West Seattle, Washington

13 Monday

33℉

TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday on the move; more students return to school

September 1, 2015 7:10 am
|      17 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:10 AM: Soggy and slow going out there – no specific incidents reported in our area so far.

BACK TO SCHOOL: Parochial schools are returning this week – today is the first day of school for Our Lady of Guadalupe (35th/Myrtle) and the second day for Holy Rosary (42nd/Genesee), so be mindful of school zones, buses, and crosswalks. Also, we’re told the buses that serve Seattle Public Schools will be out practicing routes.

7:14 AM – TRANSIT ALERT JUST IN: Tweeted and texted by Metro:

4:36 PM – THREE MORE TRANSIT ALERTS: We have a question out to Metro about how much longer these seemingly daily cancellations will continue. Meantime, three more tweeted/texted this afternoon, noted here for the record:

5:53 PM – ANOTHER ONE:

Fifth tweeted/texted WS Metro cancellation today.

6:24 PM: As Jeff from KCDOT mentions in comments, that one is back on (we were in transit to a meeting when the “back on” text/tweet came in):

We’ll have Metro’s explanation/update in a separate story later this evening.

Share This

17 Replies to "TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday on the move; more students return to school"

  • JW September 1, 2015 (7:45 am)

    There sure have been a lot of cancelled WS routes this past two weeks.

  • Redgiant September 1, 2015 (9:12 am)

    I agree with JW! The 56/57 Route to Seattle in the morning has not been reliable for the past quarter and now, with school starting, it is no time to drop the ball. Remind me again how much money we just agreed to give them?

  • bus rider September 1, 2015 (9:12 am)

    This is the first route 56 cancellation notice that I can remember Metro tweeting. Usually you just wait and wait and…

  • Sue September 1, 2015 (9:50 am)

    The 55 has had a few cancellations in the past week as well. It’s frustrating because by the time I know the 55 isn’t coming, it’s too late usually to get to another option without being even later.

  • JanS September 1, 2015 (11:15 am)

    and that’s basically the reason I don’t take Metro, living in the Admiral District. They basically treat us like a poor stepchild here. What little service we have here is entirely unreliable.

    • WSB September 1, 2015 (11:19 am)

      While Metro gave a short explanation recently about staff shortages, with the additional cancellations that have ensued, I have a followup question out today regarding what specific steps are being taken to fill vacancies, assuming that’s still the problem – Tracy

  • Wes C. Addle September 1, 2015 (11:52 am)

    I guess I’m the lucky Admiral commuter. The 56/57 is usually always on time on the way in and the way home. Although I do catch it earlier than 7:30am. I did notice going to work yesterday it was standing room only which it never is.

  • Sue September 1, 2015 (12:16 pm)

    Thanks for looking into it Tracy. Specifically with the 55, it’s kinda pointless that they added a few extra trips to the latest schedule if they’re going to end up cancelling random trips for whatever reason.

  • pagefive September 1, 2015 (12:55 pm)

    The #116 Vashon/Fauntleroy has had three AM commute cancellations since 8/26, as well.

  • squeeker September 1, 2015 (1:01 pm)

    The lack of bus drivers available happens every year at this time. Specifically the two weeks before kids head back to school. The senior bus drivers that have earned vacation, take it and the junior bus drivers that cannot use earned vacation time yet simply call in sick. The 116 and the 55 have been totally unreliable recently and today the 56.

  • East Coast Cynic September 1, 2015 (3:38 pm)

    I figured the fluky bus service had something to do with a greater number than usual drivers taking vacation.

  • Rene K September 1, 2015 (4:23 pm)

    I specifically looked for a job where I could ditch my Metro commute. A trip that took 15 mins in a car, took nearly 2 hours on the bus. The routes suck, the drivers are rude and unreliable. I cannot count the number of times the number 7 was 20 minutes or more late making it impossible to connect with a West Seattle bus (which to the Admiral District they are few and far between). Now I have a job I can walk to and am much happier. All in all, King County Metro is a joke and I wish Sound Transit would come in and take over service in Seattle.

  • Jeff Switzer, Metro Transit September 1, 2015 (6:22 pm)

    Our latest transit alert shows we’ll refill that 6:29pm trip. Control center coordinators are working to backfill trips to keep service rolling as best they can. I sent Tracy a longer answer about our growing pains as we hire at unprecedented levels to implement the biggest service increases we’ve ever seen. More drivers will mean fewer cancellations, but it will be more weeks of graduating drivers into the ranks to get there. We apologize for each canceled trip and the inconvenience it causes riders.

  • Baffled September 1, 2015 (6:46 pm)

    @Jeff – thanks for the info, but it sure sounds like Metro is diverting resources from West Seattle routes that have not experienced service increases (55, 56, 57) to other routes in the system that have had increases. Perhaps the increases should be put into service gradually as new drivers come onboard, rather than diverting resources from long-established commuter routes? As it is, it feels like a bait and switch coming on the heels of promises made during the last transportation levy drive.

  • Diane September 1, 2015 (7:12 pm)

    as an Admiral resident, with the new added $60 car tab, it’s especially irksome to have SO MANY cancellations of Admiral buses; thanks for looking into this

  • Kimmy September 1, 2015 (9:59 pm)

    Those taking the 21x and 21 home in the evenings know there are other cancelations often that are not announced–or show up so late the riders make other arrangements. Metro can’t be trusted to do a good job, and the drivers that are fantastic (several of them) probably feel the ire of the angry riders and have to deal with poor policies of their employer. What an embarrassment.

  • justme September 2, 2015 (8:16 am)

    And of course, there were more trips cancelled that they’re not even reporting. I waited through two scheduled 55’s down town after 4:30 on Tuesday that never came.

Sorry, comment time is over.