Balducci issues statement on next steps following tragic killing of Metro bus driver

December 19, 2024

King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci issued the following statement Thursday regarding next steps that the King County Council will take in the wake the fatal stabbing of a Metro bus driver early Wednesday morning:

“I was deeply moved to join the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) 587 yesterday to remember King County Metro Transit Operator Shawn Yim, extend our condolences to his loved ones including the Metro family, and commit ourselves – with renewed energy and purpose – to improving transit safety.

“Everyone—both our operators and riders—needs and deserves to be safe on our buses. We have a responsibility to the public and I am personally committed to doing everything in my power to make transit safe and welcoming for everyone.

“After listening carefully to our transit operators, I am committed to using all available tools to implement what we heard from ATU, as well as additional strategies, including:

• Adding safety features to our coaches, like dividers that provide protection closer to that on light rail trains
• Adding additional police and security presence immediately and in the long term
• Putting into action the recommendations that come out of my recently adopted budget request for Metro to report on performance targets for security incidents, strategies, and projected timelines to meet those targets, and resources needed to do so
• Working closely with labor representatives on immediate and longer-term actions, including (1) joining a regional task force on transit service and (2) adding a labor representative to King County’s Transportation Benefit District board as a nonvoting member so the voices and needs of our workforce are central in our planning and decision making
• Identifying additional prevention, law enforcement, and criminal justice response strategies to deploy in the community at large that will in turn make it safer for riders both at bus stops and on transit

“To ensure we are making progress on these and other public safety efforts immediately, I will be convening a special meeting of the King County Council’s Committee of the Whole on January 13 for a public report on findings and progress. We can and must do more to make our transit safe now.”