Public Transit and the Fallout of Prop 1

I began this post shortly after the election but just now have found the time to complete it.
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I have mixed emotions about the failure of Prop1 the "Roads and Transit" measure. On many accounts it was not a perfect solution for the region. But on the other hand, inaction in this case I believe is an even more imperfect solution.


My support for Prop 1 materialized in September when something happened at, of all places, the Microsoft company meeting. It was at that meeting where my employer announced that the company was going to begin providing bus service from several areas around Puget Sound for employees. Now this in itself isn't that earth shattering, but what struck me was the reaction from the crowd. We had been sitting in Safeco Field for the better part of a day, listening to speeches, watching demos, and participating as normal in the "pep-rally" that makes up the company meeting. Nothing in my 7 years of attending company meetings has ever garnered the reaction that this announcement did. Cheers, applause, excitement, they could all hardly be contained. And this reaction came from a group of people that are tasked with solving problems that will literally change the world, yet buses provided by the company quickly became the "talk" around campus. I found this reaction to be fascinating and started me thinking and asking around about why the reaction was so dramatic and positive, even from people who wouldn't even be using the service.


I will summarize my analysis as the fact that most folks here at the company want something done and have the realization that no solution will ever be perfect (perhaps this is a problem with the mindset of us Microsoft folks when discussing our products, but that is another story). And ironically (to me at least), it illustrated a lack of faith and trust in the government establishment to be effective in its ability to deliver. (Ironic in the sense that people would trust Microsoft, the software company, to provide a higher quality transport system than the local government) Possibly this is an indication that we should at least consider some sort of privatized system.


Ultimately all of this led me to believe that Prop 1 was necessary for the region. And for all of it's faults, at least it was a plan to DO something. But now that the fate of the measure has been determined, we need to look at the next opportunity to solve our regions problems. And I will save that discussion for another time.