The Municipal League of King County says Metro bus riders are frustrated with current service.

"Riders are frustrated because of overcrowded buses and poor schedule performance," said Municipal League Chair Brad Meacham. "Especially, in this economy, policymakers need to rethink Metro in order to deliver the best possible service."

The review, conducted under the auspices of the Municipal League Foundation, made findings and recommendations in four areas:

- Performance measurement and reporting needs to be strengthened through systematic published standards and greater transparency;

- Policymakers and the public need to begin a dialog about the current 40-40-20 service allocation policy. New service hours should be based on ridership demand and growth management goals, not geographic subareas;

- The 2007-2016 Strategic Plan for Public Transportation needs clearer priorities for service development, greater focus on management and monitoring, and strengthened financial policies;

- Public information on transit trends, agency meetings, and budgets needs greater clarity and accessibility.

A copy of the full report can be found at www.munileague.org.