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For years, riders and bus drivers complained about their safety concerns on King County Metro buses. But now, in the aftermath of a bus driver stabbed to death on a Seattle route, a King County Council member is pretending to take Metro crime seriously.

The King County Council held a “special meeting” Monday to address transit safety concerns. It was organized by council member Claudia Balducci. The meeting’s panelists included union representatives, the appointed sheriff, and various leaders from Metro, South Transit and the county. But why now?

It might have something to do with Seattle bus driver Shawn Yim, who police say was stabbed to death by a passenger following a dispute over an open window. But Yim wasn’t the first person to be murdered on a King County Metro bus over the last several years. He was just the latest victim of the region’s soft-on-crime policies and a culture of permissiveness on local transit.

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Why is there interest in the King County Metro crime crisis now?

The King County Metro crime and safety meeting was motivated by Balducci using this alleged murder as either a vehicle to the King County executive’s office or to mitigate the threat this poses to her political future. She’s running to replace Dow Constantine as King County executive and she needs to give off the appearance she’s doing something to address concerns from riders and, more importantly politically, the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587.

Bus and light rail riders have been allegedly and stabbed, while drivers have repeatedly complained about being assaulted and spit on.聽Homeless drug addicts smoke fentanyl and meth on board, pass out across multiple seats or scream loudly at themselves. Transit in King County, and Seattle in particular, have been unpleasant for a while and people have complained.

What came of those complaints? Not much. In some cases, policies were instituted that made riders less safe. In other cases, the complaints were simply dismissed.

Fare enforcement was considered racist

King County Metro and Sound Transit stopped fare enforcement in 2020 as part of its commitment to Black Lives Matter and in of the county’s “declaration of racism as a public health crisis.” Both agencies argued fare enforcement was racist because black people were disproportionately ticketed for not paying fares, even though it was black riders who were disproportionately choosing not to pay fares.

Without fare enforcement, bad elements started using transit en masse. In particular, homeless people took control over mass transit and too many of them were dangerous. And because the changes occurred during the Black Lives Matter movement, law enforcement were pulled from buses.

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Drug concerns have been dismissed

After transit union officials complained about the rise of drug use impacting drivers and riders, under pressure, King County Metro and Sound Transit joined three transit agencies in funding a limited-scope study in 2023.

The University of Washington study measured drugs in the air and on the surfaces of transit in Washington and Oregon using just 11 buses and 19 train cars during evening routes. Reviewing just 78 air samples and 102 surface samples, researchers found meth in 98% of the surface samples and 100% of the air samples, and fentanyl in 46% of the surface and 25% of the air samples.

What came of the study? Concerns being dismissed, mostly. Rather than commit to having potentially dangerous fentanyl and meth users on buses be booted and arrested, King County Metro said it would be installing new filters.

Why the sudden interest in transit safety?

In Seattle and King County, concerns are only truly acknowledged when it’s politically untenable to ignore them. And acknowledging them doesn’t mean there will be any viable solutions presented.

“At today’s meeting, we heard a lot of important testimony from our transit operators and representatives, along with some important solutions. As a council, I am glad we listened, and now we need to take action to ensure not only that our transit operators and passengers are safe on and around transit, but also that they know that when there is an issue aboard a bus or in a bus shelter area, someone will respond quickly to that incident,” Balducci said.

Everything Balducci heard Monday has been said before. And nothing meaningful came of it. What actionable items came of this King County Metro crime and safety meeting? The same that have been previously proposed.

In a press release, Balducci offered a ton of ideas that have either been discussed for years or so vaguely defined that they don’t really mean anything. Neither increasing the number of transit police nor emphasis enforcement patrols are new. This has been raised many times over the years and nothing has come of it.

“Improving systems to support drivers when they are assaulted or attacked,” doesn’t really mean anything. How about we change the culture of lawlessness so they’re not attacked to begin with?

Safety as a political strategy; will King County Metro address the crime crisis?

Balducci has been called a “transit diehard,” yet she’s hardly been present on the big issues facing drivers and riders. In fact, she is partly responsible for the problems.

As a Sound Transit board member, she pushed policies to end fare enforcement over contrived equity concerns and a failed “fare ambassador” program. But聽苍辞飞听drivers and riders are to trust she’ll get anything done?

One might think that because she’s running for King County executive, Balducci now has an incentive to act. But she’s only incentivized to make promises that she’ll artfully frame as possible 辞苍濒测听if she is elected to the executive’s office. She has been in positions where she could have made these changes for years. And she has failed. One should consider her record before falling for this campaign strategy.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the聽podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on聽,听,听听补苍诲.