Comments on: Metro’s February Service Change Now Online

By: Lloyd

Lloyd — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:29:27 +0000

I liked those little coaches – often rode them on the 55 shuttle at night.

By: Metro Service Change Retires Route 194 - Seattle Transit Blog

Metro Service Change Retires Route 194 - Seattle Transit Blog — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:24:59 +0000

[...] Service Change Retires Route 194 by John Jensen Today marks the first day of Metro’s service change which, among other changes, has ended route 194. We should expect a uptick in light rail ridership [...]

By: d.p.

d.p. — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:51:37 +0000

“Or just avoiding going anywhere whatsoever.”

I’m SO glad I don’t live on Queen Anne anymore. Sunday evenings are going hourly on the 2, 13, 3/4, AND 17. It would literally NEVER be worth leaving my apartment on a Sunday, lest I get stuck returning in the nightmare-schedule hours.

Metro should be ASHAMED to be doing this just after raising their fares into most-expensive-system-in-the-country territory.

By: Brent

Brent — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:46:03 +0000

Since Zach didn’t get his question answered, I’ll do so, belatedly. The 560 will serve Airport Station, both ways.

Now, the travel time between the station and the busstop below the station is at least a couple minutes. You can wait down at the busstop, then head upstairs when you see a train coming. I am hoping an elevator down to the bus stop on the west side of the highway will be added in the near future, but it might not be cheap. A shelter would be much appreciated.

Anyway, thanks to Metro and ST for getting all the airport bus routes to serve the station.

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:20:57 +0000

Will there ever be a day when a resident of WSea can ride the bus directly to other parts of the city (such as SLU or U dist) without having to go downtown and transfer up to 3 times? I think we have this type of service to Ballard via Interbay and Capitol Hill(?) However, I would chance a greater number of people work in SLU/Udist, or will when Amazon moves. I certainly would utilize the bus much more often if it could efficiently be used to reach many parts of town.

By: Paul D

Paul D — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:20:34 +0000

Absolutely! I’m excited about the streetcar, whichever route they choose.

By: Casey

Casey — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:26:46 +0000

The 355 and the 197 never are connected. That would make a long route. They might be on the same run or tripper though. It will happen more often this shakeup. I think more than a few coaches finishing rt 5′s at Northgate will go do a 197 for the last trip. And one of the one’s I picked for Friday will finish a route 5 at Shoreline, then go do a 197. And yes there is a run that does two S/B 197′s then a 355, 5 and 55, but they aren’t connected….just on the same run together.

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:14:24 +0000

Also, take a look at the timetable for the 600. I used it Friday for the first time and it is truely amazing. Tukwila doesn’t really compare to Federal Way, but look at those travel times. 20 minutes later we’re in downtown. You can really fly on I-5.

So yeah, maybe they do slightly duplicate some service, but not the same type of service.

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:09:48 +0000

The 577 is not a duplication of 574 + Link, here’s why:

Link from Westlake to SeaTac: 36 minutes.
574 SeaTac to FWTC: 20 minutes.
Total time: 56 minutes assuming there is no wait for the transfer.

577 from 2nd & Pike to FWTC: 36 to 45 minutes, depending on the time of day.

Second, the 577 is in no way a continuance of the 590s.

Third, they do not go past SAS or TIBS. By the logic you’re using, they also go by Renton TC and Eastgate P&R, so they might as well pick people up there.

Fourth: Scheduled travel time between KDM freeway station and SeaTac, Bay 2 is 16 minutes. Google Maps says 12 minutes. It only takes 3 minutes to get from KDM to 188th/Orillia. The rest of the time you’re spending on 188th and International Blvd and then the 170th ramp and airport expressway. The ramp and expressway take only a couple of minutes.
Actually, let me tackle this a different way. Travel time from the 188th exit to SAS Kiss & Ride is 6 minutes. People use the stops on 188th and Int’l Blvd, so let’s say that it takes about 8 minutes to get there. Had the bus not taken that exit, 6 minutes later it’d be mid-Boeing Field, and 8 minutes later it’d be at Swift/Alboro.

The 194 was already a combo route. It got people between Federal Way and Downtown, and it got people from Federal Way to the airport, and it got people between Downtown and the airport. The latter two have been replaced with the 574 and Link, respectively. So now you need to serve people between Federal Way and Downtown. The 577 and 578 do that. And they do it well. Also, look at Sound Transit’s reports–the 577 is one of the best performing routes revenue-wise. This is all commuter service, so I don’t think weekend service can compete. And one last thing–the 577 didn’t get expanded on weekdays, it just added weekend service. And the 578 is also providing some replacement service for portions of the 565 and 582.

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 07:45:57 +0000

+1 on the 355.

Nor do I know why the 355 sometimes get connected to the 197, or why the 197 got moved back to Central from South. Connect it with the 181 and then you’re only running empty from FWTC to South.

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 07:39:46 +0000

180 doesn’t go to Federal Way though.

By: Robert Whitbeck

Robert Whitbeck — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:56:01 +0000

Thanks, probably worth the wait

By: Oran Viriyincy

Oran Viriyincy — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:29:19 +0000

That’s why I take the 255 in to Seattle and do everything there. Instead of trying to rely on my local buses 236 & 238, which are slow milk runs, runs every 30(M-F)-60 minutes (weekends) , and stop running after 8 on weekdays and after 6 on weekends.

Or I walk 15 minutes to the nearest Safeway, library, bank.

By: Lloyd

Lloyd — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:21:13 +0000

In 2022?

By: Carl

Carl — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 15:11:36 +0000

There are lots of reasons why that is a bad idea. It would add as much as five minutes to the bus ride. The bus would have to make 3 left turns. There is a transit lane on the right side of Int’t Blvd there. The bus would have to get out of the transit lane, across several lanes of traffic to turn left. Better solution is to provide stairs to the Link station.

By: Crazy Man

Crazy Man — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 10:29:34 +0000

See, there’s zero reason to operate those buses to Seattle while the Sounder is running…they should all terminate in Kent.

However…until we get more Sounder trains, there is every reason to shift the schedule of at least one of them, so that Express service from Kent to Seattle continues after 8:30am.

It should cost much less to reduce the 4 different express bus services to zero for rush hour, and keep one operating during some of off-peak (I would have it run at least every 30 minutes, 8:30am to 3:30pm (when Sounder resumes) and then 7pm to 10pm.

It would simply go from Kent to Seattle directly on I-5.

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 06:42:04 +0000

That’s more like walking frequency! Or just avoiding going anywhere whatsoever.

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 06:34:48 +0000

What if I want to buy one and live in it? I saw an old articulated MAN bus painted in Metro livery with curtains and a stovepipe and the whole nine yards on I-5 once.

By: Joshua Kelley

Joshua Kelley — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 06:18:16 +0000

Tim, The 180 still makes those stops on 188th. May be different hours and frequencies, though.

By: Mike Orr

Mike Orr — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 05:32:21 +0000

“I don’t understand why ST added more runs to the 577, when that route competes with 574 + Link”

Because it would be significantly slower. Between downtown to the airport, the 194 is slightly faster than Link only under the best conditions, while it’s the same or worse when there’s traffic. But Link has the added benefit of being much more frequent and making five more stops along the way.

But the further south you go, the more an express bus gains. If you imagine Link when it reaches Tacoma someday, Link will be competitive down to around Des Moines. But beyond that — Federal Way to Seattle, or Tacoma to Seattle — ST Express will be faster. So they can’t eliminate those buses without degrading service. Link already takes 37 minutes to get to SeaTac, so it would be around 50 minutes to Federal Way and over an hour to Tacoma. And Link+174, or Link+Rapid Ride A, will be slower than Link all the way. The only solution to improve Federal Way-Seattle and Tacoma-Seattle service would be a nonstop express train on I-5, and nobody is willing to pay for that at this time.

North Link won’t have that problem because it’ll be pretty speedy, so the Snohomish County buses can meet Link at Northgate or Lynnwood and still improve travel times. And maybe south of the airport will be like North Link.