Comments on: Did bus changes play into West Seattle Water Taxi ridership slip?

By: Kathy

Kathy — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:18:09 +0000

Taxiless, there is now an even better restaurant at the West Seattle Dock of the Water Taxi. Run by Marination Station, it has draft beer and wine, Hawaiian/Asian food plus fish and chips and fish tacos. Closed Mondays. http://marinationmobile.com/ma-kai

Agree with the comments that the Water Taxi does not have good enough connections to the rest of West Seattle and downtown locations nor frequent enough service in the winter to encourage ridership.

By: JohnS

JohnS — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 21:34:56 +0000

I would encourage folks to contact the County Council, not Metro directly – you can reach all of them here:

http://kingcounty.gov/council/councilmembers.aspx

By: Kara

Kara — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 07:32:48 +0000

I love the water taxi on my days off, but to actually use it to get to work…not so much. It’s farther away from the buses exiting on Seneca from the Viaduct, which I have to transfer to, it doesn’t run as late in the morning and at night like I would need, and now the RR from West Seattle goes to Ballard where I work. I miss taking it, but I can’t make it work for me…and I can see I’m not the only one.

By: alki_2008

alki_2008 — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 23:50:14 +0000

I miss the 37. Used it almost daily for commuting both to and from downtown. On late work days I’d take the 56. The 56 is still an option for me, but on days that I work late than my only option is non-RapidRide and changing over to the 50 to get to Alki.

I used the water taxi a couple years ago when it was included with the metro bus pass, and it dropped off near Red Robin. The current cost and location of the WT doesn’t work for me now, as it’s too long a walk to get to work from the current pier location.

By: Annie

Annie — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 23:26:19 +0000

I love the water taxi and using it in combination with the bus used to work, but with the changes it doesn’t. The water taxi needs help on both ends – in downtown it is quite a walk to get to a bus stop where you will wait forever. Many people just keep walking. I don’t mind that in the summer months or when it’s not raining… but this is Seattle! Lately I’ve been driving. Public Transportation needs to get people there faster than driving to get the numbers they want.

By: Laconique

Laconique — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 22:56:57 +0000

From everything I’ve heard, Rapid Ride is a total bust. I hope all of you have made your feelings known to Metro. They definitely need to hear a steady drumbeat of user feedback and there’s an easy online form: http://metro.kingcounty.gov/contact/#online

By: dwar

dwar — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 20:17:51 +0000

I suggested that the 51 go to the water taxi dock. What did they do? Eliminated the 51 !!

By: natinstl

natinstl — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 19:49:13 +0000

My comments are similar to many others. The C line is definitely not to my liking, but it’s too hard to get to the water taxi. I used to take it home in the afternoon and then catch the 37 because that got me close to my house, but that no longer works because of the 37′s reduction. I’m always worried that the shuttle will be too full and then I’ll be stranded and even if I can catch it it’s still a good walk home from the Junction where it lets off. It would be great if there was a bus that was dedicated to the taxi vs. the shuttles. I know they discussed a park n ride at one point also, which would be awesome.

By: Baymo

Baymo — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:18:38 +0000

Remember this is Metro we are talking about. They are not smart enough to realize that by choking off service on the 37, they are abandoning north admiral.

By: michelle warren

michelle warren — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:06:57 +0000

Bring back the 56! There are no connections to the Admiral Junction from Admiral Way east. I cannot get to a water taxi shuttle stop. Going downtown is 1/2 hour longer (or more) and standing room only. What good is free wifi if you’re standing

By: Mike Mahanay

Mike Mahanay — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 13:25:19 +0000

For Pete’s sake. The C line is not the reason for the water taxi’s dip! The water taxi is a sweet ride- fast comfortable, with a super nice crew. The C line is uncomfortable ( no padding on the seats, no leg room, and 50% of the riders are standng)and a longer commute. The problem with the water taxi is that you have to get to it. It would take me two connections to gt there- or drive. Just for the record the C is a failure. I wish Metro would quit spinning it up and be honest.

By: Chris W

Chris W — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 03:41:24 +0000

I would love to take the water taxi, but a transfer to get there without regular 37 device, puts me on the dreaded C line (or better, the 55) instead. I saw a map six months before the new bus changes officially rolled out, and it had the 128 going to Seacrest. Which was part of our decision to move to WS carless. Sigh.

By: sna

sna — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 03:14:08 +0000

Anyone know how the cost per rider compares between the water taxi and metro bus?

By: ineedmytwinkiesnow

ineedmytwinkiesnow — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 01:40:55 +0000

How about putting back some of those stops on California Ave. Two whole stops going South from Junction on California Ave is ridiculous!

By: taxilessinSeattle

taxilessinSeattle — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 01:28:34 +0000

My husband and I rode the WT for several years as a means to get to the small Alki Fish Restaurant on the dock at the ferry landing. With the closing of the restaurant we no longer use the WT. A shame as we loved looking at all that was going on along the water route.