King County Metro

A series of personal accounts ("blog") of one person's attempts to get around Greater Seattle using King County Metro.


During heavy snowfall, what about Metro hiring a U.W. student who knows HTML (and can post changes to the Snow, Ice (Adverse Weather) webpage as buses decide NOT to do a certain run or return to normal service?

Tell Mayor McGinn, if he wishes to be re-elected, he's send a few heads (like #1 and #2) at Metro rolling, and pretty quick. Metro's SNOW SCHEDULE has been a joke for many years, this not excluded.

- - - - -

Since Sunday, January 14, through Friday, Metro service has been terrible.

On Tuesday, January 16, 2002, there is no snow or ice on the ground in the morning, and there is no precipitation throughout the day, but Metro has decided to place its ENTIRE bus system on SNOW ROUTE for the ENTIRE day.

Riders in the morning at the bus-stop were cursing and grumbling: "No snow or ice on the ground. But the "application" on a smartphone says "on snow route." No way to know really to know when, where, or if the bus is coming.

Later that day around 4;00 a bus driver explains to me that, "Yeah, the bus could go straight up the hill (Queen Anne), but Metro does not want to confuse riders."

As if tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of riders weren't confused that day and scratching their heads.

From 8 until 9 a.m. on Thursday, January 18, 2002, no buses were to be seen on the top of the hill, on the western or eastern side. Just a lone "shuttle box" going in a circle every half an hour with no one on it. The application "One Bus Away" shows buses #3 and #4, serving the east slope, every 10-15 minutes leaving Boston & Queen Anne N. The two buses have vanished.

Metro's website, which I checked before leaving the house, says buses #3 and #4 are running their normal routes.

Friday, January 19, 2002, Metro's adverse weather page is confusing and in all likelihood partially to totally inaccurate. One cannot go by it. A rider has to walk to the bus-stop and wait for a half an hour. If it doesn't show up, s/he'll have to walk the other way and start walking. For how long, s/he'll will not really know. Pity the Capitol Hill, Queen Anne, First Hill, Madison Valley, Greenlake, etc residents.

Metro is incapable of informing riders whether a certain bus is on its way or whether it will not be seen for the next 12 hours.

I forgot to remember the mantra of Queen Anne residents: When Metro says it's on a snow route, it means you yourself walk down to the bottom of the hill (Seattle Center), about 12 minutes. Waiting for a Metro bus is for fools only.

- - - - -

(On Sunday, Metro decided to put some buses on snow route. Apparently, it is too much trouble for the head honchos to be flexible and take it "one day at a time").

Good going, Metro administrators, the "snow wimps."

"Color Seattle clueless. The city has always marched unarmed into its infrequent battles with snow, and Wednesday's snowstorm was no exception." -L.A. Times

http://latimesblogs.la...

- - - - -

Four stars ( * * * *) for the bus drivers (unfortunately there are a few stinkers) and * only One Star (*) for Metro's General Manager. You've flunked the test once again, Mr. General Manager, and you still get "a pass."
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15 Previous Reviews: Hide »
8/21/2011
"You have to be poor, old, handicapped, 300+ pounds, certified mentally insane, a just released King County Jail felon, a gong-ho environmentalist, or a downtown commuter to have to regularly ride Metro."

* * * * *

Metro is good for the environment and easy on your pocketbook, compared to owning a car. But it's a horrible waste of precious time: waiting for late buses or buses that never appear at all.

From its website:

"King County Metro Transit - We'll Get You There..." They just don't tell you how very L-O-N-G it will take.

THREE (3) hours on Saturday, August 20, 2011, to get from Wedgwood to Lincoln Park ?

On the hottest day of the year so far (85 degrees), another record breaker.

Co-honors go to the City's Planning Department for ensuring that BOTH the West Seattle Viaduct and the University Bridge would be closed on the very same day of a Seahawks game at QWest Field AND a Hempfest at Myrtle Edwards Park on the Waterfront.

Surely Metro do better than have one bus on the 54 route to Fauntleroy every hour on a late Saturday afternoon, one of the busiest times for Metro riders?

Word of advice: Metro's not going to take you anywhere on a busy weekend without stretching your patience to the limits.

Seattle still has no way of moving large masses of people. An integrated rail system is A LONG WAYS off into the future, thanks to the snails-pace of long-term planning.

Stay home, instead, and relax, on the weekend!

So many places to go and things to do. But don't count on Metro...even if your life depended on it.

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12/28/2010
Easier to find your way back home from an airport in a snow blizzard than by taking a Metro bus.

* * * * *

NO ONE can figure it out, not even the bus drivers, much less riders.

* * * * *

Who is Top Dog at Metro? A political appointee, I am assuming.

It's one thing if one bus doesn't appear ("oh, it must have broken down, you know"), but if the next four buses don't appear ("oh, they must have disappeared") as well (and you've been waiting over an hour in 35 degree weather while it's raining dogs and cats), there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with the system of public transit.

Please Chief King County Executive Constantine let go the top person and get some one else who can straighten out this mess--and not blame it all on bad weather, bad traffic and budget cuts (bad, too).

What about bad planning and bad management?

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7/5/2010
Seven (7) hours to UNBLOCK an Orca that had been accidentally BLOCKED two days earlier??

I had called to find out what I should do if I lost my card and the agent asked for my name. Without telling me, he blocked it so that no one could use it again--including myself. I found my Orca card a few hours later.

But it took numerous calls (and leaving message)s to Metro's Pass Sales office, as well as Orca, to get it unblocked.

Metro agents are often well-intentioned and good-humored, but the (design of) the system is incredibly bureaucratic and inefficient.

Why, for example, are the Orca readers on Metro buses out-of-order? (or why do they pop up with bizarre messages)?

* * * * *

I remember last summer one day when it was 97 degrees outside and the bus driver did not turn on the air conditioning. No rider had the pluck to ask him to turn it on.

Or yesterday, when in the morning--61 degrees outside--, the windows were open, and the young bus driver, in walking shorts, had turned on the HEAT because, he told me, his "feet were cold."

* * * * *

Why do Metro buses have such frequent breakdowns*? Does Metro have a Maintenance Department, one that actually checks out buses ("routine maintenance") BEFORE they break down?

If your car broke down as often as Metro buses do, you'd be mad as hell, I bet. But drivers and maintenance personnel get paid whether or not the buses break down. Riders get to steam.

* I wonder if Metro keeps statistics on this (and would be willing to make them public). I have ridden Community
Transit, etc. and rarely encountered so many buses that break down.

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9/7/2009
Riding Metro has one advantage: great public service announcements.

Examples:

"HEY HONEY, I'M ON THE BUS. (I'm at 3rd & Cedar. I should be home in 5-10 minutes. Love you.)."

(Loudly speaking into cellphone): "Do you know what I'm doing tonight?"

"That f---ing bit--, I'm gonna kick her ASS, I don' hata pu'up wid dat shit. No f---- way. HELL no."

"It was really awesome...How was your day? Oh, that's awesome."

The bus driver doesn't have anything important to say, anyway.

And everyone on the bus is just dying to--and has to know--what I am going to do tomorrow

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8/17/2009
"Ryerson Depot," "Out of Service," "Training Coach," "Atlantic Base," "To Terminal," "CB," "SB, "AB," "Depot," "No Passengers," and "------- (Twilight Zone)" all mean the same thing.

Dear Metro,
Please schedule more buses that go somewhere. And that actually (!) pick up riders.

http://seattletim...

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6/26/2009
Metro, please get rid of the 5%-10% of dead-weight bus drivers (who turn their heads away when you board the bus, etc.)! They shouldn't be driving a bus. Period.

* * * * *

More personal responsibility on the part of ALL drivers: Not just "don't get into a traffic accident."

Not "the bus leaves when it leaves" = when I say so, when I'm done with my coffee & donut. Or after I've read the newspaper and/or finished gabbing with a fellow bus-driver]"!

There is a bus schedule. Go by it.

* * * * *

Route 99, June 26, 2009, 3:16 p.m. at 8th Ave. S. & King St., the starting point of the International District - Pioneer Square - Alaskan Waterfront route.

"Hello! Are you going to be leaving in a minute or two?"

No response.

I go sit down, wait another minute and then, thinking he had not understood my question, ask the bus-driver, "Are we going to be ready to go shortly?"

"THE BUS LEAVES WHEN IT LEAVES [don't you get it, buddy?]."

(What about those bus schedules, anyway?).

"I was just asking a question."

Fiddling with some box, "Don't you see I'm busy?!"

"I'm going to report you..."

"Ass-h000."

So I did.

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6/12/2009
I wonder if:

The bus driver that refuses to open the door because you didn't get there in time, after running towards it half a block, before he closed it (the bus is still at the curb)...is the same one that is 10+ minutes late leaving the beginning of his route. Or picks up a friend in the middle of the block and lets him off at a non-designated stop.

Because he took an extra-long break? A short snooze? grabbed a sandwich? decided to read the newspaper? was on his cell-phone with his girl-friend?

#13 from Seattle Pacific University towards downtown, 6:31 p.m. at Queen Anne & Boston. Four passengers on-board. A dozen waiting at the stop.

Friendly, conscientious bus-drivers.

Yes, enough bad apples can give the lot a bad reputation.

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6/5/2009
Metro will get you where you need (or want) to get to, but it sure won't be swift.

For example, this morning, from lower Queen Anne to the bottom of I-5, where the #8 bus broke down ("wheel-chair lift would not retract"), it took
15 minutes (waiting for the #8 at Mercer) + 10 minutes (actual trip) + 20 minutes (waiting on the bus to see if it would budge) = 45 minutes for a distance of one mile!

I was originally headed towards Madison Valley and, needless to say, never got there.

The bus driver, instead of announcing what had happened, let everyone guess. A good riders many did, by looking out the window seeing a wheel-chair rider and the chair-lift extended out the front door, and then swiftly shuffled off the bus.

One lane of busy Denny Way was blocked at the bottom of the hill by this reticulated bus...until Metro's repair personnel showed up and did something--which I assumed happened. The next #8 was in half an hour.

From Denny & Eastlake, I walked down Stewart Street, where no buses were to be found because of road construction, to the Paramount Theater. It's then I decided to forget about Madison Valley.

There's always a next time, right? If you have the patience...you'll need it, and plenty of it.

It would be nice if Metro's maintenance department were a little more on top of things. No snow or ice to blame this time.

If you had a car that broke down as many times as Metro buses seem to, you'd junk it, right?

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5/7/2009
You have to police Metro yourself, I guess, as recent crimes related to riding Metro demonstrate.

At other times, you have to just sit and put up with it.

* * * * *

Six days ago, I was on a #8 going to Capitol Hill as a middle-aged, middle-class man boarded shouting on his cellphone. As he passed by, several persons murmured in astonishment and looked his way.

Everyone had to put with this rude, totally unaware rider.

So riding Metro can be an ordeal--not just because of the often extreme unpunctuality of buses, but also because of the lack of civility of fellow passengers.

Having to put up with loudmouthed people is no treat. And that includes cellphone users oblivious to the world outside their two-party conversation.

Being in a public space does not entitle one to treat it as a private space.

* * * * *

Since Metro cannot, or will not, do anything about it, what I would like to ask T-mobile and other cellphone companies to do is to when they sell a one of their products include a strong advisory to have the buyer not yell, shout, or otherwise talk loudly on their cellphone in public.

(I have heard that the airlines are going to lift restrictions on passengers using cellphones on board. Bad idea.

With people squeezed in like sardines in a tin already, some of us will NOT want to hear someone's non-stop chattering 2 inches from one's ears.

After the hassle of packing the night before, getting to the airport, checking in and getting through security, queuing, and then finally boarding, we want to kick back--read a book, daydream, or get forty winks!)

It's bad enough having to take public buses here, with people sharing their sparkling sense of humor, minute details of their day, banalities ("I'm on the bus, honey"), gossip--all at pretty high decibels.

As if our everyday lives were not already being bombarded 24/7 with trivia.

Excuse me for my mistaken belief that the things of interest to me are not necessarily of any interest to others and that inflicting my banalities on others is not especially kind.

How many times does one wanted to hear that someone really thinks that something or someone, from one's nephew to the latest piece of mind-numbing, faddish consumerism is "awesome"?

What about speaking INTO the cellphone TO the (one) other person rather than announcing one's plans for the upcoming week to everyone within 100 feet?

Would these same people at home using their land-line phone want perfect strangers listening in their conversations?

Cellphones were meant for convenience in private communication, not for (indiscreet) public broadcast of "content" not coincidentally resembling that found in an American television sitcom.

In some countries--Canada, the U.K. (older generation), France, and Japan, for instance--drawing attention to oneself is the mark of a boor.

No wonder we're the butt of so many jokes--we're the super-power with Third-World cultural literacy...

...and a public transportation system (Metro is actually thought to have one of the better urban transportation systems in this country, as proud raves from the Yelp site demonstrate) to match.

But as the prevailing criterion of esteem in America--from school to politics to television and consumerism--is driven by a sort of popularity contest, speaking loudly and overacting fits nicely the self-promotion that is inseparable from the American identity.

In tandem, they also serve to emphasize the wit, self-awareness, and self-importance of the speaker.

So, I guess, shouting into a cellphone has its own "logic" here.

I do recall the survey of a few years ago in which a majority of cellphone users admitted to using them for something over than actual conversation--to avoid talking to someone sitting next to them on the bus, etc.

On buses, the prevalence of cellphones--and MP3 players--may indicate as well the need to attempt to escape from the cellphone chatter of others, rather like being at a party where everyone is shouting because they can't be heard over the din of the other people.

* * * * *

Anyway, I am the kind of person who usually cringes at the sound of American English. No wonder we have such attitudes--ranging from tittering to adulation--concernin g Received Standard English (or French, for that matter): We speak English badly.

It's astonishing how so many Americans speak so volubly--with power-lungs and vocal cords to match--to actually say so very little.

Proof? Ride Metro. (I'll have to admit, contrary to Seattle-centric received wisdom, that Community Transit is different in this respect).

It won't necessarily be the two low-life louts seated in the seat in front of you who are loud and annoying.

In fact, it may be the smartly dressed, well coiffed professional woman on her cellphone excitedly chatting--at headache-inducing decibels--about her dreadfully boring life.

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4/26/2009
Despite my past highly critical reviews of Metro, I do wish to salute the many Metro bus drivers who go out of their way to be helpful to bus-riders of all types, including the helpless and/or unpleasant and/or difficult and who do their best to be punctual (adhere to the bus schedule of that route).

Saturday afternoon, waiting for the #8 to Queen Anne, at the Safeway on 15th & John, I expected the bus to be punctual, since the starting point was only two blocks away (on weekends).

Five minutes it should have arrived, I noticed the #8 going the opposite way--back towards Group Health. It was late, too, probably due to road repair work near I-5, it would turn around before going the other way.

I thought to myself, "Well, if the bus-driver takes his customary break, this bus will be 15-20 minutes late, minimum. I might as well just go downtown and transfer, since I've already been waiting 10 minutes."

But within about 5 minutes, the #8 came, which meant the bus-driver had not taken a break and was attempting to adhere to the time schedule.

I have observed bus-drivers adhere to the bus-schedule even when late--which meant that they had to forgo their break at the rest-stop. And I have observed the opposite: the bus driver took his 15 minute break and was late the rest of his run--by 20-25 minutes.

This time I was pleasantly surprised.

In light of the violence that occurs periodically near or on Metro buses, as well as the increased numbers of passengers, the fact that many bus drivers maintain a high level of professional responsibility and morale is very admirable, indeed.

(Seattle still desperately needs rapid transit, and will apparently begin to get the beginnings of one later this year, 15 years after voter approval).

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1/2/2009
You're still don't get it, Metro!

A week AFTER the last day of the "snowstorm," it still sucks.

From New Year's Eve (Dec. 31, 2008) through January 2, 2009, the 2 Express to West Queen Anne was nowhere to be seen.

That's a lot of buses taken out of circulation. (The 2 Express normally runs every 8-15 minutes between 3:40 and 6:25 p.m. daily).

The bus driver on the regular 2 bus had no idea what was going on ("You know, I haven't seen one, either. I'm sure they'll be running next week [knock-on-wood)."

According to their published quarterly schedule, it should have been running (with only New Year's a holiday = Sunday schedule).

Nor was there any mention of the express service being canceled those days on Metro's website. The "tracker" simply said "no info."

Snow or no snow, at 40 degrees, it's still pretty cold outside.

It's not Moscow.

But it IS beginning to resemble the public services in

Siberia.

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12/23/2008
Metro's early response to the snow was to cut service back 50%. A long list of route cancellations. The lines that were running only traveled only part-way.

Good if they really want to discourage people from going to work, going about their business, and doing their Christmas shopping.

* * * * *

At first I thought to myself, "it's just me [no one else is getting hot under the collar. Stop being a whiner]."

Looks like Joel Connelly is on board:

"By flanking Union to the south, using Cherry and Jefferson and Jackson, snowbound Seattleites have a nonhilly route to work. In past snow emergencies, a crowded No. 3 Metro bus could be counted on to get lots of people downtown.

Alas, in this Christmas season, we've seen no miracle on 34th. The snow was deep and compact late Tuesday morning. The No. 3 was nowhere to be seen, at least by those of us who gave it a 45-minute wait."
http://seattlepi....

And his counterpart at the Seattle Times, Danny Westneat:

"How is it that our city is so paralyzed that mail service stops, the bus system collapses and the airlines run out of de-icing fluid, yet two Ethiopian immigrants, who grew up driving through dust, not ice, can manage to go from Renton to Seattle to Fife and back, every day, to keep a grocery store humming?"

http://seattletim...

Not just Queen Anne or Madrona... we're waiting to hear from Capitol Hill, Beacon Hill, First Hill, etc. etc.

If Joel, and then Danny...and then everyone...shouts, then maybe, just maybe change is around the corner.

Blame the weird weather, of course.

And thank Greg Nickels for plowing $10 million into the heavily used South Lake Union Streetcar--and not into snow plows. His and Ron Sims's "Little Katrina" turn.

Or sand. Or salt. Something.

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12/20/2008
I like the laid-back attitude of Seattleities: "I just wait (patiently)...the bus will come when it comes."

Sometimes, some people prefer to get where they need to go--in under two hours.

At 3 p.m. on the day of the second snow "storm" of 2008--when just a few flakes are starting to fall, one waits at 3rd Avenue and Seneca for ANY bus that will take one up to the bottom of Queen Anne hill--about one mile.

During a 20-minute period, one notices three #28 Broadviews pass by--they're supposed to run, at best, very half hour on weekdays. A "training coach" with the sign "No Passengers" packed with riders (it stops to let some out). Why train new drivers during a supposed snow blizzard, anyway?

Other buses (to Capitol Hill, Northgate, U District, etc.)--mostly empty--pass by.

I think Queen Anne hill has about 30,000 people living on it. But this day, only one bus route of out of the five is, for certain, running (#1 Kinnear). Apparently, everyone who wants to go back up has to take it. And service has been increased all of 33% on the #1 since the snow.

#2 and #13 are not running. #3 and #4 have been "sighted" by reasonably reliable sources.

And it's running every half hour, at best. And everyone is packed like sardines in a tin When we get to Key Arena, a game is just letting out. It takes another half an hour to get 3-4 blocks (Denny to Mercer).

When it becomes apparent how long it will take, the driver refuses to let anyone out between stops ("I'm NOT letting you out [no explanation]"). At this point, I would have just climbed, or crawled, up to the top.

I walk another half hour once the bus does let me out to get home. Total time spent in transit: 2 hours.

On the way--during this supposed snow "blizzard," I notice--miracles of miracles--a #2 West Queen Anne trudging along, empty of passengers. It was not running yesterday and is not supposed to be running today, either, according to the "Ice & Snow - Metro Transit Service Status" web-page.

Believe me, this is only a "blizzard" for hard-core Seattleities, Los Angelos, Miama-ites, etc.

Is anyone in charge at Metro? Or do things just "come together" as circumstances permit, with or without Divine Providence? Do Metro employees ever take the bus?

Does anyone get transferred, demoted, or fired--before they retire?

Buses with chains, buses without chains, buses running on either no schedule or on a hyper- schedule, phantom buses, broken buses, and buses swallowed by in the Twilight Zone...Take your pick.

Advice: Don't take a bus in the Seattle area when there is snow or ice. If you have to, walk. Walk when it IS snowing: you're less likely to slip on the snow-impacted, icy sidewalks and roads.

Also, if you never got the knack of mountaineering (and snowshoeing), you will if you live in Seattle long enough.

Be sure to thank Greg Nickels during his tenure for plowing $10 million into the heavily used South Lake Union Streetcar--and not into snow plows.

This is not Boston or the Mid-West. This is Seattle. Get used to it. There's no choice.

Besides, you got two feet. Now use them.

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10/5/2008
With the economy, nationally tanking, and gasoline prices at all-time highs, local Seattleites have been flocking to the public buses.

Hence, the crowded buses at all times of the day and evening...

I wish I could say that Metro had made more progress. Even with the addition of minor improvements--a few more bus runs at certain times of the day--riding the bus remains a dicey proposition.

A new bus driver, his appearance not synchronized with a change in bus schedules--and the bus you usually take is five minutes early.

Or a new bus schedule, and the scheduled 4:15 bus you normally take left leaves now at 4:13.

Or your bus stop has moved. Or been closed. In any case, you can't find it. And the next bus is God-knows-when.

I am amazed at the heartiness of senior citizens who seem to manage to get out there, wait patiently and then get on the bus, all the while keeping body and soul intact as the bus accelerates suddenly and then lurches to a sudden, unforeseen stop or turns a sharp corner--and the bodies of riders in free fall.

Though I consider myself in pretty fair physical condition, I am still astonished by the whiplash--it feels like one's head is gong to snap from one's neck. Only occasionally have I seen a rider actually fall into the aisle, though.

These conditions are due to the poor condition of the roads, of course, and not due to Metro.

And I am glad to re-state here that Metro drivers, by and large, are uncommonly decent and patient, all the while driving or getting in and out of traffic. Many of them are social workers, incognito. Having to deal with all these new riders--many of whom, apparently, do not have access to the Internet and hence must play Twenty Questions with the driver ("How do I get to the Target in Tacoma?").

Attention: Riders-at-risk are strongly advised to take a bath or a shower before boarding buses.

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8/11/2007
** WHAT'S THE GOOD OF BUS TIMETABLES, if bus drivers don't adhere to them? **

Have you ever been at a bus-stop and wondered WHEN and IF your bus will come--even if you've looked at the time schedule?

I have been a Metro rider for 15 years. And though many of the bus drivers are great (friendly, helpful, exceptionally patient, etc.), I would say that there are many drivers who don't adhere to the timetables ("I'm on MY own schedule, get it?").

If they're, for example, fifteen minutes late getting to their final stop, they'll take their allotted break-time at that stop no matter what. This means from then on out, the bus they are driving will be 15 minutes or more ("snowballing, "in effect) down the line, until they get off their shift.

Metro buses, also, do NOT built-in clocks, so the drivers just look at their watches. In winter, with the heat pouring out, riders open their windows...and in summer, with the air conditioning on, ditto. No thermostats. Energy conservation? Nope.

Recently, I was in the International District waiting for the #2 express back to Queen Anne. One electric trolley broke down and all the others (4 or 5) were piled up in back of it, unable to turn right from Jackson onto 4th Ave. S. Traffic down Jackson was stalled for 20 minutes. Seattle is SO high-tech.

(When the #2 arrived at the stop, the driver couldn't pull up to the curb and wouldn't stop to pick me up even when I ran up to the door and waved).

And I would say that 30% of bus rides are late upwards of 10-15 minutes. If you plan on a trip that requires a transfer, you will often miss the connection. So plan on adding an extra half hour, minimum, to that trip.

I take the #13 sometimes downtown, and there being a sandwich shop at the end of the line, I suspect that some drivers take an "extra long" meal break, thus the 15 minutes delay.

If you call Metro, with the bus number and the time, they'll drag out the lame excuse "well, we have 50,000 bus rides every month, etc., so we can't guarantee that they will all be on time" or "we can't predict what traffic conditions." From Seattle Pacific University to Boston and Queen Anne, there is almost NO traffic ever (except for slow driving through the 4-way intersection).

And at night, the #2 and #13, which should alternate approximately every 15 minutes back up to Queen Anne, often either collapse together, or one of the two buses simply doesn't even show up. It can't always be due to one of the two having a mechanical problem.

Now, if the bus doesn't come in 10-15 minutes, I give up and just walk.

Compared to cities slightly larger in size--San Francisco, D.C., or Boston, for example or those somewhat smaller--Portland, Seattle's public transportation is NOT very good. And let's not even bring up Europe (Paris, Zurich, etc.), Japan, or even Vancouver or Victoria.

I recently spent five days in San Francisco and was amazed at how the underground subways come every two minutes or so. And the above-ground buses, on the average, every 10 minutes! No schedules!

There are some locals here who have a rather strange "Seattle is THE BEST (I love my city)" attitude. Their laid-back attitude seems to be "Well, the bus WILL come when it comes. No use bitchin' about it. Go with the flow. Bring a book. I always add an extra 30 (or 60) minutes to any ride, anyway." Just look up every 5 seconds to make the bus doesn't whiz by you.

They act as if getting on a bus to ride a mile or two is the equivalent to boarding an airplane.

The management of Metro appears to act as a union for the bus drivers and, unless the driver commits a serious traffic/driving infraction. does not discipline them for egregious straying from the printed timetable. See:
http://seattlepi....

Hence, the "tracker" function (supposedly out of the U.W.) and time schedules are often useless, as there is no enforcement or real tracking (other than a computer-generated one, whose cumulative results are not even looked at by the higher-ups at Metro)..

The importance of their passengers' time is apparently much less important than the convenience of their drivers. There appears to be a hiatus of service anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour during the "dinner hour (6:00 - 7:00 p.m.)" on many routes.

It makes some of us consider getting a car (or at least using Flexcar), despite the expense and detriment to the environment.

I can hardly wait for some kind of "underground" or subway system, long overdue. (I think we've been waiting TEN (or is it TWELVE)? years since the voters directly APPROVED (in a referendum) "real" rapid transit .

As for CELLPHONES on Metro, I share the majority opinion of these NY Times readers:
http://www.nytime...

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