Metro changes, week #2, with added buses on RapidRide C Line

After a week of complaints about crowded buses – among other things – Metro announced Friday that it would add 2 buses to peak periods on the new RapidRide C Line, starting this morning. Will that be enough to ease the crowding? Every day last week, riders reported on their experiences, and with those changes today, we’re launching this story as a place to collect reports and updates one more time. Thanks in advance!

82 Replies to "Metro changes, week #2, with added buses on RapidRide C Line"

  • dapuffin October 8, 2012 (5:59 am)

    Leaving the house shortly and keeping fingers, eyes, toes crossed for a non-eventful trip.

  • Sarah M. October 8, 2012 (7:03 am)

    Plenty of room on the 55 at 7 am from Fauntleroy & Alaska. And a few seats were still available as we left West Seattle.

  • Chris W October 8, 2012 (7:17 am)

    I took the 55 at 7:08 from California and Admiral. Plenty of room, bus only a couple minutes late. Few people waiting for C line in Alaska Junction, but not many.

  • West Seattle since 1979 October 8, 2012 (7:19 am)

    The RR C that left 35th and Avalon about few minutes ago looked less crowded. People were still standing, but didn’t seem to be as packed in as before.

    I want to apologize for looking but not actually getting on after I saw there were no seats. I do need to sit as I explained in an earlier post, but I had no right to possibly hold the bus up a few seconds.

  • SeattleDad October 8, 2012 (7:21 am)

    C line leaving Junction at 7:13 actually has room. Now on WS Bridge & no one standing. More buses? Or they all just gave up after last week?

  • Christie October 8, 2012 (7:25 am)

    7:10 from the Junction – empty seats as we head across the bridge!

  • Ixobbp October 8, 2012 (7:42 am)

    Took the 7:30 116E from Morgan Jct. Standing room only but didn’t miss anyone. Looks like many 54/54x refugees.

  • Tuesday October 8, 2012 (7:48 am)

    Took the RR 30 minutes to arrive at the stop downtown at 8:00 p.m. Sunday night.

  • E October 8, 2012 (7:51 am)

    Seems better this week

  • joannbylincolnpark October 8, 2012 (7:57 am)

    Just want to point out that today is Columbus Day and that ridership will be lighter than an ordinary day.

  • Sue October 8, 2012 (8:03 am)

    It is a holiday today for some (not me) so that might artificially make the bus routes seem like they’re “fixed.”

  • Rob G October 8, 2012 (8:26 am)

    RR C still has serious problems. We are overcrowded and didn’t pick up at least 50 people, including one woman who had an interview. Left Alaska Junction at about 8.

  • Sue October 8, 2012 (8:27 am)

    Bad delays on 4th Ave. My 116 bus has been crawling alongside the stadiums for 10-15 min. We flew across the bridge and until we hit the stadiums. Can’t see what the issue is.

  • BookGal October 8, 2012 (8:30 am)

    The 116 bus arrived on time (7:48 a.m. Bus has plenty of seats. Unfortunately, we have been stuck on 4th Avenue for the past 18 minutes. There’s no real reason for this traffic jam – unless idiots drivers are blocking the intersections and switching lanes at the last minute in their delusional attempt to scoot ahead of everyone else? Or does this have anything to do with the couch on the freeway?

  • Belvidere October 8, 2012 (8:33 am)

    Took the 7:08 50 to Lander Station and caught a bus from there into the tunnel to University. There were a few seats left. Took all of 30 minutes total from the junction. I have a question though, can I transfer to a ST Link or do I have to pay again if I get on a train?

  • CLW October 8, 2012 (8:44 am)

    I walked out of my house at 7:35 for a 6 minute walk to the California/Findlay RR stop. Waited about 9 minutes for the bus to come; 2 RR buses passed going the other direction in that time. The RR bus was packed by the stop on 35th and Avalon. Made it to work on first hill by 8:30. It wasn’t a bad commute, but it’s no better than the old 54 in terms of the amount of time it takes to get to work.

  • michael October 8, 2012 (8:51 am)

    So much for the cost savings?????

  • Julie October 8, 2012 (8:56 am)

    I took the rapid ride for the first time this morning since I was out of town last week. Waited at the junction for 10 minutes and the bus was overloaded at that point and picked up no more passengers. (About 8am) We skipped every stop after the junction. Also, at the junction it was standing room only which in the past you could always get a seat on the 54 or 55. West Seattle riders should have a sit in on 3rd so the rest of the city can feel the pain of the new ‘rapid’ ride. If this is the new normal I’ll be driving to work.

  • maryws October 8, 2012 (9:18 am)

    yes, a holiday for many. Let us hope they keep the 2 new added buses and don’t look at today as a valid test of use!

  • carlton October 8, 2012 (9:39 am)

    RR going South after the Juntion doesn’t have a stop for 3/4 of a mile. Great planning morons!

  • quiz October 8, 2012 (9:47 am)

    Today is a holiday. The real test begins tomorrow.

  • natinstl October 8, 2012 (9:55 am)

    Caught an 8am RR at Findlay/California. Once the Junction folks got on board it was standing room only and she passed all remaining stops. No difference than last week.

    • WSB October 8, 2012 (10:10 am)

      Well, we’ll do this again tomorrow too in light of the holiday notes – I know it’s a banking holiday (I have spent so much of my life in media, one of the professions where there are no holidays, that I tend to forget these things) but who else is off? Even schools are in session (though Seattle Public Schools has no classes Friday). Thanks. – TR

  • buddy October 8, 2012 (10:09 am)

    Agree with Sue and Joann. Today is a federal holiday so not a good day to evaluate bus capacity. Wait til Tuesday.

  • carlton October 8, 2012 (10:10 am)

    The 54 never ever passed me by…

  • Wanda October 8, 2012 (10:36 am)

    I waited at Alaska for the RR but when it came about 8:10 it was SRO (and because of the holiday, this should have been a lighter day?). I waited about 5 minutes for the 55; plenty of seats when I got on, but two stops later (with about 5 more stops to go)it, too, was SRO because the RR had left people behind because they were too full. PLEASE, METRO, GET IT TOGETHER BEFORE THE RAIN COMES!

  • East Coast Cynic October 8, 2012 (10:46 am)

    RE: 116 bus crawling along the stadiums for 10-15 minutes.

    A little off tangent, but this makes me concerned about where the downtown exit will be on the “new and improved” 99 once its completed. Hopefully they will put it down Columbia rather than SODO for if we get it in SODO, bus crawling in a sea of toll avoiding SOV’s will be a daily occurance.

  • Gina October 8, 2012 (10:47 am)

    Today is a postal holiday. Also federal holiday. Not a city or county or state holiday.

  • Jeff Welch October 8, 2012 (11:00 am)

    Huge accident on I-5 at Spokane St. This morning, pushing many to surface streets and causing backups around the stadiums. That’s what caused your a.m. delays.

  • Senior Citizen October 8, 2012 (11:02 am)

    As a retired person, I usually travel from W.Seattle to downtown during non-peak times. With the Metro changes, I now have to take two buses each way instead of one (the #55) and my knees don’t appreciate the extra stair-climb. Also, with the Metro “police” checking on transfers/and/or/Orca cards, I now have to fiddle with taking it out of my purse, putting it back etc., making it easier to misplace or lose in the process. On a trip from W.Seattle to 85th and 15th N.E. I had to show my transfer twice. So, Metro tore down functioning bus stops, spent who-knows-how-much on RR stations, new buses, Metro “police” and also created terribly long distances between RR stops south of the AK Junction. I’d like to know just how many people have been cited/warned for non-payment and whether that loss justifies hiring Metro “police”. I’m not happy with the changes, especially having to deal with the Metro “police”…found it very irritating; I used to sing the praises of our bus system…now I think twice about using Metro. The so-called “positive” changes do not justify the inconveniences in my opinion and experience.

  • why_cause October 8, 2012 (11:03 am)

    Belvidere – If you are paying cash on the bus and getting a paper transfer it is NOT good for a transfer to ST Link. You need an Orca Card to avoid paying twice.

  • Bill Bacon October 8, 2012 (11:03 am)

    RR is a very expensive infrastructure. Too bad it’s obsolete so soon.

  • curtis October 8, 2012 (11:18 am)

    Hey cynic,

    hate to tell you this, but there has never been any plan for an exit from either the tunnel nor were there any plans for an exit from the viaduct options. 99 will have an exit at the stadiums and again at Mercer. The 99 project has always been about getting through downtown, not to downtown.

  • Bill Bacon October 8, 2012 (11:38 am)

    If you cannot get on the bus, ride comfortably and arrive at your destination according to the Trip Planner, what good is the “rapid ride?” Again, it’s already functionally obsolete. If you can’t even get on board, there’s surely no need to use Trip Planner any longer.

    And what of the throngs of folks waiting for their bus while nearly half of them are anxiously smoking away to the detriment of others at the collective stops. There needs to be patently visable no smoking signs at ALL Metro bus stops. And Metro police need to cite people for same, just as they’re assigned to cite non-payers.

  • Brent October 8, 2012 (11:48 am)

    @Senior Citizen,

    You don’t actually have to take your card out of your purse. The fare inspector can hold her/his device up to your purse, and can sense the card from a close distance. I’ve never had to take my card out of my wallet for the fare inspector.

  • Brent October 8, 2012 (11:50 am)

    Has anyone tracked peak travel time on the C Line? With any other route, we can calculate it based on the timepoints in the schedule. Without a schedule, we don’t even get to know travel time without riding. We can calculate middle-of-the-night travel time, but not much else, and only from three locations.

  • Ben October 8, 2012 (11:54 am)

    This morning I thought I’d escape the Rapid Ride debacle and try the 116/118/119. Got stuck in the SoDo overflow from I-5. Can’t win for losing.

  • Brent October 8, 2012 (11:56 am)

    For any 120 riders here, I have a fare question.

    Is the operator charging you for a one- or two-zone fare when you board on a trip that will cross the city limits? That’s a question for both methods of payment.

    Is anyone using the function at orcacard.com to set your ORCA card to a one-zone default? And is it working?

  • Brent October 8, 2012 (12:08 pm)

    For the full bus that passed up stops, were any of you at one of those stops where the bus passed you by, and did you time how long it took before the next C arrived?

    Thanks.

  • East Coast Cynic October 8, 2012 (12:11 pm)

    Curtis

    I thought the DOT was talking about and taking suggestions for entrance options, with Columbia as one of the options going from the new 99 into the middle of downtown.

    If all we have is the stadiums for an entrance, then I’m willing to bet a bundle of cash that bus commuters going downtown will be in for a whole lot of aggravation.

  • Senior Citizen October 8, 2012 (12:13 pm)

    Brent,
    I pay cash and get a paper transfer…I don’t believe their “device/reader” can read my transfer…also, you have to get your wallet out and hold it toward them.

  • buddy October 8, 2012 (12:30 pm)

    WSB – Federal workers are off. That may be about it though?

  • alex October 8, 2012 (12:50 pm)

    Is there an account of exactly how many bus trips per day W Seattle lost (with removed routes), and gained (with RR) with this big change? I’m wondering what the net change in total bussing was.
    .
    My impression was that we lost a significant number of buses per day, thus the overcrowding. (Of course, the ones we gained are painted red, so that makes up for it.) Can anyone confirm this? It’d be fairly straightforward to count it up, and it would add a lot to this story.
    .
    There’s little point in speculating as to what will happen, or why it’s happening, when the answer to both questions could probably be determined through simple math.

  • Moose2 October 8, 2012 (12:52 pm)

    East Coast Cynic – I’m not aware of any plans for a downtown exit from the 99 tunnel.

    Perhaps you are thinking of the planning work Metro is doing to determine whether to route buses via Pioneer Square (Main St) or via Columbia once the tunnel is in operation? In both cases, buses would exit 99 just before entering the tunnel.

    And yes, both options slow down buses into the downtown area.

  • EmmyJane October 8, 2012 (12:56 pm)

    Ok, I’ve tried to be nice and give them time to work out the kinks (and maybe they need more time), but I got on the C-line at 8:05 from the Alaska junction. All the seats were already full and the Junction filled up all the standing room so we passed every stop after that.

    I’ve been riding from West Seattle for 7 years and 95% of the time I’ve had a seat in the morning from the Junction. Since the c-line came, I’m down to about 50%. Not impressed so far.

  • Moose2 October 8, 2012 (12:59 pm)

    Brent – here is the schedule for RR C. I put this together because I hate not having a schedule or real-time updates:
    .
    https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1KcA7uQv4BgOVJhamE1MUFQenc
    .
    The travel time into the city from Alaska Jct varies from 15 minutes to 30 at peak in the morning. On the way back, it varies up to about 25 minutes in the afternoon.

  • East Coast Cynic October 8, 2012 (1:01 pm)

    That’s what I was thinking of Moose2. But Columbia which appears to be centrally located in Downtown and within walking distance of work for many commuters strikes me as the lesser inconvenience.

  • Anne October 8, 2012 (1:02 pm)

    There will be NO DOWNTOWN EXIT from the tunnel!!!
    Hopefully folks who voted FOR the tunnel were aware of that!

    • WSB October 8, 2012 (1:22 pm)

      There is no MID-downtown exit but the south portal WILL GET YOU INTO DOWNTOWN. I am agnostic on the tunnel but we have reported on this here, time and again. Here is the explanation, with graphics, from WSDOT:
      .
      http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR99/Tunnel/Portals.htm

  • Mike Lindblom October 8, 2012 (1:07 pm)

    The 8:26 bus out of Alaska Junction left about half-full (though probably filled three stops later). I caught the next one 4 minutes later, and it reached Highway 99 with only about 30 people aboard. Suspecting that Columbus Day dropped the numbers a bit.

  • Moose2 October 8, 2012 (1:09 pm)

    alex – there was a significant lose of direct buses from WS to downtown.
    .
    Previously: 21 x 2 + 22 x 2 + 54 x 4 + 55 x 2 + 56 x 2 + 120 x 4 + 125 x 2 = 18
    Now: 21 x 4 + 22 x 0 + RR-C x 4 + 55 x 0 + 56 x 0 + 120 x 4 + 125 x 2 = 14
    .
    (read the above as ROUTE x BUSES_PER_HOUR; all figures for off-peak – peak is different numbers but still a net loss).
    .
    So before we have 18 per hour; now we have 14 per hour. Alaska Jct and Admiral lost out (Alaska Jct was 6, now 4; Admiral was 4, now 0). 35th gained (was 2, now 4).
    .
    We did gain a WS to Sodo/Columbia/Othello route (50). This is not hugely useful when going downtown, but is useful for transfers to link to (say) the airport.
    .
    You’ll also notice that there are fewer routes to downtown, and all (except 125) are now at 4 buses per hour. This is part of the Metro strategy of concentrating on core services. Others (such as old 22, 55, 57) are now provided via connections to these core services. In theory that should be okay – must big cities have subways/metros where riders use two or more routes without problems. However neither our core routes or the connections are frequent enough.

  • BOB October 8, 2012 (1:19 pm)

    I and 19 other people were left behind by the C line at 8:10 at the Alaska/Fauntleroy stop this morning, because the bus was so crowded people were practically falling out of the bus. A 55 bus and another C bus came after 5 minutes. I hopped on the 55 in case the C bus was again too overloaded to add passengers. This is the 3rd commuting day in a row that I’ve been passed by the first C line bus at this bus stop. I’d rather we just go back to the previous bus routes we had. They were just as “Rapid” and way more convienient!

  • Jeff Welch October 8, 2012 (1:20 pm)

    If you need a seat and are uncomfortable asking others to give one up, tell the driver and he or she will(should) ask others to accommodate you. If they don’t, get the bus number and include it and the time of day in your complaint – the driver WILL receive your complaint, and be counseled by a supervisor. Standing loads have always been common on other routes, and like it or not represent a new economic efficiency that other transit systems worldwide have always experienced.

  • Pam October 8, 2012 (1:36 pm)

    For the person asking about the police stopping people smoking at bus stops, bus stops are the property of the County not the city, therfore they fall under the Sheriffs Dept, so the City Police tend to bypass anything happening at a bus stop, i have been at a stop where underage people have been drinking and smoking and a City of seattle police car was stopped in traffic right by the stop he just looked at them and drove off into the sunset. So no they will not do anything.

  • sna October 8, 2012 (1:43 pm)

    Alex –
    .
    The total bus service is something I wondered about too. They key is the reduction at peak hours because the 54/54E/55 combination was running much more often than every 10 minutes at peak. Below is something I posted on Friday’s thread.
    .
    Before these changes, between the hours of 4pm and 7pm from downtown, you had:
    .
    22 busses picking up for the 54/54E route
    6 busses picking up for the 22 route
    12 busses picking up for the 55 route
    Thats a total of 40 busses during 3 hours or a bus to West Seattle every 4.5 minutes.
    .
    Now you have:
    18 RapidRide busses (if it were running as promised)
    5 busses for route 55
    A total of 23 busses.

  • West Seattle since 1979 October 8, 2012 (2:11 pm)

    Jeff Welch, thanks for the info about asking drivers to ask people to give up seats where needed. This would be OK if someone was visibly in need of a seat- pregnant or elderly or limping/using a cane, or other reasons why people may really appear to need a seat. My problem is I don’t look like I need a seat–I walk OK (unless I’ve had to stand for a long period of time) and I’m not that old (50’s).

    I would be afraid the driver would tell me in a nice way to forget it, and I’d become known as that selfish lady who always has to sit and demands that the driver make people accomodate her.

    I think I’m just going to either take buses from Pioneer Square to downtown and try to get a seat on a bus at 3rd & Pike, take a tunnel bus to Lander St. & pick up the 50, or go up to 3rd between (I think) Cherry & Columbia and try to get a seat on either a 21 or a 116/119.

  • carlton October 8, 2012 (2:18 pm)

    Metro and the County has an agenda. They don’t care how you get around. All they care about is their bottom line. Efficiency is a foreign word to them. I’ve complained to Metro half a dozen times several years ago about the late bus system to never get a response. West Seattle is now the kicking mule for the County. Wait until the viaduct is totally shutdown.

  • spamela October 8, 2012 (2:48 pm)

    @Anne & on the tunnel comment (no exits downtown): Even a viaduct replacement wasn’t going to have a downtown exit. All plans (except surface) didn’t have any downtown exits.

  • chas redmond October 8, 2012 (3:07 pm)

    SNA – you forgot to add the 4 buses an hour (times 3) for the 21 – which brings your new total to 23+12=35. Similarly, in the old days you also had 2 Route 21 buses an hour (times 3) for an additional 6 buses an hour bringing your total to 46. There were also and still are 21X but I don’t know the frequency. The difference then is 46+change to 35+change – or about 76 percent of our previous transit capacity. On the other hand, the new structure is certainly more cost-efficient in terms of moving bodies with fewer buses/drivers.

  • Barry October 8, 2012 (3:24 pm)

    They cut back significantly on the 21 route and they are also trying to eliminate the 37 by cutting service so far back that no one will use it anymore.

    All Metro is accomplishing here is driving those of us who can afford to, back to using our cars, and driving those of us who can’t afford to change, to radically altering our lifestyles to accomodate these new schedules and downgraded service. This is a total disaster.

  • AndrewN October 8, 2012 (3:40 pm)

    Barry, the 21 was cut in Arbor Heights. Areas northward saw an increase in service. Not exactly a “significant” cut, especially given the low ridership in the southern leg off the route.

  • Ra-chan October 8, 2012 (4:01 pm)

    I work in the International District. After being screwed all last week with the C line, I tried route 50 to the Sodo busway for the first time today. While the tiny bus was pretty empty (8:30-ish pick up from the junction), I nearly missed the ride because the driver left the stop 6-7 minutes early, and continued to breeze on through, never waiting to catch up. This is definitely a better way for me to get to work that the RR-C, but I hope people weren’t missing this bus because it was too early. :\ I still miss my 22.

  • Kravitz October 8, 2012 (4:23 pm)

    At my office today, we received the following forwarded letter from Metro Transit’s General Manager, Kevin Desmond.

    “Dear Metro customer,

    This past week was among the busiest and most challenging ever for King County Metro Transit and our 370,000 daily riders. Together we transitioned to paying on entry, adjusted to changes on dozens of bus routes, and started two new RapidRide lines.

    We appreciate all you did to prepare for the revisions and your patience as we made the changes over the past week.

    After several days of adapting, we are beginning to see service settle into a more reliable pattern. Although buses are operating smoothly overall, there have been some serious challenges. We are working hard to address
    concerns about full buses. We will continue to actively monitor performance and make adjustments to meet rider demand as best we can.

    Things happen every day that can delay our buses – such as sporting events, concerts, accidents, and traffic jams. We experienced some of these incidents this week. We appreciate your ongoing patience as we respond to challenges like these and continue adjusting to the big service changes.

    We are working hard to make your tax and fare dollars go further by building a transit system that will serve more riders and be stronger for years to come.

    I’ll send another note next week recapping how things are going. As always, I welcome your comments and concerns. Send them to me at customer.comments@kingcounty.gov

    Believe me, I sent a lovely letter to Mr. Desmond explaining much of what has been captured in numerous posts above. I would encourage everyone reading this blog or attempting to ride the new C line to drop him a note as well. We can complain all we want on this blog forum, but we may not be heard here. Get the comments directly to those that can help change the problem.

  • Anne October 8, 2012 (4:25 pm)

    Think a retrofit of viaduct would have left the exit in .

  • Diane October 8, 2012 (5:05 pm)

    Kravitz; that letter came out last Friday

  • Kravitz October 8, 2012 (5:27 pm)

    On the RR C line now to West Seattle; got on at 3rd and Pike where there was ONE attendant scanning cards. Efficient. Then, our driver missed the turn down Columbia and took us on a lovely detour through Pioneer Square. If only we’d hit the Pergola taking a right onto 1st. That would’ve been the icing on the crap cake!

  • Sarah M. October 8, 2012 (5:32 pm)

    Caught the 116 from 3rd & Columbia at 5:10. Arrived Fauntleroy & Alaska in 18 minutes.

    I’ve always taken both the 116 and the 55 occasionally, but I’m taking both more often now to avoid the who-knows-when-it’s-REALLY-coming C line.

  • T October 8, 2012 (5:36 pm)

    Monday afternoon, 3:50pm on 3rd Ave & Bell St going South to WS: the RR D line from Ballard normally turns into a C line to WS. However, at this time, the driver told me he wasn’t going to WS; only continuing on downtown. That’s new.

    In the afternoons now, if you are going to the Alaska Junction, I’ve found that it’s QUICKER to take the 21 (even the local) to 35th and Avalon, and then the 50 to the Junction. Plenty of seats on both. Taking two buses, I’m home only five minutes later than I was before this RidiculousRide “improvement”. And the signs at the RR stops along Avalon all said the next C line was in 15 -17 mins. This, around 4:20pm, on a holiday…

  • Spamela October 8, 2012 (5:44 pm)

    Lame. Lame. Lame. From downtown, C line went to pioneer square then on viaduct. Is it supposed to do that? Needless to say I missed my 21x connection and have to wait another 15 min (I saw it pull off – it started off behind us). Not Rapid. I’ll wait 2 min for the 21x from now on. With the 54 I knew it would stay in front of the 21x and i could easily switch at WS. At least I can tell when the 21 is coming on one bus away. So much for leaving early.

  • leroy October 8, 2012 (6:00 pm)

    RidiculousRide know that!

  • West Seattle since 1979 October 8, 2012 (6:43 pm)

    Kravitz: I wondered what a RR C bus was doing turning onto First from Yesler at about 5:20 or so this afternoon!

  • East Coast Cynic October 8, 2012 (7:12 pm)

    https://westseattleblog.com/2012/08/columbia-street-in-the-lead-as-post-viaduct-transit-pathway#more-117989

    So the Columbia Option into Downtown via the new 99 isn’t happening at all????? This posting indicates that no final decision will be made till the end of the year.

    • WSB October 8, 2012 (7:14 pm)

      They are getting off 99 onto Alaskan Way. Whether the “transit pathway” then will be Columbia or something else, that is the remaining decision.

  • songstruck October 8, 2012 (7:14 pm)

    Anyone remember Seattle Proposition 1. The $60 car tab to support transit was soundly rejected by Seattle voters. It was billed as an “anti-McGinn” vote. I’m no McGinn fan, but I wanted better transit, so I voted for it. How about you?

  • Marcus M October 8, 2012 (8:00 pm)

    Waited a good 15 minutes & boarded the 7:15 @ 2nd & Columbia – filled to the gills, barely made squeezed on to the front. What is everyone doing on the bus this late?

  • Single Mother October 8, 2012 (8:08 pm)

    The morning ride wasat 7am ok, I even got a seat. The evening commute from downtown at 6:30pm on the C, was so jammed pack it was free for all jumping on and body to body packed. You had elbows and bags poking your body. The bus driver was a comedian.

  • Kravitz October 8, 2012 (8:12 pm)

    West Seattle Sin-we all wondered what we were doing riding around Pioneer Square too. The driver didn’t communicate anything to us, nor did they ever play the alerts for upcoming stops. The digital reader also stated “to terminal” for the whole ride. For those unfamiliar with the route and new stops, this was very confusing. What a frustrating new transit option for all involved.

  • why_cause October 8, 2012 (8:53 pm)

    Started waiting for the RR at 2:20 at Pike and 3rd to get to my stop just past the ferry terminal. Arrived at my stop at 3:10. Our biggest delay was not being able to board because a 120 was taking up the bus zone boarding 40 – 50 people all having to pay first. I should have just taken the car.

  • M October 8, 2012 (10:43 pm)

    For all the people on here claiming it was a holiday, sure a whole bunch of you riding the bus. Which is it? A holiday where it shouldn’t be crowded or a normal Monday where everyone, including the posters, had to take transit to work?

  • Rana October 11, 2012 (11:45 pm)

    The new service revisions are a disaster. Metro should reinstate the regular #54 service, retaining the C Line as an express option. It’s way too far now between Rapid Ride stops, especially for people who have trouble walking. Also, they should reinstate the #56 route so that people up in Admiral can get directly downtown without having to go down to the Junction and change buses, which is ridiculously inefficient and contributes to overcrowding on the C Line.

  • anonyme October 17, 2012 (3:49 pm)

    Metro has already made an unannounced schedule change to the paltry hourly service provided by the #22 shuttle to Arbor Heights. The route has been delayed by 10 minutes to accommodate middle school students (Denny, I believe). I have no idea if all runs have been altered by 10 minutes, or just the 2:18 from Westwood. I only found out after being informed by a student. More awesome Metro communication. The other times aren’t really convenient for me; can I just get the schedule changed? HMMMMM?

    Another big Metro error: Needed to catch a #66 downtown this morning. All schedules, include the online schedule and trip planner, say to catch the #66 at 3rd & Union. IT DOESN’T STOP THERE ANY MORE. Alarmed when I arrived at the stop to find no #66 listed on the board, I asked 2 drivers if they knew what was happening. Both told me it DID stop there according to their information, though neither could explain why the sign said NOT. A moment later, the #66 flew past the stop. Screwed again by Metro. The incompetence is unbelievable.

Sorry, comment time is over.