Public transit needs accountability

Public transportation features prominently in city, county and regional plans.

The Legislature has been very accommodating and has enabled five different types of transit authorities, each with dedicated revenue sources (also known as taxes). The most common is a Public Transportation Benefit Area.

These agencies are governed by boards usually comprised of nine city and county council members appointed though a caucus process. Twenty-two such agencies have been formed and their taxing districts encompass more than three and half million Washington residents who pay a total of nearly $900 milli...