96 Replies to “Sunday Open Thread: Valdez Tells It Like It Is”
Why doesn’t the county pass an ordinance creating a larger fine for any institution that makes it easier for someone not to pay their fare? Would that be possible?
So, the county should fine itself?
One unrelated question. Will ST’s service changes in 2012 mean frequent service most of the day between Seattle and Tacoma?
If the proposed improvements to Route 590 service are approved, Route 594 schedules may be adjusted slightly to provide a coordinated 15-minute headway between Tacoma and Seattle during midday weekday periods.
nope, I refuse to join! I’ll pay my fare, thank-you!
Out of curiosity, what could that lost revenue buy?
Not a whole not. This group is clearly fake. Real advocates of a free bus system would merely say the government should pay for it. Instead, they are campaigning against the government’s ability to pay for the bus system.
Regular bus riders? Nope. Scammers? Clearly, especially the one who was interviewed. Does anyone really believe bus drivers regularly pass her up? If she does ride the bus, I bet she has “fallen” several times, too, and keeps getting big claims.
Maybe this organization should call itself “We won’t file.” They aren’t just making money off of the fools sending them $25…
“Does anyone really believe bus drivers regularly pass her up?”
I believe it… Once you write up a regular fare evader I’m pretty sure we are allowed to pass them up or even deny a ride. The trick is singling them out and not screwing up service for everybody else.
I didn’t realize you folks even wrote up regular fare evaders. I thought operators’ authorized attempts at fare enforcement ended at reminding the passenger that fare is due.
You’re jumping to an awful lot of conclusions…
Er, that post was directed at Brent.
Fair enough. I can’t assume she is in any way associated with the Nope card. Has anyone here attempted to contact this outfit? Why, if they believe in free bus rides, would they oppose the VLF?
These could be the socialist “tax the rich” folks. Remember them at the CRC hearings?
I’m pretty sure we are allowed to pass them up or even deny a ride.
Is that true? I was on a late night bus to Harborview and the driver was denying a ride to someone who’s transfer had expired. I said I’d just pay his fare to get things moving. The guy was perhaps a bit “different”; sort of paranoid looking and just spent the whole ride to himself looking around and writing notes furiously in his well used notebook. Evidently he was well known to the driver and may have on other occasions been disruptive.
I bet she has “fallen” several times, too, and keeps getting big claims.
If so I think the lawyers are pocketing the 99% :=
When confronted with regular fare evasion we are supposed to write up a Security Incident Report back at the base. Once that has been done, I’m pretty sure we could pass the offender up, provided there was nobody else at the stop. We are not allowed to deny rides – that’s only to be done by the Police. That said, if we have filed paperwork on a fare evader, we can make it clear that the police will be called if they don’t leave the bus.
I’ve never had to go beyond writing up the report and letting a regular fare evader know that police will be called next time they try. They either switch to another driver, pay their fare, or just disappear. Frankly, just asking for the fare usually does the trick.
for those who missed me posting this the other day …
Sound Transit has updated the TBM chart
As of OCT 21, 2011
UW to Capitol Hill
Balto – 24.7% (2,815 ft)
Togo – 34.0% (3,875 ft)
I saw the sign at UW Station saying that North Link tunneling will begin in 2012. Maybe, just possibly, it might be done well before 2021?
According to the schedule, Brooklyn Station and Roosevelt are scheduled to be finished in Q3 2019 and trackwork is supposed to be finished at about the same time. The combined systems contract is scheduled to end about Q3 2020 and is critical path (as is Brooklyn station). That’s followed by system testing and startup. I would think they would try to do the systems work from south to north; when done they could start testing on the UW -> Brooklyn and Brooklyn -> Roosevelt segments.
Conceivably, the line could open incrementally from south to north.
Probably only where there’s switchback track, which I think is only at UW and Northgate.
ever station will have at least one crossover to the south of the platforms … so this shouldn’t be a problem
Didn’t we talk a while back about how they couldn’t open Brooklyn before Northgate?
so I just went and looked back at the plans … and it looks like I was mistaken … there will be no switches/crossovers between the UW/Husky Stadium station and the Northgate Station.
Why … because they are boring twin tubes for the line instead of one larger diameter tunnel that can hold both tracks … (think the Beacon Hill Station w/center platforms)
Of course … this means that if a train gets stuck / alleged “track maintenance” occurs … multiple stations and or tunnel segments will be affected … not just the one where the problem is
I thought I had once seen a drawing of Brooklyn station with crossovers, but looking again at the FEIS, it looks like there was an alternative with a crossover south of the station, and another north of the station, but they were not the preferred alternative.
However, it’s not quite true that there will be no crossovers between UW and Northgate station. There is a double crossover north of the north portal and south of the station, just to the south of NE 100th St.
How far a walk is it from Colman Dock to the top of Yesler at Boren?
That’s a pretty good shag up a steep hill with 200′ elevation gain.
How far a shag is it from Univ of Wash Link Stn to Burke Museum on at 15th/45th.
Answer = nearly identical to Yesler in distance and elevation gain.
Bruce brought up an interesting post on the MT14, which wandered off into why poor transit connections do indeed have a big impact on ridership.
I’ve not heard much about the transit connections from 520/Link/Metro and the walkshed around campus lately for ULink. Maybe 2016 is just too far away to care. Or maybe as some have said in the past, students are used to walking up hills, and this hike isn’t much of a factor. Maybe so.
Anyone want to fathom a guess at how much of a barrier to good ridership numbers the placement of this new station will be for the campus? It’s great for the hospital, but that’s a finite number of riders.
Those going the Burke Museum or the northwest part of the main campus will use Brooklyn station when it opens, or the 71/72/73 until then. The elevation difference is a small stairway south of the HUB. Students walk at least half that distance between every class.
Placing a station adjacent to one of the largest employment centers in the city is a barrier to good ridership? The Husky Stadium station is convenient to at least half of the campus plus the medical center, Brooklyn station will cover the U-District and upper campus. Before Brooklyn station opens people who don’t want to walk to upper campus can transfer on Pacific, where there’s a bus about every 3 minutes during rush hour. And it’s true that most students probably won’t mind the walk, I walked ten times that distance between classes on a daily basis when I went there.
And are you sure you mean shag?
Well, the point I’m trying to illuminate this morning centers on the relationship between convenient transfers or walk-sheds to activities. Dismissing the station location out of pocket as a done deal until after the year 2021 when Brooklyn Stn ‘may’ open is showing an incredible amount of patience and faith in the outcome. Remember in 1996 Link was supposed to serve the Campus in 10 years. 2021 will be 25 years gone by.
The post on MT14 notes how riders will barely cross Rainier Ave to save some time going downtown, making the transit hub kinda worthless to Link. Ideally, the bus transfer should be directly below the Link platforms. That didn’t happen, nor is it likely in the future.
If Husky Stn is anything close, few will be inclined to use it until Brooklyn opens. I don’t think it will be that bad, but it’s not the rosey picture you’re trying to paint.
The bus bays are scattered all over hells half acre around Husky. It’s not too late to demand a complete assessment of bus/flyer stop/walkshed/route truncation/520 mitigation studies, complete with the glossy videos done by WSDOT to sell the DBT should be the order of the day. Waiting until the Clusterfuck begins in 2017 repeats the outcome of Mt.Baker Stn. But some of you will shrug and say, wait a few more years until Northgate opens. Then you’ll be dazzled.
Too Late!
The 14 has crappy frequency, unlike the 43, 44, 48 and 271, each running every 15 minutes, combining for very frequent service throughout the day between UW Station and NE 45th. I think you have to take that in context. People are more willing to walk farther and transfer between high frequency services. The 14 ain’t that.
Students tend to walk farther and faster than the typical adult. I know because I’m a UW student. All the students who live in the U-District west of the Ave probably never take the bus to class. They walk or bike. It won’t be different with U-Link.
Also, the Sound Transit of 2011 is far more mature and experienced than the Sound Transit of 1996. It’s not going to repeat the disaster that almost killed Link before it even broke ground.
“It’s not too late to demand a complete assessment of bus/flyer stop/walkshed/route truncation/520 mitigation studies,”
How many U-Link planning meetings have you gone to to raise these issues, Mike?
Zed,
I’ve been to some of those charettes, and gotten the circularly illogical answers regarding why buses won’t stop at UW Station.
There were others there from northeast Seattle begging for the UW Station connection so they could get downtown.
When it was clear we didn’t like ST’s answers, they said that routing would be decided by Metro in the last year or two before the stations open. Of course, the design of the streets will pretty much dictate the routing. And all the money and effort put into the design of the “Rainier Vista” will justify not fixing it.
I find it a little curious that when the FHSC discussions were raging here between Broadway or 12th the difference in height and distance was a really big deal (1000′ walk up a 70′ hill). Unless I missed something in all the planning documents, there isn’t even a mention of the hill climb up to the center of the campus, which is further and higher. It has to be a factor, and one that should be begging for a better solution than aggregate walking speed to various bus stop locations, hence my original post this morning that locating your bus zones too far from the Link platforms will likely kill ridership. How much. I dunno. I’m not that smart.
The difference in height is a big deal because it’s a couplet. UW Station is a short, level walk from a major regional employment center and entertainment facility. Some people will choose to walk to campus from the station, despite the hill; others won’t, but it’s still useful to them for getting to the hospital and/or the stadium.
With the couplet, *everyone* who wanted to use the streetcar for a roundtrip would have had to deal with the hill. For people who couldn’t handle the grade, the line would be completely useless.
(And before someone suggests a circular line, I want to point out that downhill is bad too. It doesn’t require as much physical exertion, but it does require agility, and falls are much more likely on a hill than on level ground.)
Thank you Aleks for at least acknowledging there’s a hill there.
I was beginning to think I was Christopher Columbus talking to the flat earth society.
We know that UW station is in the wrong place. It should be closer to Pacific Street, or next to the HUB. But the UW has higher state authority than Sound Transit so it can dicate where stations won’t be. It’s the same reason the UW laundry facility couldn’t be used for Mt Baker TC.
Campus is built on a hill, wherever you site the station it’s going to require an uphill walk for some group of users. Fortunately Husky Stadium station isn’t the only station being built in the U-District. Oh, I forgot, we’re supposed to ignore that fact.
from what I gather … the tunnel from Husky Stadium to 45th/Brooklyn will go right underneath the campus … is there a reason why they didn’t want an additional station right in the middle of campus? is it a crime or budget issue? or is it a stop spacing issue (I can’t see stop spacing as a problem since the LRVs are quick to accelerate out of stations and no buses will be there)
My understanding was that UW did not want a station on campus. It’s particularly painful when you look at an alignment map showing the tunnels going directly under the HUB, which was just gutted for a complete renovation.
The two walks really aren’t comparable, in my opinion. The Yesler walk has most of the vertical gain in the space a four-five block stretch (4th to just past I-5), while the walk up into the UW is a very steady grade the entire time. The walk itself is not bad at all, although if it’s wet that would change things. Overall, if you need to be up by the Burke (which is past where any courses take place) the 7X is going to be better than the Link.
That said, eventually the University station will work with the Brooklyn station to serve the UW. I think that’s the big picture, even if the university station right now is better suited for people in the southern end of campus.
UW Medical Center
2010 statistics
Licensed beds 450
Employees 3,982
Physicians 1,829
Admissions 19,260
Clinic visits 323,393
Surgery cases 15,137
Emergency Department visits 25,602
plus add in visitors to patients.
And that’s just the medical center. There are thousands more employees in the rest of the health sciences building.
It’s also pretty darn convenient to the largest stadium, college or professional, in the Pacific Northwest and 10,000 seat Hec Ed Alaska Airlines Arena. Not to mention the IMA, soccer and baseball fields plus the Cut itself which hosts Opening Day by the Seattle Yacht Club.
As far as the hospital remember that UW and Harborview are the same organization and doctors, nurses and staff travel back and forth regularly. In addition Swedish Cherry Hill (aka Providence) residency is a member of the University of Washington’s Affiliated Network of Family Medicine Residency Programs. A shuttle down to University or Pioneer Square and hopefully the First Hill Streetcar will generate a lot of trips.
Robert Mak on Up Front AM had an interview with Jim Hebert of Hebert Research. It was short and there is not a link (yet?) on the the KING 5 website. The two claims presented were that Bellevue residents were not in favor of the current light rail plan and that downtown business stood to lose $900 over four years of construction (not clear if that was with or without a tunnel).
Lovely… Nothing like a little shoddy “Journalism” to muddy the waters. KING 5 really has fallen a long way…
Ya, I’ve been pretty dismayed at Mak’s Fox style controversy template that media thinks passes for journalism these days. Giving credence to positions (scientific, political or ethical) that with just a few analytic brain cells applied to fact checking, the issue of truth can be distinguished. But the journalists choose not to do that.
New York University Journalism Professor Jay Rosen wrote about this style of “lazy journalism” in response to some egregious stories on NPR.
Construction of Sound Transit East Link To Cost Bellevue More Than $1.4 Billion in Lost Revenues Due to Business Disruption
My read is that it’s a survey and the numbers are based purely on business owners “gut feeling”. But we know construction did have a big impact along MLK. And we’ve already seen some shift away. Has Sound Transit given an estimate in lost revenue/jobs from construction or just looked at current employment on land that would be taken? How much was given out by ST to mitigate the impacts on business along MLK?
I can’t think of any area along the East Link alignment that will be impacted to the same extent as Central Link construction impacted MLK though. I can’t think of many downtown businesses that will be affected if the tunnel is bored, and isn’t the Bel-Red segment being built along with new streets that the city is planning on building anyways? I have a hard time believing that construction will have as large an impact on business as this study concluded.
The story you linked to didn’t indicate that Ming’s is moving because of impending light rail construction.
To be clear, this isn’t a study but a survey of business owners. However, perception may be most important since this is what will shape decisions on expansion and relocation. The 800# gorilla is what portion of the responses assumed a tunnel vs. at grade. At the very least I think Bellevue citizens deserve a good faith estimate on what the differential would be and what ST is offering in mitigation.
It’s true that a bored tunnel should have less impact than cut and cover like the DSTT, overall impacts on Bellevue Way, the station construction (South Main, Transit Center and Hospital) will really throw a wrench in already maxed out bottlenecks that affect both I-405, I-90 and SR520. ST isn’t willing to fund the tunnel so in a way it’s pick your poison; cough up the $160 million to make up for ST’s shortfall in revenue or suffer the construction and ongoing consequences of the at grade alignment.
“Giving credence to positions (scientific, political or ethical) that with just a few analytic brain cells applied to fact checking, the issue of truth can be distinguished. But the journalists choose not to do that.”
Because if all the fake controversies were weeded out that way, things would be pretty boring, and no one would pay attention to them.
You really expect actual reporting from a Belo subsidiary?
We’re lucky they didn’t just have an anchor read a memo from Kemper Freeman as fact.
They also had a short interview with Conrad Lee calling for building a station adjacent to 405 with moving sidewalks to the transit center instead of the tunnel. I thought this debate was already over.
OK, I found a link to the video segment. Jumping to conclusions I’d assumed the research was funded by Kemper Development. I was wrong. Apparently there is a new kid on the block, Fast Forward Eastside funded by yet another business interest concerned with the impact on their bottom line (which isn’t a bad thing).
Are there questions to be asked? Absolutely. But condemning this as “shoddy ‘Journalism’” and providing absolutely zero rebuttal is truly calling the kettle black.
I didn’t know Velo was a journalist.
Not sure where that tweet came from but I’m more impressed with his journalism than the high priced spread. We may not always come to the same conclusion but his insight and facts are beyond reproach.
The “shoddy ‘journalism'” comment was directed at presenting one side of the story. I didn’t view the video segment, mainly because I’ve been so disgusted with “journalism” I’ve seen on KING 5 lately. If they presented both sides in a reasonably balanced way, I’d withdraw that comment. That said, I doubt they did.
BTW: Clicking through to CETA via FFE’s web site is interesting. They are pushing many of the policies I’d wish I’d seen earlier in this debate – Most notably, the HOV enhancements and road user fees.
That said, I view most BRT talk these days as a bludgeon used against ST and Link. Given all the anti-rail articles on CETA’s site I still think that’s their goal, rather than truly improving transportation choices. I’m happy to be proven wrong though if they actually put some efforts into improving bus travel. How about studying SWIFT, RapidRide A, and RR B to see what’s working and what needs improvement? Getting Bellevue & Redmond to *really* give us priority could really speed the B line up.
Velo – Just what is the other side? FFE asked Bellevue long ago to do a study, they did not even think to do it. Has ST? Has Anyone Else?
Hebert is a pretty straight shooter, with ties to ST, and I would recommend not criticizing his data until there is someone willing to do equivalent research. He’s also smarter than you and me.
Being a Downtown Bellevue Business Owner (who was not interviewed) and a downtown resident, I am quite concerned about the future of Bellevue for the small (non-retail) business (10-15 people). The tall buildings are cost and access prohibitive and the 100’s (repeat 100’s) of EMPTY “store-fronts” on the first floor of these new buildings are now zoned or built for retail only. (ed – but HSU and friends got to build their buildings higher – while streetfronts of the first floor sit empty).
Our business may be required to relocate due to the level of construction during the 7-9-12 years of Beirutvue. We will likely not relocate within Downtown Bellevue, and are focused elsewhere, requiring longer commutes for ALL our employees, who are among the 100’s of thousands of Eastsiders (KL, Issaquah, Plateau, Newcastle, Juanita, Bothell) who are not supported by the ST routing or adequately by the existing bus service vis a vis their automobile.
Eastside workers will continue to be predominently eastside residents. Let’s figure out how to get them to downtown bellevue first, before we start importing others.
How, exactly, do you think construction is going to impact your non-retail business? Light rail isn’t being built in the street, so the impact to auto access for your employees should be minimal.
Presumably, somebody from Move Bellevue Forward would have talked about the long term benefits of having light rail downtown and may have given more insight into his poll results. Simply stating that Bellevue residents are against light rail seems pretty simplistic.
Sorry Zed, I forgot to invite you to our meeting with ST officials last spring at our offices (or were you there?) where they explained best case and worst case scenarios. Best case is they take the building we are in. Worst case, they surround us on three sides starting in 2012. In the meantime we remain in limbo, with a de-valuing building due to the unknown, and landlord that has no incentive to fix anything or even change a light bulb. Has ST had the courtesay to come back and give us an update? No.
And Velo – guess they could have had Tim Cies represent Move Bellevue Forward, or one of the nameless/faceless from FUSE (except they were organizing the upcoming Occupy Bellevue Square). But really, Hebert isn’t that kind of guy – he is a professional researcher who made himself available for questioning by the media, not a political gadfly.
Thanks for clarifying, your original comment didn’t state why you’d have to move, and most of Hebert’s research focused on a reduction in revenue due to construction impeding access to retail businesses.
I used to work in a small downtown Bellevue business which recently moved to Seattle because of cheaper rent and better transit access for employees.
“And Velo – guess they could have had Tim Cies represent Move Bellevue Forward, or one of the nameless/faceless from FUSE (except they were organizing the upcoming Occupy Bellevue Square).”
Nice… Bring out the Seattle Bogeyman… I guess I’m part of the conspiracy too since I lived in Seattle for 11 years? Please… It’s a regional system so having folks from both sides of the pond is entirely appropriate. The MBF meetings are made up mostly Eastside residents.
Velo said “Nice… Bring out the Seattle Bogeyman… I guess I’m part of the conspiracy too since I lived in Seattle for 11 years? Please… It’s a regional system so having folks from both sides of the pond is entirely appropriate. The MBF meetings are made up mostly Eastside residents.”
Yes, but funded by Seattle Interests.
“Lewis said she reached out to Fuse to help spread the word about the protest she planned. Roughly 20 people, including two organizers from Fuse’s Seattle office, stood in front of Bellevue Place.”
I’ve got 40 years of living and voting in Seattle, and two houses there, but like you found a better life on this side of the Lake in current day belleuve – we may have come here for different reasons, but we are here — and now Seattle developers, political interests want to change us, and influence OUR elections.
Serious question for you, Velo. Do you guys get to Vote for the Bellevue City Council? I haven’t been able to figure out all the burgs on borders on the eastside, and who gets what fire, police and representation?
“and now Seattle developers, political interests want to change us, and influence OUR elections.”
Better than the election influencing being dominated by one man. At least there’s some balance to it this time around.
Can’t agree with you there Zed.
We know who Kemper is and who Bob Wallace is (neither is the biggest landowner in Bellevue); and we are free to discount their message based on how you and I perceive their motives. But the other side is flying under the radar — not even the Times article this weekend would tell us who is really behind Balducci, Stokes, — with FUSE, and other Seattle PACS and organizations. There is no face, there is no community.
Tim Ceis and the seattle political establishment – who refuse to be clear as to the extent of their participation or their own motives (and sources of paychecks) — should in no way be influencing Bellevue council elections, and should stay the f out of our political neighborhood.
Are the automated stop announcements and digital route/time/upcoming stop message boards being installed on all Metro buses now? I’ve ridden on three different buses with them in the past few days.
Yes. They are currently installing these on buses at East and Bellevue bases.
I’m just looking forward to them being on buses used on the 75
I’m not because OneBusAway can’t handle them. At present, the real-time arrival information it gives for the GPS-equipped buses is complete garbage. I really hope that one day, this will be fixed.
Hopefully it should be updated. There’s a realtime GTFS that’s being championed by Google, but I suspect Metro (will take the easy road out and) won’t support feeds of both location services concurrently until all GPS buses are up and running.
I was on #8 the other morning, and it had them both working. It was the first and only time I’ve seen them. It was very nice, but it didn’t seem to be announcing every stop (I’m not positive as I was reading).
I think it only announces the stop if someone pulls the cord … otherwise it just shows the next stop on the display
No. It announces major stops, landmarks and when the bus turns on to a different street.
It’s a minor complaint, but I wish they’d alternate between next stop and date/time more often. Currently it seems they only show date/time when the bus is stopped at a stop, the rest of the time the next stop is shown constantly. There’s probably a setting to make it toggle every few seconds.
But please, don’t do like Pierce Transit’s signs. Next stop text scrolls only once. Sign blank most of the time scrolling the date and time about every minute. Waste of screen by flashing Stop Requested repeatedly and no info about the stop itself.
Most buses operating out of south base have them and they are making their way onto other buses. By the end of next year the whole fleet should have them.
are they putting them in the ETBs?
When they get to Atlantic, maybe. Atlantic and Central won’t get them until February at the earliest. I can’t wait for it to be installed on a trolley…
Wouldn’t it be useless to put them in the Bredas though? Those are (hopefully) being phased out soon?
All of the ETBs are being replaced, not just the Bredas. I think the money for it is proposed in the budget for next year, with the buses showing up in 2014.
So the 17 is apparently back on 9th-to-Bell (as of the one I’m riding right now).
And lo and behold, just like the old days, the light where 9th crosses Valley and Mercer is still times so that absolutely no one gets through in less than two cycles.
I understand that this is intentional, to discourage drivers from using Westlake as a primary route to Mercer and I-5. But it doesn’t have to and really shouldn’t apply to the straight lane. Just as you cross Valley, the Mercer light goes red, and for the next 30 seconds there’s nothing but a walk light (that in no way conflicts with the straight lane).
Can someone with an ear at SDOT please get on the horn with them, to encourage them to hold the straight lane longer than the left-onto-Mercer lanes. No one goes straight but the bus, and this would be a huge boon to the 17 (and future revised 18)!!
I’m pretty sure the 9th Avenue reroute is temporary.
Nope. The 9th re-route was intended as the permanent routing when the inbound was moved from Westlake a year ago. The Dexter re-route, enacted just a month later, was the “temporary” one.
Ah. Kyle was referring to the new northbound reroute from Westlake onto 9th, which I just now discovered. Yes, that one is temporary.
I was referring to the southbound routing, where the light cycle timing guarantees two full cycles to cross Mercer. In that direction, as I said before, 9th is permanent.
I look forward to the day when Link operates 24/7 in combination with some form of owl bus service.
I went to a late evening movie on Capitol Hill on Friday and was a bit surprised to discover how sparse transportation options become approaching midnight on my return home. I’ve been so used to 24 hour service on the Red Line(and some bus lines) in Chicago that getting to/from night time activities wasn’t a challenge there.
Mind you, I’m a bit unconventional when planning the return route. Instead of waiting downtown for a #7 bus for what would have been almost 50 minutes, I instead took Link and using OBA
(Ugh.. sorry for the half posting there) I got on Link and “ride the rails” until I can transfer at Mt. Baker or Rainier Beach station to a bus with minimal (10 minutes) wait time. My (slight) disappointment was that the train I got on in my ride the rails scheme at Rainier Beach was the 12:30 am last train to Beacon Hill. I remember thinking, geez this is sure early to be the last train. Needless to say, I made my transfer and got home.
But somehow as we become a more urban and dense city, we’re going to have to really provide transportation 24/7.
I could be wrong, but I believe Seattle has the only 24/7/365 transit service in the Pacific NW (I’m not sure what overall transit service is on the Canadian side of the border). Even Portland’s MAX shuts down in the very early morning along with the bus service. Everywhere else isn’t even close (i.e., Spokane’s STA has its last buses out of Downtown at around 11:20 PM weekdays and much earlier on weekends; Eugene’s LTD doesn’t run on holidays; Salem/Keizer, OR, runs 5 days a week).
So, despite the details, Seattle leads the Northwest in terms of span of service.
Seattle has more night service than most major NW cities but Vancouver has a comprehensive night bus network that’s arguably better than Seattle’s.
Metro’s route 7 and RapidRide A Line are the two normal routes in the NW I can think of that run 24/7, roughly every hour in the early AM.
I had the reverse thought.
Since the demand for mass transit is so much higher during the daylight hours, why not have a time dependent ban on automobiles (or very high tolls…even on downtown avenues) for the most congested areas.
At the same time, almost no one wants to walk to a bus stop and ride at night when you can just jump in a car when traffic is low and get someplace in ten minutes.
I’m hoping that when Link between Capitol Hill and the U-District is completed, it will run all night. I live in the U-District and regularly end up taking the 49 from bars on Capitol Hill at 2:30am. Why doesn’t a bus run shortly after the bars close? I always end up waiting for a half hour or more, along with dozens of other people. It’s usually standing room only on the weekends.
John Bailo, I have a feeling drunk driving accidents would decrease if late-night public transportation were better.
Agree, good point. Also more use of taxis.
I was driving home from 24 Hr fitness in Kent tonight and realized that if I wanted to, I could take the 168 from near my apartment there and back (until 11pm or so).
Shows that even in a low density burb, transit can provide a service for recreation at night.
“With the same force that powered the most ambitious rail programme in history, China has slammed the brakes on its investment in high-speed trains.
The sudden halt has led to system-wide whiplash, leaving workers without pay, battalions of heavy machinery sitting idle and setting back plans for bullet trains that were meant to carry the nation’s future.”
I posted a rough sketch for a proposal for North Seattle bus service, post-Link and RR, on the Fall 2012 service change thread. I may submit it as a guest post, but I’d like to get some feedback first.
Does anyone know by chance if there is a map online somewhere that shows where you can pick up the Husky Shuttle buses outside Husky Stadium after home games? I realize that the destinations are labeled with signs after the game but they are fairly spread out and going from one spot to another can be chaotic with the crowds running all over the place trying to get home.
Hydrogen Cars Tested in France Pass with Flying Colors
A Honda FCX Clarity, Opel HydroGen4, Mercedes B Class Hydrogen Fuel Cell, Toyota FCHV-adv and Hyundai ix35 FCEV were all tested recently at a racetrack 15 miles outside of Paris, France. All vehicles were fueled courtesy of industrial gas company Air Liquide.
Two hydrogen fuelling stations are already working in the capital to support the city’s hydrogen buses and the new station will link up with these facilities. This will help to create an infrastructure network for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in London ahead of next year’s Olympic Games.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “I want London to become a zero-emission city in order to deliver cleaner air and improve quality of life. It is important that London champions innovative new technologies to get us to this point, which is why I am delighted we are set to get even more hydrogen vehicles on our streets in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond.
Why doesn’t the county pass an ordinance creating a larger fine for any institution that makes it easier for someone not to pay their fare? Would that be possible?
So, the county should fine itself?
One unrelated question. Will ST’s service changes in 2012 mean frequent service most of the day between Seattle and Tacoma?
http://www.soundtransit.org/Documents/pdf/planning/2012SIPDraft.pdf
nope, I refuse to join! I’ll pay my fare, thank-you!
Out of curiosity, what could that lost revenue buy?
Not a whole not. This group is clearly fake. Real advocates of a free bus system would merely say the government should pay for it. Instead, they are campaigning against the government’s ability to pay for the bus system.
Regular bus riders? Nope. Scammers? Clearly, especially the one who was interviewed. Does anyone really believe bus drivers regularly pass her up? If she does ride the bus, I bet she has “fallen” several times, too, and keeps getting big claims.
Maybe this organization should call itself “We won’t file.” They aren’t just making money off of the fools sending them $25…
“Does anyone really believe bus drivers regularly pass her up?”
I believe it… Once you write up a regular fare evader I’m pretty sure we are allowed to pass them up or even deny a ride. The trick is singling them out and not screwing up service for everybody else.
I didn’t realize you folks even wrote up regular fare evaders. I thought operators’ authorized attempts at fare enforcement ended at reminding the passenger that fare is due.
You’re jumping to an awful lot of conclusions…
Er, that post was directed at Brent.
Fair enough. I can’t assume she is in any way associated with the Nope card. Has anyone here attempted to contact this outfit? Why, if they believe in free bus rides, would they oppose the VLF?
These could be the socialist “tax the rich” folks. Remember them at the CRC hearings?
Is that true? I was on a late night bus to Harborview and the driver was denying a ride to someone who’s transfer had expired. I said I’d just pay his fare to get things moving. The guy was perhaps a bit “different”; sort of paranoid looking and just spent the whole ride to himself looking around and writing notes furiously in his well used notebook. Evidently he was well known to the driver and may have on other occasions been disruptive.
If so I think the lawyers are pocketing the 99% :=
When confronted with regular fare evasion we are supposed to write up a Security Incident Report back at the base. Once that has been done, I’m pretty sure we could pass the offender up, provided there was nobody else at the stop. We are not allowed to deny rides – that’s only to be done by the Police. That said, if we have filed paperwork on a fare evader, we can make it clear that the police will be called if they don’t leave the bus.
I’ve never had to go beyond writing up the report and letting a regular fare evader know that police will be called next time they try. They either switch to another driver, pay their fare, or just disappear. Frankly, just asking for the fare usually does the trick.
for those who missed me posting this the other day …
Sound Transit has updated the TBM chart
As of OCT 21, 2011
UW to Capitol Hill
Balto – 24.7% (2,815 ft)
Togo – 34.0% (3,875 ft)
UW to Downtown
Brenda – 31.7% (2,418 ft)
Total
9,108 ft of 30,418 ft
source: http://projects.soundtransit.org/Projects-Home/University-Link/University-Link—Project-Update.xml
I saw the sign at UW Station saying that North Link tunneling will begin in 2012. Maybe, just possibly, it might be done well before 2021?
According to the schedule, Brooklyn Station and Roosevelt are scheduled to be finished in Q3 2019 and trackwork is supposed to be finished at about the same time. The combined systems contract is scheduled to end about Q3 2020 and is critical path (as is Brooklyn station). That’s followed by system testing and startup. I would think they would try to do the systems work from south to north; when done they could start testing on the UW -> Brooklyn and Brooklyn -> Roosevelt segments.
Conceivably, the line could open incrementally from south to north.
Probably only where there’s switchback track, which I think is only at UW and Northgate.
ever station will have at least one crossover to the south of the platforms … so this shouldn’t be a problem
Didn’t we talk a while back about how they couldn’t open Brooklyn before Northgate?
so I just went and looked back at the plans … and it looks like I was mistaken … there will be no switches/crossovers between the UW/Husky Stadium station and the Northgate Station.
Why … because they are boring twin tubes for the line instead of one larger diameter tunnel that can hold both tracks … (think the Beacon Hill Station w/center platforms)
Of course … this means that if a train gets stuck / alleged “track maintenance” occurs … multiple stations and or tunnel segments will be affected … not just the one where the problem is
for those who love construction maps and/or the curious … the North Link Final SEIS files are here: http://projects.soundtransit.org/Projects-Home/North-Link/North-Link-Final-SEIS.xml
I thought I had once seen a drawing of Brooklyn station with crossovers, but looking again at the FEIS, it looks like there was an alternative with a crossover south of the station, and another north of the station, but they were not the preferred alternative.
However, it’s not quite true that there will be no crossovers between UW and Northgate station. There is a double crossover north of the north portal and south of the station, just to the south of NE 100th St.
How far a walk is it from Colman Dock to the top of Yesler at Boren?
That’s a pretty good shag up a steep hill with 200′ elevation gain.
How far a shag is it from Univ of Wash Link Stn to Burke Museum on at 15th/45th.
Answer = nearly identical to Yesler in distance and elevation gain.
Bruce brought up an interesting post on the MT14, which wandered off into why poor transit connections do indeed have a big impact on ridership.
I’ve not heard much about the transit connections from 520/Link/Metro and the walkshed around campus lately for ULink. Maybe 2016 is just too far away to care. Or maybe as some have said in the past, students are used to walking up hills, and this hike isn’t much of a factor. Maybe so.
Anyone want to fathom a guess at how much of a barrier to good ridership numbers the placement of this new station will be for the campus? It’s great for the hospital, but that’s a finite number of riders.
Those going the Burke Museum or the northwest part of the main campus will use Brooklyn station when it opens, or the 71/72/73 until then. The elevation difference is a small stairway south of the HUB. Students walk at least half that distance between every class.
Placing a station adjacent to one of the largest employment centers in the city is a barrier to good ridership? The Husky Stadium station is convenient to at least half of the campus plus the medical center, Brooklyn station will cover the U-District and upper campus. Before Brooklyn station opens people who don’t want to walk to upper campus can transfer on Pacific, where there’s a bus about every 3 minutes during rush hour. And it’s true that most students probably won’t mind the walk, I walked ten times that distance between classes on a daily basis when I went there.
And are you sure you mean shag?
Well, the point I’m trying to illuminate this morning centers on the relationship between convenient transfers or walk-sheds to activities. Dismissing the station location out of pocket as a done deal until after the year 2021 when Brooklyn Stn ‘may’ open is showing an incredible amount of patience and faith in the outcome. Remember in 1996 Link was supposed to serve the Campus in 10 years. 2021 will be 25 years gone by.
The post on MT14 notes how riders will barely cross Rainier Ave to save some time going downtown, making the transit hub kinda worthless to Link. Ideally, the bus transfer should be directly below the Link platforms. That didn’t happen, nor is it likely in the future.
If Husky Stn is anything close, few will be inclined to use it until Brooklyn opens. I don’t think it will be that bad, but it’s not the rosey picture you’re trying to paint.
The bus bays are scattered all over hells half acre around Husky. It’s not too late to demand a complete assessment of bus/flyer stop/walkshed/route truncation/520 mitigation studies, complete with the glossy videos done by WSDOT to sell the DBT should be the order of the day. Waiting until the Clusterfuck begins in 2017 repeats the outcome of Mt.Baker Stn. But some of you will shrug and say, wait a few more years until Northgate opens. Then you’ll be dazzled.
Too Late!
The 14 has crappy frequency, unlike the 43, 44, 48 and 271, each running every 15 minutes, combining for very frequent service throughout the day between UW Station and NE 45th. I think you have to take that in context. People are more willing to walk farther and transfer between high frequency services. The 14 ain’t that.
Students tend to walk farther and faster than the typical adult. I know because I’m a UW student. All the students who live in the U-District west of the Ave probably never take the bus to class. They walk or bike. It won’t be different with U-Link.
Also, the Sound Transit of 2011 is far more mature and experienced than the Sound Transit of 1996. It’s not going to repeat the disaster that almost killed Link before it even broke ground.
“It’s not too late to demand a complete assessment of bus/flyer stop/walkshed/route truncation/520 mitigation studies,”
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/0333AEE9-0D96-4867-8EEF-EEBA520A7A0E/0/BusStopLocations.pdf
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/C4B4EA37-7699-4528-B74C-6B5ADA7BE1AA/0/MontlakeTriangleCharrette.pdf
http://projects.soundtransit.org/Documents/pdf/projects/link/north/ULink/UW%20Rainier_Vista_EIS%20Addendum_010611.pdf
How many U-Link planning meetings have you gone to to raise these issues, Mike?
Zed,
I’ve been to some of those charettes, and gotten the circularly illogical answers regarding why buses won’t stop at UW Station.
There were others there from northeast Seattle begging for the UW Station connection so they could get downtown.
When it was clear we didn’t like ST’s answers, they said that routing would be decided by Metro in the last year or two before the stations open. Of course, the design of the streets will pretty much dictate the routing. And all the money and effort put into the design of the “Rainier Vista” will justify not fixing it.
I find it a little curious that when the FHSC discussions were raging here between Broadway or 12th the difference in height and distance was a really big deal (1000′ walk up a 70′ hill). Unless I missed something in all the planning documents, there isn’t even a mention of the hill climb up to the center of the campus, which is further and higher. It has to be a factor, and one that should be begging for a better solution than aggregate walking speed to various bus stop locations, hence my original post this morning that locating your bus zones too far from the Link platforms will likely kill ridership. How much. I dunno. I’m not that smart.
The difference in height is a big deal because it’s a couplet. UW Station is a short, level walk from a major regional employment center and entertainment facility. Some people will choose to walk to campus from the station, despite the hill; others won’t, but it’s still useful to them for getting to the hospital and/or the stadium.
With the couplet, *everyone* who wanted to use the streetcar for a roundtrip would have had to deal with the hill. For people who couldn’t handle the grade, the line would be completely useless.
(And before someone suggests a circular line, I want to point out that downhill is bad too. It doesn’t require as much physical exertion, but it does require agility, and falls are much more likely on a hill than on level ground.)
Thank you Aleks for at least acknowledging there’s a hill there.
I was beginning to think I was Christopher Columbus talking to the flat earth society.
We know that UW station is in the wrong place. It should be closer to Pacific Street, or next to the HUB. But the UW has higher state authority than Sound Transit so it can dicate where stations won’t be. It’s the same reason the UW laundry facility couldn’t be used for Mt Baker TC.
Campus is built on a hill, wherever you site the station it’s going to require an uphill walk for some group of users. Fortunately Husky Stadium station isn’t the only station being built in the U-District. Oh, I forgot, we’re supposed to ignore that fact.
from what I gather … the tunnel from Husky Stadium to 45th/Brooklyn will go right underneath the campus … is there a reason why they didn’t want an additional station right in the middle of campus? is it a crime or budget issue? or is it a stop spacing issue (I can’t see stop spacing as a problem since the LRVs are quick to accelerate out of stations and no buses will be there)
My understanding was that UW did not want a station on campus. It’s particularly painful when you look at an alignment map showing the tunnels going directly under the HUB, which was just gutted for a complete renovation.
The two walks really aren’t comparable, in my opinion. The Yesler walk has most of the vertical gain in the space a four-five block stretch (4th to just past I-5), while the walk up into the UW is a very steady grade the entire time. The walk itself is not bad at all, although if it’s wet that would change things. Overall, if you need to be up by the Burke (which is past where any courses take place) the 7X is going to be better than the Link.
That said, eventually the University station will work with the Brooklyn station to serve the UW. I think that’s the big picture, even if the university station right now is better suited for people in the southern end of campus.
UW Medical Center
2010 statistics
Licensed beds 450
Employees 3,982
Physicians 1,829
Admissions 19,260
Clinic visits 323,393
Surgery cases 15,137
Emergency Department visits 25,602
plus add in visitors to patients.
And that’s just the medical center. There are thousands more employees in the rest of the health sciences building.
It’s also pretty darn convenient to the largest stadium, college or professional, in the Pacific Northwest and 10,000 seat
Hec EdAlaska Airlines Arena. Not to mention the IMA, soccer and baseball fields plus the Cut itself which hosts Opening Day by the Seattle Yacht Club.As far as the hospital remember that UW and Harborview are the same organization and doctors, nurses and staff travel back and forth regularly. In addition Swedish Cherry Hill (aka Providence) residency is a member of the University of Washington’s Affiliated Network of Family Medicine Residency Programs. A shuttle down to University or Pioneer Square and hopefully the First Hill Streetcar will generate a lot of trips.
Robert Mak on Up Front AM had an interview with Jim Hebert of Hebert Research. It was short and there is not a link (yet?) on the the KING 5 website. The two claims presented were that Bellevue residents were not in favor of the current light rail plan and that downtown business stood to lose $900 over four years of construction (not clear if that was with or without a tunnel).
Lovely… Nothing like a little shoddy “Journalism” to muddy the waters. KING 5 really has fallen a long way…
Ya, I’ve been pretty dismayed at Mak’s Fox style controversy template that media thinks passes for journalism these days. Giving credence to positions (scientific, political or ethical) that with just a few analytic brain cells applied to fact checking, the issue of truth can be distinguished. But the journalists choose not to do that.
New York University Journalism Professor Jay Rosen wrote about this style of “lazy journalism” in response to some egregious stories on NPR.
http://goo.gl/aQ0vq
My read is that it’s a survey and the numbers are based purely on business owners “gut feeling”. But we know construction did have a big impact along MLK. And we’ve already seen some shift away. Has Sound Transit given an estimate in lost revenue/jobs from construction or just looked at current employment on land that would be taken? How much was given out by ST to mitigate the impacts on business along MLK?
I can’t think of any area along the East Link alignment that will be impacted to the same extent as Central Link construction impacted MLK though. I can’t think of many downtown businesses that will be affected if the tunnel is bored, and isn’t the Bel-Red segment being built along with new streets that the city is planning on building anyways? I have a hard time believing that construction will have as large an impact on business as this study concluded.
The story you linked to didn’t indicate that Ming’s is moving because of impending light rail construction.
To be clear, this isn’t a study but a survey of business owners. However, perception may be most important since this is what will shape decisions on expansion and relocation. The 800# gorilla is what portion of the responses assumed a tunnel vs. at grade. At the very least I think Bellevue citizens deserve a good faith estimate on what the differential would be and what ST is offering in mitigation.
It’s true that a bored tunnel should have less impact than cut and cover like the DSTT, overall impacts on Bellevue Way, the station construction (South Main, Transit Center and Hospital) will really throw a wrench in already maxed out bottlenecks that affect both I-405, I-90 and SR520. ST isn’t willing to fund the tunnel so in a way it’s pick your poison; cough up the $160 million to make up for ST’s shortfall in revenue or suffer the construction and ongoing consequences of the at grade alignment.
“Giving credence to positions (scientific, political or ethical) that with just a few analytic brain cells applied to fact checking, the issue of truth can be distinguished. But the journalists choose not to do that.”
Because if all the fake controversies were weeded out that way, things would be pretty boring, and no one would pay attention to them.
You really expect actual reporting from a Belo subsidiary?
We’re lucky they didn’t just have an anchor read a memo from Kemper Freeman as fact.
They also had a short interview with Conrad Lee calling for building a station adjacent to 405 with moving sidewalks to the transit center instead of the tunnel. I thought this debate was already over.
OK, I found a link to the video segment. Jumping to conclusions I’d assumed the research was funded by Kemper Development. I was wrong. Apparently there is a new kid on the block, Fast Forward Eastside funded by yet another business interest concerned with the impact on their bottom line (which isn’t a bad thing).
Are there questions to be asked? Absolutely. But condemning this as “shoddy ‘Journalism’” and providing absolutely zero rebuttal is truly calling the kettle black.
I didn’t know Velo was a journalist.
Not sure where that tweet came from but I’m more impressed with his journalism than the high priced spread. We may not always come to the same conclusion but his insight and facts are beyond reproach.
The “shoddy ‘journalism'” comment was directed at presenting one side of the story. I didn’t view the video segment, mainly because I’ve been so disgusted with “journalism” I’ve seen on KING 5 lately. If they presented both sides in a reasonably balanced way, I’d withdraw that comment. That said, I doubt they did.
BTW: Clicking through to CETA via FFE’s web site is interesting. They are pushing many of the policies I’d wish I’d seen earlier in this debate – Most notably, the HOV enhancements and road user fees.
That said, I view most BRT talk these days as a bludgeon used against ST and Link. Given all the anti-rail articles on CETA’s site I still think that’s their goal, rather than truly improving transportation choices. I’m happy to be proven wrong though if they actually put some efforts into improving bus travel. How about studying SWIFT, RapidRide A, and RR B to see what’s working and what needs improvement? Getting Bellevue & Redmond to *really* give us priority could really speed the B line up.
Velo – Just what is the other side? FFE asked Bellevue long ago to do a study, they did not even think to do it. Has ST? Has Anyone Else?
Hebert is a pretty straight shooter, with ties to ST, and I would recommend not criticizing his data until there is someone willing to do equivalent research. He’s also smarter than you and me.
Being a Downtown Bellevue Business Owner (who was not interviewed) and a downtown resident, I am quite concerned about the future of Bellevue for the small (non-retail) business (10-15 people). The tall buildings are cost and access prohibitive and the 100’s (repeat 100’s) of EMPTY “store-fronts” on the first floor of these new buildings are now zoned or built for retail only. (ed – but HSU and friends got to build their buildings higher – while streetfronts of the first floor sit empty).
Our business may be required to relocate due to the level of construction during the 7-9-12 years of Beirutvue. We will likely not relocate within Downtown Bellevue, and are focused elsewhere, requiring longer commutes for ALL our employees, who are among the 100’s of thousands of Eastsiders (KL, Issaquah, Plateau, Newcastle, Juanita, Bothell) who are not supported by the ST routing or adequately by the existing bus service vis a vis their automobile.
Eastside workers will continue to be predominently eastside residents. Let’s figure out how to get them to downtown bellevue first, before we start importing others.
How, exactly, do you think construction is going to impact your non-retail business? Light rail isn’t being built in the street, so the impact to auto access for your employees should be minimal.
Presumably, somebody from Move Bellevue Forward would have talked about the long term benefits of having light rail downtown and may have given more insight into his poll results. Simply stating that Bellevue residents are against light rail seems pretty simplistic.
Sorry Zed, I forgot to invite you to our meeting with ST officials last spring at our offices (or were you there?) where they explained best case and worst case scenarios. Best case is they take the building we are in. Worst case, they surround us on three sides starting in 2012. In the meantime we remain in limbo, with a de-valuing building due to the unknown, and landlord that has no incentive to fix anything or even change a light bulb. Has ST had the courtesay to come back and give us an update? No.
And Velo – guess they could have had Tim Cies represent Move Bellevue Forward, or one of the nameless/faceless from FUSE (except they were organizing the upcoming Occupy Bellevue Square). But really, Hebert isn’t that kind of guy – he is a professional researcher who made himself available for questioning by the media, not a political gadfly.
Thanks for clarifying, your original comment didn’t state why you’d have to move, and most of Hebert’s research focused on a reduction in revenue due to construction impeding access to retail businesses.
I used to work in a small downtown Bellevue business which recently moved to Seattle because of cheaper rent and better transit access for employees.
“And Velo – guess they could have had Tim Cies represent Move Bellevue Forward, or one of the nameless/faceless from FUSE (except they were organizing the upcoming Occupy Bellevue Square).”
Nice… Bring out the Seattle Bogeyman… I guess I’m part of the conspiracy too since I lived in Seattle for 11 years? Please… It’s a regional system so having folks from both sides of the pond is entirely appropriate. The MBF meetings are made up mostly Eastside residents.
Velo said “Nice… Bring out the Seattle Bogeyman… I guess I’m part of the conspiracy too since I lived in Seattle for 11 years? Please… It’s a regional system so having folks from both sides of the pond is entirely appropriate. The MBF meetings are made up mostly Eastside residents.”
Yes, but funded by Seattle Interests.
“Lewis said she reached out to Fuse to help spread the word about the protest she planned. Roughly 20 people, including two organizers from Fuse’s Seattle office, stood in front of Bellevue Place.”
I’ve got 40 years of living and voting in Seattle, and two houses there, but like you found a better life on this side of the Lake in current day belleuve – we may have come here for different reasons, but we are here — and now Seattle developers, political interests want to change us, and influence OUR elections.
Serious question for you, Velo. Do you guys get to Vote for the Bellevue City Council? I haven’t been able to figure out all the burgs on borders on the eastside, and who gets what fire, police and representation?
“and now Seattle developers, political interests want to change us, and influence OUR elections.”
Better than the election influencing being dominated by one man. At least there’s some balance to it this time around.
Can’t agree with you there Zed.
We know who Kemper is and who Bob Wallace is (neither is the biggest landowner in Bellevue); and we are free to discount their message based on how you and I perceive their motives. But the other side is flying under the radar — not even the Times article this weekend would tell us who is really behind Balducci, Stokes, — with FUSE, and other Seattle PACS and organizations. There is no face, there is no community.
Tim Ceis and the seattle political establishment – who refuse to be clear as to the extent of their participation or their own motives (and sources of paychecks) — should in no way be influencing Bellevue council elections, and should stay the f out of our political neighborhood.
Are the automated stop announcements and digital route/time/upcoming stop message boards being installed on all Metro buses now? I’ve ridden on three different buses with them in the past few days.
Yes. They are currently installing these on buses at East and Bellevue bases.
I’m just looking forward to them being on buses used on the 75
I’m not because OneBusAway can’t handle them. At present, the real-time arrival information it gives for the GPS-equipped buses is complete garbage. I really hope that one day, this will be fixed.
Hopefully it should be updated. There’s a realtime GTFS that’s being championed by Google, but I suspect Metro (will take the easy road out and) won’t support feeds of both location services concurrently until all GPS buses are up and running.
I was on #8 the other morning, and it had them both working. It was the first and only time I’ve seen them. It was very nice, but it didn’t seem to be announcing every stop (I’m not positive as I was reading).
I think it only announces the stop if someone pulls the cord … otherwise it just shows the next stop on the display
No. It announces major stops, landmarks and when the bus turns on to a different street.
It’s a minor complaint, but I wish they’d alternate between next stop and date/time more often. Currently it seems they only show date/time when the bus is stopped at a stop, the rest of the time the next stop is shown constantly. There’s probably a setting to make it toggle every few seconds.
But please, don’t do like Pierce Transit’s signs. Next stop text scrolls only once. Sign blank most of the time scrolling the date and time about every minute. Waste of screen by flashing Stop Requested repeatedly and no info about the stop itself.
Most buses operating out of south base have them and they are making their way onto other buses. By the end of next year the whole fleet should have them.
are they putting them in the ETBs?
When they get to Atlantic, maybe. Atlantic and Central won’t get them until February at the earliest. I can’t wait for it to be installed on a trolley…
Wouldn’t it be useless to put them in the Bredas though? Those are (hopefully) being phased out soon?
All of the ETBs are being replaced, not just the Bredas. I think the money for it is proposed in the budget for next year, with the buses showing up in 2014.
Congrats guys – I dived into my archives and made a Flickr posting in your honour: http://www.flickr.com/photos/avgeekjoe/6295951492/in/photostream/
Cheers!
So the 17 is apparently back on 9th-to-Bell (as of the one I’m riding right now).
And lo and behold, just like the old days, the light where 9th crosses Valley and Mercer is still times so that absolutely no one gets through in less than two cycles.
I understand that this is intentional, to discourage drivers from using Westlake as a primary route to Mercer and I-5. But it doesn’t have to and really shouldn’t apply to the straight lane. Just as you cross Valley, the Mercer light goes red, and for the next 30 seconds there’s nothing but a walk light (that in no way conflicts with the straight lane).
Can someone with an ear at SDOT please get on the horn with them, to encourage them to hold the straight lane longer than the left-onto-Mercer lanes. No one goes straight but the bus, and this would be a huge boon to the 17 (and future revised 18)!!
I’m pretty sure the 9th Avenue reroute is temporary.
Nope. The 9th re-route was intended as the permanent routing when the inbound was moved from Westlake a year ago. The Dexter re-route, enacted just a month later, was the “temporary” one.
Ah. Kyle was referring to the new northbound reroute from Westlake onto 9th, which I just now discovered. Yes, that one is temporary.
I was referring to the southbound routing, where the light cycle timing guarantees two full cycles to cross Mercer. In that direction, as I said before, 9th is permanent.
I look forward to the day when Link operates 24/7 in combination with some form of owl bus service.
I went to a late evening movie on Capitol Hill on Friday and was a bit surprised to discover how sparse transportation options become approaching midnight on my return home. I’ve been so used to 24 hour service on the Red Line(and some bus lines) in Chicago that getting to/from night time activities wasn’t a challenge there.
Mind you, I’m a bit unconventional when planning the return route. Instead of waiting downtown for a #7 bus for what would have been almost 50 minutes, I instead took Link and using OBA
(Ugh.. sorry for the half posting there) I got on Link and “ride the rails” until I can transfer at Mt. Baker or Rainier Beach station to a bus with minimal (10 minutes) wait time. My (slight) disappointment was that the train I got on in my ride the rails scheme at Rainier Beach was the 12:30 am last train to Beacon Hill. I remember thinking, geez this is sure early to be the last train. Needless to say, I made my transfer and got home.
But somehow as we become a more urban and dense city, we’re going to have to really provide transportation 24/7.
I could be wrong, but I believe Seattle has the only 24/7/365 transit service in the Pacific NW (I’m not sure what overall transit service is on the Canadian side of the border). Even Portland’s MAX shuts down in the very early morning along with the bus service. Everywhere else isn’t even close (i.e., Spokane’s STA has its last buses out of Downtown at around 11:20 PM weekdays and much earlier on weekends; Eugene’s LTD doesn’t run on holidays; Salem/Keizer, OR, runs 5 days a week).
So, despite the details, Seattle leads the Northwest in terms of span of service.
Seattle has more night service than most major NW cities but Vancouver has a comprehensive night bus network that’s arguably better than Seattle’s.
Metro’s route 7 and RapidRide A Line are the two normal routes in the NW I can think of that run 24/7, roughly every hour in the early AM.
I had the reverse thought.
Since the demand for mass transit is so much higher during the daylight hours, why not have a time dependent ban on automobiles (or very high tolls…even on downtown avenues) for the most congested areas.
At the same time, almost no one wants to walk to a bus stop and ride at night when you can just jump in a car when traffic is low and get someplace in ten minutes.
I’m hoping that when Link between Capitol Hill and the U-District is completed, it will run all night. I live in the U-District and regularly end up taking the 49 from bars on Capitol Hill at 2:30am. Why doesn’t a bus run shortly after the bars close? I always end up waiting for a half hour or more, along with dozens of other people. It’s usually standing room only on the weekends.
John Bailo, I have a feeling drunk driving accidents would decrease if late-night public transportation were better.
Agree, good point. Also more use of taxis.
I was driving home from 24 Hr fitness in Kent tonight and realized that if I wanted to, I could take the 168 from near my apartment there and back (until 11pm or so).
Shows that even in a low density burb, transit can provide a service for recreation at night.
“With the same force that powered the most ambitious rail programme in history, China has slammed the brakes on its investment in high-speed trains.
The sudden halt has led to system-wide whiplash, leaving workers without pay, battalions of heavy machinery sitting idle and setting back plans for bullet trains that were meant to carry the nation’s future.”
http://marginalrevo
lution.com/marginalrevolution/2011/10/update-on-the-austro-chinese-business-cycle.html
I posted a rough sketch for a proposal for North Seattle bus service, post-Link and RR, on the Fall 2012 service change thread. I may submit it as a guest post, but I’d like to get some feedback first.
Does anyone know by chance if there is a map online somewhere that shows where you can pick up the Husky Shuttle buses outside Husky Stadium after home games? I realize that the destinations are labeled with signs after the game but they are fairly spread out and going from one spot to another can be chaotic with the crowds running all over the place trying to get home.
Hydrogen Cars Tested in France Pass with Flying Colors
http://www.hydrogencarsnow.com/blog2/index.php/hydrogen-cars/hydrogen-cars-tested-in-france-pass-with-flying-colors/
Hydrogen-powered taxis coming to London
2 November 2011
http://www.londonlovesbusiness.com/news/hydrogen-powered-taxis-coming-to-london/928.article