Not quite sure why I am bothering to rant about the crowded state of Seattle Metro, but it does make me feel better. Tthe buses in the poorer sections of town are consistantly late and more crowded. They don't run as often as other routes in more affluent sections of town. Their routes are also longer geographically so they get more crowded, and stay that way.
Why is that? Complaints of over crowded buses and other issues go unheard and unresponded to by Metro. Could it be because the people who ride them are not the rich residents of Mercer Island, but the construction workers try to get to work by 6am.
My early bus starts its day in Federal way and ends in downtown Seattle. it is a local not, not an express, and no expresses are available on this route. This means it is full consistantly starting at 5am. I would get up even earlier to take an express if it were available.
If all this were not bad enough, if the bus is running too late, it skips stops. Not picking up the people waiting for it. It will stop if someone requests one, but not otherwise. Unlike many of my fellow riders, I have the option to drive, but choose not to. Buses skipping stops makes everyone late and miss connections.
My suggestion call Metro and complain loudly and with great regularity. or make comments to an open forum. They might listen
3 comments:
I think it's unlikely that Metro will improve without both a voter mandate and more money. In the meantime I do what I can to game the system -- often that means finding ways to outsmart the stupid web-based trip planner to find alternate and optimized routes.
If you have the option of driving partway, there's a Park & Ride lot at Kent-Desmoines Rd. that has Express buses north. For that matter, you might usefully be able to bus or drive to Kent or Auburn station to catch the train downtown. I only comparatively recently started taking the train and I love it to pieces.
Hmm. For that matter, if you're riding the 174, you could get off at Kent-Des Moines Rd., walk three or four blocks East, and catch an express from the Park & Ride.
If all this were not bad enough, if the bus is running too late, it skips stops. Not picking up the people waiting for it. It will stop if someone requests one, but not otherwise. Unlike many of my fellow riders, I have the option to drive, but choose not to. Buses skipping stops makes everyone late and miss connections.
With my experience living on Capitol Hill and riding the 10 (which runs past Safeco Field and thus gets nightmarishly late sometimes), or before that living up Aurora and commuting on the 358, usually if they blow past a stop where there are people waiting, it's because they are so late that there is another bus of the same number right behind them, generally much less crowded.
You'll have a better time on the bus if you pay attention to why things are they way they are instead of assuming it's due to laziness or malice.
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