I read Marc Calhoun's March 14 column protesting wrap advertising on Metro Transit buses with great interest.

Mark is not alone in his annoyance over the vinyl wrap ads that cover bus windows, darken the interior of buses on already dreary winter days and at night, and can turn the view from the bus into one big blur.

However, Mark need not cause a scene on the bus or stage a raid on the Metro bus barn to get rid of advertising wraps. Last November, as part of the 2007 budget process that I chaired, the King County Council voted unanimously to ban further advertising contracts for bus wrap advertising. As contracts expire over this year, you'll see fewer and fewer wrapped Metro buses (Sound Transit and Pierce Transit still allow bus wraps). By early next year they'll be gone.

The credit for this change belongs to those bus riders whose letters, e-mails, and phone calls protesting the use of bus wrap advertising were listened to and heeded by their elected officials.

Dow Constantine

King County Councilmember