Being too self entitled to take public transit isn't anybody's fault but your own.

@1 - You don't think there's a single legitimate gripe in that short rant?

I'm really not thrilled by what seems to be their latest money-saving trick - substituting 40' straight buses for 60' articulated buses on busy commuter routes.

DTMFA!

@2 - Gripes, yes. Legitimate? No. If you can't handle public transit and can't get yourself around like a normally functioning person without relying on single occupant vehicles designed for four or more, it's because you're a self entitled asshole. Seriously. Grow some fucking balls Seattle.

every child needs a mother and father, just like every commuter needs their own car

@ Seeds,
"Self entitled"? Let me guess, English isn't your native tongue. Perhaps you should buy a dictionary.

However, no need for you to look up "self-righteous" - all you need to do is look in the mirror.

I'm fine with a bus stopping in front of a green light, if there's a bus stop there, or if there are pedestrians crossing.

I can cope with and plan for ten minute delays on lots of days, and put up with occasional delays of 45+ minutes due to events, road work, or whatever.

I understand that drivers are trained to avoid confrontation for safety reasons, and to leave the assaults and harassment to the transit police specifically trained to deal with that crap.

I still get real upset, however, when drivers refuse to stop and let me on when the bus is already at capacity. I understand it well enough, sure, but I just seethe for the rest of the day anyway.

Seattle buses are repugnant: late, nasty, and unreliable. Let's tax the rich!

Why is this system we've worked so hard to hamstring not doing what I've made it financially nearly impossible to do?!

@11 - We should continue to defund it until they learn how to run a luxurious, on-time, reliable service. They'll never learn unless we slit their throats.

One less undesirable person on the bus. A couple hundred thousand to go.

Ride on Community Transit and you'll understand this guy's gripes.

I feel for you guys with the coming bus service cuts (if they happen) but let's be realistic here. PNW bus service is pretty damn good despite how it's practically set up to fail. Try living in NY and relying on MTA busses, or SF and MUNI. At least your transit authority hasn't killed anyone lately.

I'm with @7, @8, and @10--YEAH---Tax the @!*?ing rich already!.

@17: I agree with you, too. It's sad to hear about public transit woes in Seattle and elsewhere. Good lord, I can't imagine living anywhere where Metro passengers are at the risk of getting assaulted and / or shot by their own drivers!

You know what makes waiting for the bus easier?

A substantial majority of people would prefer to use Metro buses if, or when, the buses are;

Safe,
Reliable,
Clean,
Economically compelling*.

Until then, everyone who has a better option will take that better option. The objective should be to make Metro the best option, rather than the last resort.

[Disclosure: I rode Metro (and other transit systems) all over Sno-King-Pierce for 15 years while I lived in downtown & Capitol Hill Seattle.]

*Heavily subsidized, with a simple and cheap fare structure. More people riding equals fewer SOV cars on the road equals more space on the road equals less congestion.

Baconcat FTW!

From my experience the only town that seems to get public transit right is Portland.

When you're in your 20s and don't have kids or a real job, it's easy to preach at people for not taking the bus or riding a bike.

After a long period of unemployment, my wife got a job in Fremont. That's what she could get and we own a home in Snohomish county. She took the Sounder and then the 28 from downtown.

She'd get up at 5:15 and get home at 7:00. She did that for three months. The train was reliable but the buses weren't. We did the numbers and it's actually cheaper to drive.

Now she gets up at 5:45 - 6:00 and gets home around 4.

When we lived in Lake City, we bussed a lot. Until a trip from Lake City to Queen Anne on a Saturday night takes a lot less than three hours, you're not going to get people out of their cars no matter how much they want to support public transit.

............COCAINE!

Holding public office (and receiving your inflated salary) should require you to use public schools and transit.
The only problem is that, with the increased security and standards that would undoubtedly be put in place once senators and congress(wo)men are riding the bus, Last Days will probably run a bit short of public grooming stories.
Sorry, LD.

"Hmm, should I take the bus today? Eh, maybe not. Their website sucks."

In this day and age I have to take job wherever. Since I have a child to care for (g-baby), its freakin impossible to get to work,and come home at a reasonable time,using the bus. Not to mention daycare to pay for how early I have to leave, and the lateness getting home. Defeats the purpose.
So, I now have a car. I dont give a shit how many sad glitter vegetable tears car haters shed.
I now have a life! I can actually participate in my g-babys life! She can do sports and after school activities and I can get her there ON TIME.
Thank you bus.For showing the error of my ways. If it wasnt for the daily,loooong, wasteful, numbing and frustrating ways getting to work and back, I would've never known the joys of a car.
Im happy, my job is happy,and my g-girl is extremely happy. And Im totally digging not smelling some stranger and trying not to puke.

What's "g-baby"?

Vancouver, BC makes Seattle look entirely medieval. Enjoy your super-tunnel, buddies!

@30- My grandchild. I worship Oil of Olay.

@24: The only reason it's cheaper for me to ride is parking is expensive where I work. If I didn't have to pay for parking, I'd be better off driving. It'd save me money and I'd get an hour a day of my life back.

I commute by bus and it's awesome! 20 minutes each way from downtown to Wallingford. I realize that my experience is not the norm, but commuter hours on the bus are great for me: always on-time, drivers are nice, everyone on the bus is also a commuter...everyone just has their heads in their smart-phones. No drama, no hassle.

First, taxing the rich more will only hurt the social services that actually work because that's where they get most of their money from, so do you want more homeless people being harassed by police or do you want to keep your streets looking safer than they actually are?

Secondly, the bus system here is falling apart, they are canceling routes to areas that if you walked, you'd be walking half the day to get to and from work. My sympathies to the people forced to drive now because driving sucks with all the self aggrandizing people who think they are being green while driving their own gas hogs at 10 mph or speeding by at 100 mph running over the pedestrians. I would love to see a world without cars, not because of the fake green feeling others get from it, but because it would be nice to see everything moving synchronized (imagine I, Robot with Will Smith). But most of all, I have allergies and car exhaust just happens to be a huge offender for people with real allergies (if you whine about smoking but not car exhaust, you are lying about having allergies). But I won't force them to change, I won't force anyone to change, and the green psychos should award that same courtesy, stupid Bible thumpers ... oh wait, I was talking about greenies .... always get those two confused. Anyhow, Metro is fucking Seattle in huge ways, the price hikes that were suppose to be because of gas prices, well, the hikes are still going in spite of gas prices having dropped a lot and most of the buses running on electricity now anyway. The bus routes being cut, because they seem to not have enough money, so they beg the city for more but instead of improving service they hire the most obnoxious drivers now. The new drivers lately have been rude and rather uncouth.

Now, many of the old drivers that have been around for a while are still nice, yes, but the new ones are almost scary. Yeah, I've been a rider a bit too long to recognize which are new, but meh. I will still likely take the bus, because I really can't afford a car anyway, and walk most of the time so owning one would just be a huge waste. I don't do it because I want that fake green feeling though, I don't walk because some fitness moron said it's "healthier", I do it because that's just how I roll and have done so all my life.

So get off your high an mighty horses about people who drive, normally those who complain about them "polluting" are the ones doing the most damage, let me guess, you all still use paper for everything to.

I can get to Capitol Hill from my house by car (or motorcycle) in 10-12 minutes. Getting there by metro takes 45-50+ minutes if I start time after I step on the first bus. If it's just me, driving is a bit more expensive than taking the bus: about $3.55 (IRS mileage rate) versus $2.25. If I take my motorcycle, it's much more affordable. If I take another person in my car or on my motorcycle, a situation arises where there is no justification for taking the bus, if I decide I can mostly ignore externalities (and who doesn't?!?).

It's a sad state of affairs when driving within the city is so much more pragmatic than taking public transit.

@14, move to Portland and then tell us what you think about Metro.

Metro's biggest problem is that it is only a bus system. Central Puget Sounds transit woes cannot be solved by busses and light rail alone. Monorail, Bus Rapid Transit, and other technologies running unimpaired by the rest of traffic would go a long way in making public transit desirable.

@39: One group calls people from Seattle pussies because they don't like cars, the other group calls people from Seattle pussies because they do like cars. Although I strongly suspect both sides are the same folks, all the trolling cancels itself out, I suppose.

@40, 41: When I lived in an area with much better service, I took the bus so often that some of my friends didn't know that I owned a car. I would bicycle/bus to work. I also took the 48 all the time, back when it was probably the most consistently late bus in the system (we usually called it the 96, since two would show up at the same time, both late). At some point I just decided that my time was worth more than whatever tiny amount of money I saved by taking the bus (and the smug sense of satisfaction so many people apparently have about taking Metro). That's not to say I actively avoid taking the bus, or think it's a bad move overall. It's simply not my first choice any more.

The average Seattle employer won't abide workers who are habitually 30 minutes late. The average Seattle bus traveling more than 2 miles is well over 30 minutes late at least once a week.

The average Seattle bus-snob is a hypocrite, a kept spouse, or simply lucky enough to live within walking distance of their job.

@45: Except the data disagrees with you in general. Per the 2010 commute study commissioned by the DSA -- http://www.commuteseattle.com/wp-content… -- ~35% of downtown workers use transit and the average commute length is 14 miles.

The Downtown core is the densest statewide with over 200,000 employees.

@29/33: Promise not to say 'g-baby' ever again and I promise not to punch you. Giant vomit.

@46 .... while I know that it's not as long as some claim along certain routes, others are longer, and the data you posted was not that complete, survey's and polls have a huge tendency to be manipulated by the takers even when they try not to. However, there is one huge problem with the metro routes now, they are targeting store front locales more than office sectors in outlying areas, downtown is pretty much almost all offices and condos now so of course there would be no problem here. You must realize, 14 miles isn't much distance, I can walk that and use to bike 40+ miles each day to get to and from work (total of 80+ miles), while possible it's not ideal for most people to do that. I did it only because I had no other choice, it was also in a very rural part of Colorado at the time and there was no city traffic to contend with, not even traffic lights most of the trip. But I digress back to the topic of Seattle Metro, it's not a good system anymore, and each change they make only makes matters worse. Right now it's about the same as Tacoma Transit but without comfy seats.

You poor baby. I would offer use of the world's tiniest violin, but you already seem to be playing it for yourself.

I once tried to go to a show at Numos. My Earth Killing Machine was broken so I had to take the bus. I live in the U-Dist and show started at 10pm so I had to wake up at 6am to get there on time. And the bus was 2 hour late so I just totally missed the show. Not sure why it took 16 hours to get there. Or why the bus cost $10. But it did. And there I was at Numos, midnight. I missed the show. I think somebody pick-pocketed me on the bus and the driver didn't do anything about it. Actually I think it was the driver. Doesn't Metro do background checks before they hire drivers? Or do they recruit directly from prisons?

But oh well. I guess I'm just a self-entitled brat. I didn't really need to see that band play anyway. I never heard of them before. They're super indie.

I'll ride public transportation again when they make it as safe, clean, and pleasant as public transportation in Europe. Seriously, folks, it doesn't have to be a nasty, hellish overpriced experience.

I have not spent time there is several years, so I cannot swear this is still true but the San Francisco Bay Area has (had?) a kick ass system that integrates busses, a subway system and the fabled streetcars into a convenient,affordable, reasonably sanitary, reasonably well regulated means of getting to wherever you need to get within the city and very close to pretty much anything in the surrounding service area.
Between this and the wonderful things I've heard about Portland's public transportation I fail to understand why Seattle's pencil pushers can't examine those systems (in cities with torrential rain,several campuses, convoluted neighborhoods and hilly, windy bits-some of the same challenges Seattle has) that do work and apply the results of that study to efforts to make Seattle's public transportation more useable.

I have a real job and a child....BUT

On my route (I made sure I was on a single route between home and employment), the bus costs me less than 30 minutes/day in time vs driving a car. I am lucky to be part of a family where we rarely need outside childcare. The bus (or more rarely, bike) is often welcome downtime. After One-Bus-Away and its ilk came along, I was far happier about the bus (I hate waiting, especially when the wait time is unknown). Work subsidizes my bus pass and charges the big bucks for all but occasional parking.

So in a near-optimum setup, Metro can work pretty well (and even so, there's room for a
lot of improvements but those all cost $).

That's "my" Metro. "Your" Metro might be quite a bit different.

Best I, Anon in a long time. I wish more people did this.

I have but only mild gripes with transit, between OneBusAway and Google Maps I'm rarely surprised.

Sans-smartphone I'd probably be more irked.

Thank you finally for a legit I,Anon. Metro is decent as long as you are going downtown - otherwise you're screwed. I live in Ballard and work in the Rainier Valley. It takes me a 90 minutes to get home on a good day - 2 hours is more typical. You're really screwed if you are elderly or disabled. When was the last time you saw an able-bodied person voluntarily relinquish their seat? That's right, never! Unless you are in a wheelchair you can forget about assistance from the driver.
I loved Metro's recent campaign -"We'll get you there.". They neglected to add the disclaimer, "eventually".

I think it's the word 'public' in Public Transportation that causes such a knee-jerk reactions and fervent partisanship when talking about a bus ride. But let's be real, it's a SERVICE that I pay for (both in taxes as a homeowner and as fare for the ride). And like any service I demand a quality product at a quality price. Waiting 20, 30, or 40 minutes, in the rain, isn't quality service, no matter what definition of quality you use.

Metro provides decent service considering its limitations, and if the people of Seattle and adjacent cities want better transportation in general they have to improve their attitudes and tax support for public transportation. I recently bought a car after six years of using Metro Transit and Sound Transit in lieu of a personal vehicle. Idealism is great, but it only gets me so far in life when so few of my peers think similarly. I quit until more people consider community transportation as an option for themselves rather than just as a charitable option for the less privileged. Martyrdom for public benefit is tiresome.

I commute from Seattle to the Eastside on the bus. Takes me about 50 minutes door to door each way. The reason I can't really fault Metro: my employer also operates shuttle buses. The stop in my neighborhood is a 12 minute walk from home. It still takes me 45 minutes door to door. That's the thing about an 11 mile commute.

I can actually get there in a little over an hour on my bike. At a certain point that option starts looking better and better. At least that way my speed isn't subject to traffic...

@59 :: you're the only person here who isn't bat shit crazy!

@62: I guess that disqualifies me. I may be crazy, but I'm an out-of-towner and only use Seattle Metro once or twice a year. I hope the richie-rich approved deep bore tunnel doesn't fuck commuters up. I'd really hate to see Seattle become pedestrian unfriendly. It already sounds like it's getting that way.

@64 warren79:

Who, ME? The Queen of Eccentric??
Run, you poor man, while there is still time!!

If you're too dumb to figure out how to ride the bus properly I suggest you either move back to the midwest where they worship cars as much as you do, or kill yourself and let someone more deserving use the resources you would have wasted in life.

@66: Ummmmmm, are you talking to ANON?
You can't mean me. I was born in Seattle. And while I still own and drive a car, I walk and use public transportation to conserve resources as much as possible. No WW3, I'm just saying.

I'm sorry to hear about what just recently happened on a Metro bus downtown!

@47 Ahh philgirl, what the fuck you want me to say? I kept it short, dickhead. I'm sure if your mom died and your grammy was raising you, she'd have all kinds of pet names for you. And she would smear your ass on the sidewalk for your pissy comment on a gramma's term of endearment.

Why are the only options bus or car? Get a scooter/motorcycle/BICYCLE or even a smart car, if you can't bear to get rained on.. but if that's the case what are you doing in Seattle in the first place?