[UPDATE 5:51am: Martin reads the canceled routes as: 38, 44, 45, 51, 53, 76, 77, 79, 110, 210, 219, 266, 513, 532, 981, 982, 983, 984, 986.

Pierce Transit remains on snow routes.]

All Metro buses are on snow reroutes this morning. Metro says that some routes may be canceled due to the weather, and to check their site for updates.

Some Sound Transit Express buses are planning on skipping some stops, but the planning here doesn’t seem to be as rigorous as Metro’s.

Link light rail was unaffected by the snow Monday and that will probably remain unchanged today. The trains were ran overnight to prevent ice from building on the overhead wires that deliver power to the cars.

37 Replies to “Reminder: Metro Snow Routes Continue Tuesday”

  1. I see lots in the media about bus delays, snow routes, etc. It would be really nice to see some headlines pointing out that “Light Rail and Sounder are operating normally and without delay”. This is a great chance for ST to shine – they should seize the opportunity!

    “Never waste a good crisis!”

    1. If only ST allowed people stranded at the airport, or trying to get there, or trying to get between downtown and Rainier Valley, to board Link for those overnight runs, ST could have grabbed some serious humanitarian cred.

      After ten or so hours of Asimov’s Nightfall, the people rescued from being stranded would have been so incredibly appreciative that they wouldn’t have minded sitting for a mere hour or so on a nice warm train.

      I would also suggest that ST apply for some federal Emergency Management and Department of Defense grants, as it was the only mode for national security and military folks to get anywhere. Build it faster, for the sake of national defense and national security! (That was a major excuse for the interstate freeway system.)

      1. Thankfully, I proofread the above statement, lest I would have been calling for the *sack* of national defense and national security.

      2. Remember, you live in an area where people get miffed over having to pay an extra nickle for a can of soda pop, or to levy an income tax on folks who earn over $200K per year.

        I think you over-estimate what goodwill this would have generated.

      3. I suppose I’ve probably overestimated the goodwill of thousands of drivers to let tens of thousands of bus riders have absolute priority on the freeways as well.

  3. I just made the trip from 8th and Leary in Fremont to King St Station via the 28 and Link.

    Thanks to the driver of the 5:30am bus we made it on time…in fact we made better time than the usual 28. Link was also on time. I expect the 7:30 train to Portland to make far better time than I-5 or even air travel today.

    Thanks Metro, ST and Amtrak!

  4. I have to pick up my son (16) at 7pm today at the airport. ShuttleExpress is no longer taking bookings! I’m wondering if telling him to take the bus to get up here is an option…crosstown transit is so cumbersome! (And I wish the 180 ran all day long).

    1. I guess it’s too late now, but I would have told him to take Link to the ID and Sounder to Kent. It’s ridiculous, but probably faster than trying to drive or take the bus…

    1. Not a huge surprise – the road down from Phinney Ridge to Ballard is brutal in these conditions.

      Great to see so many other busses running (thanks 26 local!).

      1. You would think so. But during 2008’s snow + total city shutdown, the 44 — with chains on the tires — was by far the most reliable route into and out of Ballard. They took the Phinney descent slowly and wouldn’t make any stops between the ridge and 6th Ave NW. But it was a lifesaver that week.

        Let’s hope this suspension is really temporary.

      4. Just spotted a 44 in Wallingford. Looks like it’s back on at least part of the route (not a trolley though).

      5. The 23rd/24th corridor is “Level 1” (orange), too, and yet the 43/48 have been rerouted from there to the 49’s route *twice* today. Sounds like that map may have been a little hasty.

  6. So link vehicles were running all night, were they running in a revenu mode, or just deadheading after normal hours?

    If in revenu mode, that should be pushed hard with the news outlets, etc. If not, why not?

    Lor Scara

    1. They were deadheading. Passenger service ended at 1. (See this tweet.) Personally I think they should’ve been letting folks ride all night. In a city where every other mode of transport is completely screwed up, why would you not do everything you can to get folks on the one mode that’s operating well?

      3. They could always stop it (or kick passengers off) at ID, or even at Stadium.

        They could also temporarily reduce service on the 7, including skipping the owl runs.

        Really, how expensive can it be to keep the tunnel open?

  7. I just have to congratulate everyone at ST on Link’s outstanding performance yesterday and today. The few people that straggled into my work today all had horror stories of how long it took them to get home last night. My commute from downtown to Beacon Hill was, if anything, faster than normal. SODO was clogged with cars trying to get around the I-5 mess.

    My wife and I then went back out to Pyramid Alehouse (taking Link to Stadium station). 1st Ave was a parking lot. The restaurant was packed with people who had given up on trying to drive and figured they’d get dinner before getting back on the roads. Then when we headed home around 7:15 there was a guy at Stadium with luggage asking how long Link would take to get to the airport – he had left the U District at 4:30 and just made it south of downtown. His ride had dropped him off because he figured Link was the only way he’d make the flight, which luckily had already been delayed.

  8. A thing I learned about Metro’s Transit Alerts. They are available for SMS (text messages) even though the main page doesn’t say so. The email field is just to create the account, then you can set a secondary address for SMS messages.

  11. My only questions. Why does Sound Transit use chains and not snow tires? Chains tear up the road and the buses run at reduced speed.

    1. Probably because it would be incredibly expensive to buy, store as well as change all the tires on buses for just a few days every other year.

      1. Correct. Chains are easier to store, install and remove. Studded tires do tear of the surface of the road too.

  12. Curious – thought part of the Metro snow & ice plan was to pull the articulated buses off the street? Seems like they were problematic last night. Anybody know more about that?

    FYI, coming back from SeaTac approx 10pm: Light Rail rocked.

    1. They don’t have enough non-articulated buses to cover all the routes, over half of the fleet is articulated, so they take their chances on some routes.

    2. At a time when the news media are urging people to stay of the roads and take the bus, it seems counterproductive to remove the higher capacity buses. That is, assuming there aren’t any treacherous hills on the route.

  13. My biggest bone of contention with last night’s Nightfall was how SOVs were allowed to continue entering the freeway, while express lanes were closed, long after it was clear the system was overwhelmed.

    Does anyone at WSDOT (or our illustrious governor) have the authority to close down the freeways to non-transit traffic in emergencies such as last night? Lacking that authority, could the mayor pre-emptively shut down all city streets (but unfortunately not designated state highways) leading to the freeway to all but transit traffic?

    The same goes for transit choke points such as the West Seattle Bridge.

    If it were just the buses trying to make their way north last night, they could have moved just fine, the total number of *people* on the road would have been reduced by about one third, and tens of thousands of people wouldn’t have been having to walk off the freeway or sleep on a bus overnight (not that many of us haven’t done that on Greyhound before) just to keep from freezing to death.

    1. Since the “freeways” were essentially shut down anyway closing the on-ramps to all but transit makes sense. You clear out the cars that are gridlocked and then start doing a metered introduction of private vehicles, HOV first. I’d also wave all fares and make transit free when there’s a declared snow emergence. Metro and ST wouldn’t lose that much revenue since most of the commute crowd I’m guessing is using passes anyway. Could turn out to be some of the most effective “advertising” ever.

  14. Earlier tonight I rode the 5 (northbound) for the first time since the snow began. I was thrilled by the directness of the Aurora/N 46th St/Phinney routing. It’s a pity that the 5 can’t always take that route…

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