By JOSH SUMAN

Reporter Newspapers

It took a few more hours than expected, but the King County Council passed a two-year, $20 car-tab fee Monday to avoid a drastic reduction in King County Metro bus service.

The vote came after a nearly four-hour recess of the council at which point those in opposition hammered away at councilmembers Kathy Lambert and Jane Hague, who last week reached an agreement with County Executive Dow Constantine to support the plan. After a weekend of heavy constituent feedback, Hague and Lambert appeared to be on the fence, but in the end they stuck to the deal. The fee passed by a 7-2 vote.

As part of the plan, Metro Transit would phase out its free downtown Seattle service and add buses to routes affected by highway tolling as a way to make a proposed $20 car-tab fee more palatable.

“We have an agreement that creates value for car owners who pay the modest fee in the form of both clearer roads and access to transit,” Constantine said last week. “In contrast to the divisiveness in the other Washington, we’ve worked together to find a package that responsibly addresses everyone’s needs.”

The plan, which county councilmembers Hague and Lambert said has been dramatically revised from an original version, also involves giving eight free bus tickets ($24 value) to those subject to the $20 fee increase and providing more sharply discounted tickets to human services and homeless programs. Some of that increase will come from an opt-out program for those who do not wish to receive the eight free tickets. Nearly 150 human services agencies would receive the tickets and distribute them to those in need.

The plan represents a compromise that will save King County from a 17 percent cut in Metro service, which is the equivalent of cutting all weekend transit service or all weekday rush-hour bus service for commuters. Constantine and others cited an increase in Metro ridership and a dependancy on Metro for employers and employees alike as reasons making those cuts was not a desirable option.

Josh Suman can be reached at 425-453-5045.