As you may have noticed, August was extra quiet here at STB. This is the result of combination of factors hitting all at once, including some of our contributors moving on to other priorities.

But September is here, Northgate Link is less than 30 days away, and we’re back, or at least we aim to be. But we need your help. If you have ever thought “hey, it might be interesting to write something for STB,” now is the time! Drop us an email, contact@seattletransitblog.wpcomstaging.com.

PS: to clarify, we’re mostly interested right now in volunteer / unpaid submissions, although we are ramping up our ability to offer paid freelance assignments as well. More to say on that in the future!

17 Replies to “Know any good writers?”

  1. Any thought of bringing Erica C. Barnett back? (or linking /paying her for her transit/housing articles ?) After all, she just did a big story on Rogoff in Publicola (linked in the last mega open thread)

  2. It’s a post by someone other than Alex! Thank you Frank for letting us all know the site is alive, and hopefully well!

  3. I recently got a dog and would be interested in doing a write up (with cute pictures) of my experience with taking a dog on transit.

  5. I think it would be a nice gesture to provide hyperlinks to important transit agency documents from time to time. Many have short summaries that can be pasted as text, followed by a Link to the document. Just simply providing the document will elicit multiple comments and would seem quick to prepare as a topic up for discussion.

    For example, here is the ST 2020 Annual Report and 2021-26 TDP from the Board document section on their web site:

    https://www.soundtransit.org/st_sharepoint/download/sites/PRDA/ActiveDocuments/Report%20-%20TDP%202021-20260%202020%20Annual%20Report%2009-02-2021.pdf

  6. Is there a meet-up proposed on Northgate Link opening weekend? That could be a good time to have an interactive discussion on STB’s future for 2022.

    1. I’m a long-time lurker planning on coming down from Bellingham on October 2. I’m excited! I’ve never attended a Link opening.

    3. Here’s one possibility I thought up today.

      1. Meet at 10:30am at UW station on the platform.
      2. After 10:45am, take first northbound train to Northgate Station. Exit the station, reenter, look down on station area. Will the ped bridge across I-5 be finished?
      3. Go to Roosevelt station, explore station area.
      4. End at U-District station, Optional lunch.

      [1] If you tap once you’ll tap out. If you tap again, it will continue your original trip as if you hadn’t tapped. There’s no way to tap out/in for a U-turn without waiting 15 minutes. I assume the fare inspectors won’t look too closely at people going toward their starting point on opening day.

      1. If you tap once you’ll tap out. If you tap again, it will continue your original trip as if you hadn’t tapped. There’s no way to tap out/in for a U-turn without waiting 15 minutes. I assume the fare inspectors won’t look too closely
        Clear as mud and why I won’t be there. To damn hard to get any of my existing ORCA cards working (password crap etc.). Not spending the money to buy a new one that won’t work next time. No transfers from Metro to Link. Thanks so much for using my tax dollars to make transit useless. Portland, I put in my credit card and get a magic carpet for the day that only costs $5; Seattle’s base charge to go nowhere. Portland grade A, Seattle grade D-. The minus is because you can’t even fix an over drawn ORCA online; you have to call and then hope you have the info needed after waiting on hold. Note, three free ORCA cards have died with fared owed because it was so damn hard to give them money.

  7. What is needed to provide pay for freelance articles? Is it a question of funding or finding interested freelance writers?

    1. STB has had paid reporters in the past, Lizz Giordano and Zach Shaner. They were funded by reader contributions and maybe by sponsors. I’d contribute for a new paid reporter if one can be found. They generally research and write an article every few days, and attend the daytime agency meetings the rest of us can’t. Some have used it as a stepping-stone to real newspapers: Lizz went on the Everett Herald, and I think has been in the Seattle Times occasionally.

      Erica had previously been at weekly newspapers, and I think wrote for STB for free because she’s a transit/urbanist activist. At least her bio says “volunteer” (free) rather than “Staff Reporter” (paid). She now has several paid reporting jobs and may not have time for a transit focus.

    2. @Cole – it’s mostly about getting good pitches from writers and then having the time to edit and revise them. In the past, as Mike said, we’ve had one part-time staff reporter.

      1. Seems like possibly even an opportunity for aspiring journalists who don’t have the newspaper options they used to have to gain experience.

  9. Joe, A 12 for Transit, if he’s as good a writer as he’s articulate, would be an excellent choice, even if he merely shared the various places he commented, in-person or live or online. He could share some of the questions that people have asked at such places, such as where there be restroom facilities at Northgate, will the Link trains there go to Sea-Tac (one seat ride). His energy and breadth of places he participates in is remarkable! His bio would be an interesting story in and of itself!

    Another idea would be to have a “Simmering Topics” column where a “problem/issue” is stated and the readership is challenged to come up with ways to address it, with SMEs answering why something is or isn’t possible. For instance, getting light rail to Everett faster. I think it was Joe who wondered whether money spent on Sounder North could be repurposed to Ev-Link. What does the former add to the system that already has express bus service from Everett Station, Mukilteo, and Edmonds to downtown Seattle other than a very expensive, but scenic ride? Another topic might be Snohomish County’s contingent lengthening the first phase of Ev-Link from Mariner to the vague “southwest Everett,” adding delay when Swift Green already goes there. The reason given was to serve low-income residents along Casino Road. However, that would only be the case if “southwest Everett” meant the extension went to Evergreen and Casino Road, which does not seem to be the meaning, but rather to serve Boeing, the whole reason for the costly and time-consuming dogleg to begin with! What about the provisional station at highway 99? Wouldn’t a station at the north end of the Paine Field terminal be much more valuable, since BRT already covers that intersection? Lastly, closing the gaps in the connections to regional transit, the two most glaring up north being the ST 513 bypassing the heavily-used South Everett Park & Ride in favor of the nearly-abandoned Eastmont Park & Ride (it’s the only route that goes there); and the ET 70 only having revenue service for Boeing employees rather than for both directions to connect Seaway to Mukilteo in the a.m. peak and visa-versa for the p.m. peak (or, alternatively, extending the #513)?

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