The King County Council approved the car-tab fee by a 7-2 vote on Monday. It was the right thing to do.

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Call us naive or call us wishy-washy, but we’ve changed our position on a $20 car-tab fee to bail out Metro Transit. The King County Council should vote today to put the fee into effect.

We know we recently editorialized that the public should be allowed to vote on the issue. So what caused our change of heart?

Call it moral clarity on the part of the council majority.

The original deal was merely a bail-out of Metro Transit. The car-tab fee would mean that Metro Transit wouldn’t have to pare back or eliminate a number of transit routes to balance its budget. But that was about it. Not enough of a reason, we argued, to not let voters make the ultimate decision.

The new plan is different – and better. Metro will now phase out one giveaway while helping start another. Let us explain.

For years, Metro has offered a ride-free zone in downtown Seattle. The idea was to spur retail development in the downtown core. We’ve always wondered about the wisdom of that. Does Seattle really have a problem with this?

Also, according to Metro studies, about half of all riders traveling in the ride-free zone carry a pre-paid bus pass. Another 18 percent have paid for their trip and are making transfers in the zone. About one-third are making trips as unpaid riders. Given that, why make it free?

Another part of the new Metro plan will be to give everyone who has to pay the $20 car tab eight bus tickets – worth $24. OK, so not everyone will want or need bus tickets. But here’s the best part: they can opt out of getting the tickets and let social service agencies get them instead. That WILL provide needed transportation to the poor, who do rely on Metro. We find that good deed particularly worthwhile.

We also want to congratulate county councilmembers Jane Hague and Kathy Lambert, both of whom represent parts of Bellevue, for making this a reality. Both balked at the earlier car-tab attempt, but were instrumental in coming up with this vastly improved proposal.

The County Council now has the votes to put these changes into place. It should do so at its next regular meeting today.

– Craig Groshart, Bellevue Reporter