnership with a public agency also will provide service in a manner that supports enhancement of existing transit centers by providing frequent connections between a transit center and major destinations within the urban center;
4. The partnership service will improve other services that support the goals and objectives of the King County Metro Transit Six-Year Transit Development Plan;
5. The partner or partners will commit to continue the partnership for more than five years;
6. The partner or partners will agree to fund more than the minimum one-third share of the fully allocated service cost;
7. The partner or partners will commit to implementation of additional actions that are likely to increase ridership on the new services, such as:
   • conducting promotional activities;
   • providing incentives to employees and riders;
   • establishing limits on parking supply or price for single occupant vehicle parking within the area served by the new service;
   • implementing parking management to increase the attractiveness of transit and ridesharing;
   • taking other policy actions that support the new service; or
   • taking other actions that are likely to increase ridership on the new services.
8. Projected ridership gain in annual boardings over the term of the agreement.

Checklist of requirements and criteria

View a checklist of requirements and criteria (PDF, 21KB)

Agreement

• See Updates page for revised agreement template transmitted with the Service Partnership ordinance on Feb. 21, 2008.
  The following link goes to the draft template of a direct financial partnership agreement originally used for review: direct_template.pdf (PDF, 59KB).
• View a sample of an actual current direct financial partnership agreement: direct_sample_agreement.pdf (PDF, 103KB)

For more information

For more information about direct financial service partnerships, please contact David Hull, supervisor of Service Planning, at 206-263-4764 or david.hull@metrokc.gov.

How and when to apply

If your organization has an idea for a partnership that you believe meets the requirements, and if your organization will be ready to commit its intent to enter into a future agreement with King County, then:

1. Attend the (optional) pre-proposal meeting on June 21, 2007. The meeting will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the King Street Center, 201 S. Jackson Street in Seattle. To help us plan for space and materials, RSVP by June 19 to servicepartnerships@kingcounty.gov. You can use Metro’s online TripPlanner to find out how to get to the meeting by transit. If you are driving, pay parking is available in the basement of the King Street Center and on nearby streets. This meeting has already been held. For more information, see the updates page.
2. Metro requests that you send a letter of interest by July 3, 2007 to allow time for you to work with Metro on your proposal. We encourage you to include letters from other partners who would be part of the agreement (see links to instructions, below). See updates page for information about the letters received. If your organization is interested in a service partnership but has not yet sent a letter of interest, please send it as soon as possible.
3. Work with Metro staff members to refine your idea and determine its feasibility and costs.
4. Submit your proposal to Metro by October 1, 2007 according to the following revised schedule (also see links to instructions, below):
   • October 1, 2007 remains the deadline for final proposals for financial partnerships.
   • October 1, 2007 is now the deadline for preliminary, rather than final, speed and reliability partnership proposals. The required content of the preliminary proposal can be found on the Speed and reliability partnership proposal page.
   • October 31, 2007 is the deadline for Metro to provide technical information and analysis results to applicant cities about State-Route 99 South, Bel-Red, and West Seattle RapidRide corridors.
   • December 21, 2007 is the new deadline for final speed and reliability partnership proposals (details to come).
   For more details about the changes and schedule, please see the Revised schedule and process for speed and reliability partnerships (74KB PDF)
5. If your proposal is recommended, finalize the partnership agreement with Metro for transmittal to the Metropolitan King County Council. Metro will let you know the timing for signing an agreement prior to the start of services.

Application materials for direct financial service partnerships

• Letter of interest (requested by July 3, 2007)
• Partnership proposal (due Oct. 1, 2007)
• Checklist of requirements and criteria (PDF, 21KB)

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Last update: February 29, 2008