Photo by Erubisu 27
Sound Transit made two significant changes to their 2011 Service Implementation Plan based on public input:
- The 540, originally slated to travel in the peak direction only during rushhour and hourly mid-day, will instead run in both directions during rushhour and not at all mid-day. It will also serve stops on Stevens Way.
- Mid-day and Sunday service levels on the 545 will not be cut.
- On the 554, Sunday service was to drop to hourly. Instead, this will happen only before 10am and after 7pm, on both Saturday and Sunday.
All other changes are still in effect. The whole revised SIP document is here. Open house and hearing information for tomorrow after the jump.
OPEN HOUSEThursday, Nov. 4, 10-11:30 a.m.
Union Station—Great Hall
401 S. Jackson St.
Seattle, WA 98104PUBLIC HEARING
Thursday, Nov. 4,
12-1:30 p.m.
Union Station—Ruth Fisher Board Room
401 S. Jackson St.
Seattle, WA 98104
That is a GREAT shot of the 545. Love the clouds.
I left a comment criticising proposed weekend changes to the 554 from Issaquah. I suggested as an alternative that ALL midday and afternoon 554 service begin and end at the South Sammamish P&R. Furthermore, that on Thursday through Sunday evenings after 9.00pm eastbound, buses should leave Seattle every 30 minutes instead of hourly. This way, they would better be able to pick up theater and other event traffic in the evenings leaving the City.
Saturday service should continue to be every 30 minutes before 10.00pm.
All this goes to the core of what is meant by ‘public transit’.
“Furthermore, that on Thursday through Sunday evenings after 9.00pm eastbound, buses should leave Seattle every 30 minutes instead of hourly.”
I completely agree. The 554 is the only service to Eastgate, Issaquah, the Issaquah Highlands and Sammamish from downtown at night and on the weekends. I’ve often seen people left at the stop at 5th and Jackson at night after Mariner’s and Sounder’s games because the bus has filled up. Waiting at that location for an hour for the next bus I’m sure must turn a lot of people off of using transit. I have noticed that they are running the new artics at night and on the weekend though, so maybe that will help with some of the post-event loads.
I agree, that is a terrific photograph of the 554 bus, especially with the clouds and clear sky in the background.
I sent this suggestion to fastride@soundtransit.org. If you agree, I invite you to do the same.
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I was disappointed to hear of the proposed service reduction of the 540 during “off-peak” hours. This service is commonly used by employees at my office and our branch in Seattle (Google Kirkland and Google Fremont) with a transfer via the 30/31 in the U-district. Obviously eliminating the 540 during “off-peak” hours means that our employees will need to do a double-transfer; realistically, most of these employees will probably opt to drive, instead.
I understand the trouble with 540 utilization in off-peak hours, and would suggest this as an additional change which should not require additional service hours, but which I expect will vastly improve ridership on the 542 while preserving single-transfer connections between Kirkland and Fremont (but transferring on from the 255 to the 542 on SR-520 instead of in the U-district):
- Eliminate the portion of the 542 north of Campus Parkway (which duplicates service with the 48 and does not connect with other helpful routes).
- Extend 542 west to Fremont (and possibly Ballard); this provides many new connection opportunities between the eastside and points served by many major north/south lines in Seattle (26, 28, and maybe 15, 18, 5, and 358), likely attracting many riders who live in NE Seattle and work in Redmond and elsewhere on the Eastside.
That’s a pretty good idea. Even though I live in Ravenna, right near the 65th/I-5 Park & Pool, I know that it would probably be better to have it continue west. Or eliminate that extra mile or so altogether and use the extra bus hour or two a day to increase service on other routes. However, the 540 is one of the lowest ridership ST routes, especially during the off-peak… it’s hard to justify.
[...] 12:10pm: Original proposed revisions for 545 will not take place after all, due to public input. [...]
They should eliminate that extra mile or so altogether and use the extra bus hour or two a day to increase service on other routes.