I want to know, do you want us to talk about ferries more? There has been a lot of drama surrounding ferries, we have not covered it because I think none of us here know much about it. If you want to learn more about ferries, let us know in the comments. If you would like to write for STB on ferries, we would be interested.
I think we cover Light Rail and the politics surrounding rail and transit in general fairly well. I also think Martin does a great job covering rapid ride and metro service. Nick covers streetcars well, and I think we are well-rounded on transit outside of ferries. If there’s anything you’d like to hear more (or less) about, let us know.
I think transit and development go together, so it’d be nice to read about transit development.
My blog seems to cover heavily on ferries, commuter rail, light-rail, bus and streetcar news and construction updates but not so much on the financial and political end of things (unless you include my study on the Snohomish and my recent involvement with the Seattle2PT group)
I think each blog more or less caters to it’s specialty.
Seattle Transit seems to cover buses and light rail along with bills in our government very well while.
Carless in Seattle seems to handle a lot of the bills, Viaduct, 520, Eastside Commuter Rail, and some light-rail.
Orphan Road is kinda a mix of everything not catering to just one specific topic which is good. Their editorials are spot on and fun to read but serious at the same time.
Bus Chick is well, just busing around Seattle, mainly on a 48 =D
Seattlest, The Stranger Slog, Horse’s Ass, and the rest out there tend to add things here and there but nothing critical or detailed like the above blogs.
I would love to see more on the financial scale for WSF, or is it (Washington State Department of Transportation, Ferries Division, WSDTFD)
Either way, your doing a great job!
I don’t really care about the ferries that much. I’d like to see more photos.
I’m not that interested in ferries either… but when discussing (or making policy on) transit in the puget sound region you cannot neglect the ferries. Unfortunately that is what has been happening which is why our ferries system is in such sad shape right now. So even though I’m not that interested, I think you should them the attention they deserve… if I knew more about them I’d probably be more interested!
Personally, I think we ought to keep talking about ferries. They have the coolness factor, they are used for transit purposes to and from Seattle, and they are part of our multi-modal system and quite unique to Seattle. It would be unjust to abandon ferry talk. Perhaps we could find a daily rider who would like to blog about ferries?
Some recent posts about ferries kinda put my back up (I live west of Puget Sound) and, wondering why, I found I knew very little about regional transit or ferries.
I can say there is progressive thinking over here about regional transit. I can get a dial-a-ride ten miles out in the woods, take a bus from Belfair across the county line to Bremerton, where the ferry terminal is also the transit terminal.
When the ferry riders hit Seattle, though, the love stops. You can walk a few blocks to First and maybe get a bus to the bus you want to take, or you can just walk where you want to go, which will be quicker for anyplace within a mile. (And they complain about slow trolleys!)
So I’ve started downloading pdfs to see what I can learn about the big picture. I’ve been riding the ferries for over 50 years so some of the details I know already.
One of the big misconceptions is that a lot of Westsounders want or need more car ferries. I’ve been here ten years now and never heard anyone say they wanted or needed more car ferries.
I suppose the surest rhumb line as to whether ferries make sense would be what they do in other countries. In any case, many hands make light work, so I hope STB will continue to post on ferries. As William Jennings Bryan said, “God does not require that we succeed, but He does require that we try.”
I agree, the ferry connections suck in Seattle now that the streetcar isn’t there.
didn’t know where to leave this…
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9875591-54.html?tag=more
As nebulous as it is I’d be interested in more thoughts of planning multi-modal commutes.
I’ve picked up bike riding and bussing bypassing my local route the 36 to get to the 545 which gets me to work. From a scheduling perspective this is a bit tougher when I start adding in side trips such as going to church in Wedgewood for an evening meeting. I can of course use the Trip Planner, but it assumes I’m walking for transfers, and throws out some good options. For example from work to church Trip Planner wanted me to take three buses with two transfers, that got me to my destination at 6:40 PM or so. But after fiddling with maps and doing some old fashioned bus planning I took the 545 to the Montlake station, then rode my bike toward University Village and picked up a 65, getting there at 6:10. I would’ve been SOL trying to plan this if I didn’t have my preexisting knowledge of the bus system in both of the relevant areas.
What I’m amazed at is that around here there doesn’t seem to be a comprehensive system map. A serious street level map showing all of the routes. I know there is a map showing the general routes, but it doesn’t get down to street level, it leaves out all sorts of details.
Okay, so that was a bit of a rant.. But I’d also like to hear interesting stories about people using asymmetrical commuting strategies, e.g. carpool to work and take the bus back.
I keep looking for an option to eliminate my Thursday driving because I cannot make it from work to my evening commitment in time on the bus. I’d be more than happy to pay someone I was carpooling with, and I’ve kicked around taking a cab, but it doesn’t make financial sense. (I’m cheap, what do you want?)
So, perhaps what I’m looking for is some more creative ways of using transit? I had a coworker suggest using the bus to study when she learned that the 545 has wifi. (Where I’m at now…)