Bus changes

Its being called the biggest change to the bus service in modern times. I agree. I remember first riding the bus in high school for summer work at Fishermens Terminal. I would catch the 15 or 18. Not anymore.  It is all changed. Even the Free Ride Zone downtown is gone.

Now we have Rapid Ride.  It is supposed to be like a light rail or train link. A dedicated route with busses ever 10 minutes during peak hrs.  Many of the routes that used to go from surrounding areas to downtown have been eliminated or rerouted to connect with the Rapid Ride line instead of going all the way downtown.

One of the reasons we moved to Alki was because of the good bus service. We used to have door to door service to and from Downtown. Now only the peak runs remain. The 56 is down to 9 runs in the AM and the 37 has 4 runs in the AM. Reverse for return trips. Only peak hrs.

I told myself I won't judge until a month goes by. But here is how it is going so far.

First let me back up and tell the story of how this came to be. I started hearing grumblings of big bus changes 6 months ago. Metro posted notices of the routes affected and the times for meetings to discuss proposed changes. 56 and 37 were not on that list. I thought I was safe.

Fast forward to last week. I finally got the tip that my bus routes are hosed. It was hard to get information on exactly how hosed, Metro did not release the new timetables until the day before the change.

The C line and the end of the free ride zone went into effect on Friday, Sept 28. The end of the off peak 56 and 37 started on Saturday. Friday I had a 'back issue' and I stayed at home and Bronwen drove in.  As expected, there were some protests Friday afternoon over the loss of the Free Ride Zone.

Monday am. Time to go to work. I catch the 7:54 am 56.   There are two more runs after this. First I notice it is a smaller bus. It is the first stop of the run, so the bus is empty when we get on. A lot of people get on. By the time the bus reaches California St. it is jammed. Twelve people had to stand from West Seattle to Downtown.

Monday afternoon. I catch the first 56 back to the beach. It leaves at 3:07.  It is jam packed. I have never seen so many people get on it. I realize many of them probably used to take the 2:45 bus and now wait 15 min. Lots of kids from Holy Names Academy.  Three people end up standing. But, the new route is faster, it no longer services Spokane St. It stays on W Seattle Bridge all the way to Admiral. This should result in a shorter trip but since there are so many people, it takes the same amount of time today.

Tuesday am. I am up early and curious, so I hop the W Seattle shuttle. It is a free shuttle that goes down the beach, stops at the Water Taxi and then goes on up California St and back down Admiral. There is another Shuttle that meets at the dock also. This one goes to Alaska Junction. Nice service and its free!

I got on the bus and then realized if I am going to take the Water Taxi,  I need one dollar on top of my Orca card fare. I don't have a dollar! ugh. I ask the bus driver if the Water Taxi can give change. She says no and checks to see if she has change. She has none. So I wander over to the coffee shop across the street. Marination Makai, the new restaurant at the dock is not open yet, but looks real close. I hope they open before the Shuttle ends for the season, at the end of Oct.

I get my crappy tea so I can get change. I didn't have the heart to just get change, and they probably wouldn't have anyways.  I give credit to anyone who opens a small coffee shop these days....

As I am leaving the coffee shop, I see the 37 go by. It is crowded, more than usual, but no one is standing.  I think this is a good sign, until I see all the people who just got off the bus at the earlier stop, headig for the Water Taxi. There are probably 15 of them. I suspect they were stuck standing and decided to get off the bus and take the Water Taxi.

The water taxi is fine. More crowded than usual but plenty of seats. I didn't get a table though, so this crappy tea is a hindrance to my reading.   One reason I prefer the bus over water taxi, more reading time, but I really really do not like over crowded buses.

No judgement yet. Its too early. I think these things tend to work themselves out as no one likes over crowded buses! I just hope it does not end up with more cars on the road.