Increased Bus Intensity

The Women's Commission is working incredibly quickly to make the case that the proposed bus cuts will disproportionately impact low-income and homeless women's access to health care. They sent off a letter to the King County Council yesterday citing the information gathered from interviews with women at TC3 and Angeline's and it was featured in Publicola, Seattle's online news source this morning.I can't help but read the comments that people post below- feel free to peruse at your leisure despite this warning that some suggest 'typical comment obnoxiousness.'

What the situation boils down to is that the council members have a vote on their hands to enact a temporary $20 vehicle license fee to cover the additional budget lapses for the bus system. They need six votes to pass the fee and it sounds like citizens who rely on public transportation have been working very hard over the last few weeks to make their concerns known about the reduction in bus service.

Here's a bit more about the situation:
An article in The Stranger
A clip on chanel 5

In the end, I firmly believe that limiting access to health care services will only make more women avoid them. And it's low income women who don't have the choice or the ability to seek out other service providers closer to home; I surely wouldn't make an appointment that would take two hours and three bus transfers to get to. And if this means women are avoiding preventative care, I can't help but worry that much more serious health care issues that might have been avoidable will arise down the road, damaging women's health and costing the city far more.