Metro orders greener buses.

Anybody know if these Mercedes are Green-Diesel with a diesel particle filter (DPF)?

The power plant on the Bredas isn’t the problem, it’s the brakes, the suspension, the electronics (doors opening and closing for no apparent reason, etc.), and the general profile of the monstrosity.

If you wanted to bring back the MAN artics, age and all, to replace the Bredas, I doubt you’d hear any squealing from drivers on that one.

Even on days when there isn’t any rain, there seems to be moisture seeping from the unusually early formed cracks on the concrete…

I have a pass so I’ll just tap in at the station, get on the first available mode of travel and tap off regardless… But that’s a lot of extra thought than a two station trip should require, not to mention the folks who are buying tickets or using an E-purse for the same trip.

International Station is NOT the place to transfer to a bus…its windy, wet and cold on the platforms compared to the deeper tunnel stations.

As an odd-ball rider (no set route) I really like the ORCA card — no fumbling with money, no holding a transfer (which pocket did I stuff it in?) and I don’t worry about what the fare is — just use the card. Metro to Link to the Airport and ST bust to Tacoma — no big deal, proper fare deducted by the system. Sounder to Ballard — again no big deal. Works great and I just sail by the lines at the TVMs (but don’t get me wrong — I like seeing those lines because they will all be riders on LINK).

The lack of a machine on the outbound Westlake platform is a problem that must be corrected. No where in the any information does Link or Metro say “to transfer to a tunnel bus you must do so at the International Station” or risk missing your bus by going to the mezzanine level. If a person is physically challenged the time to do so is increased by the time to wait for the elevator, go up a level, swipe/tap/tip/hold the card on a reader and then go back down. While not exactly a violation of ADA rules its a gross inconvenience and incredibly shortsighted planning on the part of Metro and Sound Transit that could be fixed with the installation of a single reader.

The way ORCA works, I’m charged the full $2.25 when I tap at Beacon Hill. If I tap upon arrival at Westlake (and/or on a bus to transfer from Westlake) I’m effectively refunded $.75 because my trip is only $1.75. If I don’t tap anywhere demonstrating the length of my trip, I’m charged the full $2.25. If I walk upstairs to find a reader, I’ll miss at least one bus–and it’s annoying.

Why can’t the ORCA reader on the bus in the tunnel simply accept my payment? It doesn’t hurt Metro to allow the thing to read cards in the ride-free zone. Better yet, why not add readers at Convention Place–and readers at tunnel level on both sides of Westlake?

There is one machine at Westlake that never works, but then I walk over to the other one and it works fine. So I don’t see that as an ORCA problem, but as a “one particular machine has an issue” problem.

I mostly use it on Link, though. I have used it on the bus 3 times so far and it worked fine every time.

I first set up my card and put money in the e-purse online, and though I have auto-load, I usually just refill it at the ticket machines, which has worked perfectly. (There is a limit to how many times you can use auto-load in a single month, unfortunately, or I’d never refill it at all, just use auto-load all the time. I tend to keep small amounts on it because I don’t ride every day — I don’t have a normal daily commute, and work at home most days. I’ve been riding about 3 days a week.)

As for the number passengers in the ride-free area and fare evasion those are problems shared with non-trolley bus routes. I suppose Metro could eliminate the routes entirely, but the ETB routes have some of the highest ridership in the system. I’d think it would be better to address the costs of the ride-free area and crack down on fare evasion.

The “Out of Service” error (at least on the buses) remains an unresolvable, as it requires a complete reboot of all onboard electronic systems – which means leaving the bus and disconnecting the battery from the outside disconnect switch (no internal “reset” button).