
The 42 and 42X are the two routes, along with the 194, that most closely duplicate Central Link. The 42X will be eliminated and the 42 will be dramatically scaled back in route length, service headways, and service span.
The 42 is basically being retained as a shuttle for the Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) so that they have a door-to-door connection to downtown. They cared enough about transit access to send a bunch of people to the County Council meeting to demand their very special bus line, but not enough to design their brand-new building so that it actually faced the light rail station, or even the nearest bus stop. It has plenty of parking, though.
[UPDATE: Tipper Carl points out that ACRS is so transit-oriented that on the very same webpage, it says to find out about bus service to the Bellevue location by calling Community Transit. Heh.]
The 42 is also infamous as the route where, until recently, you could get your next hit of crack. Even more infamously, it’s a route I take almost every day. Elsewhere in the world:
- Joe Biden says intercity rail funds are on the way. Checks should go out by the end of the summer. (H/T: Gordon)
- In other Biden news, he and Sec. LaHood met Wednesday with selected State Governors and transportation officials. Washington was not on the list.
- STB Hero Geoff Simpson (D-Covington) is upset at the Governor’s veto of the MVET authorization.
- The Rail Passenger Association of California and Nevada is concerned that deteriorating rolling stock could force a halt to many Southern and Western Amtrak routes. As Cascades has its own trainsets, it ought not to be affected. (H/T: Lloyd)
- Transit planners ask Congress to fix New Starts Funding, since FTA rules routinely force agencies to lowball ridership estimates. For all the doubters, those rules were used to generate Link ridership estimates.