Comments on: Metro Cuts Update

By: 20/40/40 Under Fire - Seattle Transit Blog

20/40/40 Under Fire - Seattle Transit Blog — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:10:06 +0000

[...] asymmetry, combined with the strong likelihood of some service cuts, has given new energy to the 20/40/40 opponents. Last week, the P-I reported that King County [...]

By: Mathew"RennDawg"Renner

Mathew"RennDawg"Renner — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:46:36 +0000

If I have the same job 10 years from now something will be wrong. I am currently going to school to become a teacher. I want to start an academy attached to my church.

By: Chris Stefan

Chris Stefan — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:54:34 +0000

Oh and you will have a more reliable trip to Seattle and more frequent service which may save you some time as well.

By: Chris Stefan

Chris Stefan — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:53:11 +0000

Well, I hope with RapidRide on 99 South of the S 154th station your commute ends up being at least a wash.

The good news is assuming you live and work in the same places in 10 years you will eventually have a one seat ride on Link.

By: Mathew"RennDawg"Renner

Mathew"RennDawg"Renner — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 06:05:05 +0000

I do not know if my commute will be shorter with light rail. I will have to catch a bus to the airport. Then wait for the rail to show. With the 194 I go from the airport to Sodo Busway then downtown then 8th and olive where I get off. With the light rail I will have to go through other areas of Seattle before we hit the sodo, downtown areas. Usually the 194 I take is not late. It was today.

By: Chris Stefan

Chris Stefan — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:39:17 +0000

I don’t know the specifics of your commute, but with Link you’ll probably have more frequent service evenings/weekends than with the 174/194. Link will likely be somewhat more reliable as well. One issue I often have with the evening routes is buses tend to show up anywhere from 10 minutes early to 30 minutes late. The 174/194 isn’t as bad as some routes but it isn’t great either.

By: Metro Tax Update - Seattle Transit Blog

Metro Tax Update - Seattle Transit Blog — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:35:24 +0000

[...] County expects that this would generate approximately $25m in revenue, which would plug about a third of the hole in [...]

By: Mathew"RennDawg"Renner

Mathew"RennDawg"Renner — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:38:06 +0000

As someone who works graveyard I know what wonk is talking about. I had to turn down graveyard jobs because the buses did not run there that late. Not complaining just making a statement of reality. I did for a while have a job on the eastside, in Bellevue. I worked from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M. Mondays to Wednesdays and from 6 P.M. to Midnight on Saturdays. No buses ran from Bellevue to Des Moines. I had to catch a bus from Bellevue to Seattle than catch a 174 home. I had to make due with what was available. My point, sometimes you can’t get what you want. By all means fight for it. I do not want my 194 route to go. I may not have a choice. It looks like I may have to take light rail and have a longer commute. Less free time. If I lose the fight (and I’m pretty sure I will) I will have to do what in nessassary to get to work.

By: CriticalWonk

CriticalWonk — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:44:25 +0000

In consideration of emmisions reductions, maybe the low ridership routes/times need to go. But, maybe increasing van pools?

http://noisetank.com/hugeasscity/2009/03/22/your-co2-emissions-per-mile-may-vary/

In the interest of economic fairness, it’s kind of difficult to take a graveyard shift job in a place with no transit when you do not have a car…

On the other hand, it was remarked that the zoning that allows office parks on cheap land near the urban boundary might need to be rethought.

By: Transit Voter

Transit Voter — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:26:02 +0000

Bottom line, however, is that the fairest way to cut service, if there are truly no alternatives to cutting service, is to cut trips with the fewest riders (or fewest rider miles) per bus hour. This is the only way to minimize the pain, and obviously needs to be done outside any arbitrary formula (e.g. 20/40/40)

By: Bernie

Bernie — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 23:30:10 +0000

I had a similar thought when there was discussion about lack of interchange between BART and local service. A unified regional plan has a lot going for it and I’m not sure just yet I’d advocate for tossing it out but I was thinking that in many ways the problems, especially fare structures would be better served if each area had it’s own service. This would also give city planners some incentive to contain employment centers and high density residential to those corridors that are most efficiently served. It does make the system a little less “friendly” but real commuters will adapt pretty quickly. If it results in better overall coverage I think visitors would rather have that than a unified fare card although that could still be offered via some (Eurail type pass, show airline or hotel reservations to qualify).

By: CriticalWonk

CriticalWonk — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 23:13:54 +0000

‘Developing’ areas? Shouldn’t there be NO MORE developing areas?

Here is a thought. Make incorporated municipalities run small buses inside their borders (with a service plan for unincorporated neighbors) and have only Sound Transit BRT and light rail otherwise. Set a standard for local service. The locals may leave their boundaries only to go to the nearest BRT center. Go ahead and build ‘gasp’ parking garages at the BRT and light rail stations. Build them so they can be repurposed when we get our act together. Realistically there will be drivers. But, focus on getting the long commutes off the road as ST is trying to do now. Everyone I know who has tried it, loves the BRT service.

Means some shifting around of dollars. It gives the locals the ability to prioritize their local trips however their citizens want it. Don’t have the money to supply that infrastructure? Then don’t build. It focuses the regional effort on intercity trips and keeps the local tax dollars local so we can see what we are really willing to pay for.

By: Deb Eddy

Deb Eddy — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 23:02:22 +0000

Thank you so much for posting this material. The graphic of competing equities is great. The system is largely designed to support commuters/jobs, which somewhat explains some of the empty buses on the Eastside. The land use patterns are responsible for a lot of that empty space on buses, too, for all the reasons that you guys bring up – time and again.

Complicated stuff, but I really appreciate the posting of the slides.

By: Oran

Oran — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:37:06 +0000

The 236 and 238, routes which pass near my house are empty most of the time even when they are using the short 30′ buses. The 255 on the other hand, as one of the trunk routes on the upper Eastside, does get decent ridership during midday and evenings but it’s nothing compared to central Seattle.

By: 47hasbegun

47hasbegun — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:08:54 +0000

And in many cases, no buses because it’s off-peak.

By: Ben Schiendelman

Ben Schiendelman — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:05:49 +0000

Leave work at 2pm, or at 10pm, you’ll see very light ridership.

By: Ben Schiendelman

Ben Schiendelman — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:51:55 +0000

It’s actually very true. During commute times, sure, the buses are full, but in the city they’re full all day. Because you send a bus out for a 300 or 400 mile route, it goes back and forth several times, and those ridership spikes are seriously diluted by dead times.

By: Chris Stefan

Chris Stefan — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:41:08 +0000

I think it largely depends on the route and the time of day. Some routes just don’t have much in the way of riders per service hour even during peak periods.

Also consider that many high-ridership routes are at or near crush loads outside peak hours (mid-day, evening, weekends).

By: Brian Bundridge

Brian Bundridge — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:20:58 +0000

Heh, yeah, I’d like to see an empty, non-standing bus on the Eastside =)

But good stuff, Martin! This should be pretty interesting.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:20:15 +0000

Empty buses on the east side? gave me & my bus riding coworkers a good laugh. Thanks :)