Even as a rare bus rider, I was pleased to see King County put the brakes on the second round of cuts to Metro bus service in February. We already had plenty of cuts last month.

Following the defeat of Proposition 1 in April of this year, the County Executive had asked the County Council to approve legislation that would reduce Metro bus service by 550,000 hours between September 2014 and September 2015.

Part of those cuts came on September 27, and they included some big ones to Valley bus systems. Route 208, North Bend to Issaquah via Snoqualmie, was altered—peak trips were added, but frequency was reduced from 60 to 120 minutes. Route 209, a route from North Bend to Issaquah, was eliminated. So was Route 215, a route from North Bend to Seattle via Issaquah.

According to Metro, these are low-performing peak routes. But they matter to the locals who depend on them. Halving frequency can be hard to swallow when you rely on this bus to get to work, vital appointments or just live your life. The flip side of this, though, is that it’s hard to justify tax dollars going to empty buses.

But maybe Valley buses shouldn’t be judged by the same standard as a Seattle bus. In September, Snoqualmie’s city council approved a resolution asking for a change in how Metro calculates productivity of its routes. The city’s view is that Metro’s current method is unfair for cities outside the metro area, so locals get an unfair level of cuts. The message has been sent; now, we’ll see whether Metro reacts.

Meanwhile, the discussion on cuts continues at the county level, but any future changes will wait until completion of the county’s 2015-2016 budget.

Buses obviously depend on a lot of factors, but riders are a big one. Under Metro’s methodology, we get what we get; at least we’ve still got some buses running on Valley streets.

But I can’t help but wonder if we’re at equilibrium: The right level of service for the riders we do have.

It’s important to note that Metro partners with the local shuttle system. Shuttles are great, but the world doesn’t end at Fall City. We need working connections to the urban area.

Local bus riders can augment the city’s message to Metro, even as the county considers next steps. Connect with the agency at http://info.kingcounty.gov/about/contact/default.aspx, or with your county councilwoman, Kathy Lambert (http://www.kingcounty.gov/Lambert.aspx), and be clear about what would work best for you as a Valley transit user.

Following Snoqualmie’s lead, if we’re going to get a better bus system, we had better ask for it.