Committee on Modernization of Electric Transportation.

Citizen action group.

The Committee on Modernization of Electric Transportation (COMET) was incorporated on January 15,1963, with Charles K. Ittner, an engineer and community activist, as its president. The committee was originally formed to oppose a 1964 Seattle charter amendment which would approve the replacement of the existing electric trolley system with diesel on grounds that a diesel bus system would not be profitable. Despite COMET's efforts, however, the amendment passed and the prediction proved correct: Seattle Transit was threatened with bankruptcy by 1970. Throughout the next decade COMET initiated several ballot measures, often with the support of environmental groups who were concerned about the air pollution created by deisel exhaust. These efforts were mostly unsuccessful until 1979 when an entirely rehabilited electric trolley system was finally inaugurated.

COMET, Committee on Modernization of Electric Transportation, originated from the efforts of two previous committees: the Engineers' Task Force for Transit Evaluation of the Washington Society of Professional Engineers, Seattle Chapter, and the Sub-committee for Utilities of the Seattle Municipal League. COMET was incorporated on Jan. 15, 1963. Its members included engineer and community activist Charles K. Ittner, who belonged to both earlier committees and served as president of COMET.

In the early 1960s, Seattle had a thriving electric trolley transit system operated by the city's Transit Commission, a body composed of five members serving for six year-terms. In 1962 the Transit Commission announced its intention to purchase 100 diesel buses, ostensibly to serve the expanded service area to the north. When the transit system began removing both overhead lines and trolleys from service, the public objected, prompting a charter amendment vote set for Mar. 1964 to determine if diesel buses should be allowed to replace the trackless trolleys. COMET's role was to campaign for a restoration of the trolley routes. The original concern was based purely upon economics; although slightly more expensive to operate than diesel buses, trolleys are much cheaper to maintain. Based on the engineering expertise of its members, COMET predicted that Seattle Transit would change from a profitable endeavor to a money-loser with the switch to diesel buses. After the charter amendment failed, the group's focus expanded to include concerns about air pollution due to diesel exhaust.

COMET's predictions had proved correct; by 1970, Seattle Transit had lost so much money that it was threatened with bankruptcy. The citizens were asked to vote upon a bond issue proposal, known as Forward Thrust: METRO, to provide $440 million to fund an enlarged bus system until a rail network could be assembled. This proposal was known as Forward Thrust. When this measure failed, COMET distributed petitions for a charter amendment to transfer the transit system to Seattle City Light for re-electrification. The Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (METRO) counter-proposed by urging that the Seattle Transit System be incorporated into a Metropolitan Transit Plan that would operate throughout the county. In an election held Sept. 19, 1972, the METRO measure passed.

Although the COMET ballot measure failed, the organization kept the issue of electric trolleys in the public eye and worked with environmentalists to pressure METRO to re-establish trolley routes. On Sept. 14, 1979, a rehabilitated electric trolley coach system was inaugurated. In a dedication speech, Seattle City Council member George E. Benson honored Ittner and the other members of COMET for achieving this goal.