TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday watch; Metro cancellations…

(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)

(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)

6:52 AM: Another morning without major incidents, so far, in or from West Seattle.

SEAHAWKS AT CENTURYLINK FIELD: Preseason home game for the Hawks tonight vs. Minnesota, 7 pm, so be mindful of that if you’ll be traveling through Pioneer Square/SODO.

WEEKEND EVENTS: SDOT’s weekly roundup of what’s ahead citywide for the weekend is here, including Hempfest Friday-Sunday, with a major road closure toward the north end of the downtown waterfront.

7:09 AM: West Seattle Metro run cancellation just announced via Twitter (and text alert):

7:13 AM: And another one:

14 Replies to "TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday watch; Metro cancellations..."

  • Diane August 18, 2016 (7:25 am)

    fyi; for those (like me) who no longer use twitter; you can sign up for email alerts; I just received emails about both of those (56 & 57) cancellations; and btw; grrrrr

    • WSB August 18, 2016 (7:48 am)

      And that’s why I mentioned “alerts.” We get those simultaneously with seeing them on Twitter. Benefit of the latter for what we do for a living, we can see if it’s JUST West Seattle, or not. This morning: Not – these two are 2 of 6 cancellations announced by Metro on Twitter so far (7:48 am) https://twitter.com/kcmetrobus

    • newnative August 18, 2016 (7:49 am)

      I get (sms) text alerts but doesn’t matter, they’re never given in enough time for alternate plans.  Luckily, my “regular” bus is the early bus.  No excuses. 

  • Eddie August 18, 2016 (7:59 am)

    So, do those commuters relying upon the 56 and 57 just send their boss a Twitter alert?

    I’m not affected by those route cancellations but I sure don’t understand how metro sees that as being acceptable. 

    • newnative August 18, 2016 (8:07 am)

      Well, the car drivers in my office send a text or voicemail when they’re “stuck in traffic”-routine traffic jams that you would think people could plan for (reroute, leave earlier, etc).  

  • JKC1362 August 18, 2016 (8:09 am)

    Thank god I don’t rely on a bus (and refuse to take one), but wondered how many people who rely on Metro to get them to work on-time have lost their jobs because of the amount of cancellations from Metro?  Are their bosses sympathetic to them being late a lot?     

    • WSB August 18, 2016 (8:22 am)

      For accuracy’s sake: There are not a “lot” of cancellations. Yes, one is too many. Two is too many. If you’re truly interested in the topic, please read this story from the work we did last year to find out what was going on – which included going to Metro’s local bases to see how they dispatch and what leads to, finally, if they just don’t have someone to assign, a cancellation. At that time, 1,052 trips a day touched West Seattle in one way or another. We’ve seen mentions of hiring and training so we’re operating on the tentative assumption the same problem has come around again, but we’re asking Metro this morning to find out if that’s the case or not – TR

    • AMD August 18, 2016 (9:02 am)

      It doesn’t happen often enough to lose a job over it, even if it made you late every time a bus was cancelled.

      Most people plan to be to work early rather than showing up right at the second your day starts.  on the bus this usually means taking an earlier bus than you need to, in a car it means leaving earlier than you need to.

      People who don’t plan well are the ones who end up explaining themselves to the boss, whether they’re car or bus commuters.  

  • Meg August 18, 2016 (8:15 am)

    I’m on the 56 that comes after the 7:33. We’re full and we stopped picking up passengers at the California and Admiral stop. This route routinely is standing room only so canceling a bus ends up affecting more than just the regular riders of the bus that gets canceled.  Metro needs to find a better solution.  

  • Gene August 18, 2016 (12:46 pm)

    Seems like every few days – sometimes every day I read in this blog that a route – or two were cancelled. I guess those that “rely” on those buses must accept that & no doubt get tweets – but often wonder how soon they get those notifications? In time to take an earlier bus. Guess I’d rather be a bit early to work than be late. I would be frustrated not knowing day to day what time I’d have to leave for work, school, appointments.

    • WSB August 18, 2016 (1:09 pm)

      Twitter and the text alerts are identical (we get both), sent by Metro HQ, and if you go back via Twitter search (easier than trying to find them here since I usually embed the code), https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=kcmetrobus%20route%20canceled&src=typd

      in the past four weeks (going back to July 22nd)
      West Seattle route cancellations:

      Route 56 had three cancellation alerts in those four weeks (including 1 today)
      Route 57 had one (today)
      Route 113 had two cancellation alerts this past Tuesday (I didn’t have alerts set up for that route so they weren’t mentioned here … someone called our attention to the route via Twitter and we have still fixed it)

      • Laura August 18, 2016 (7:41 pm)

        For what it’s worth, I have emails about two additional 57 cancelations, from August 3 and 4. Both were the second bus of the morning. That departure hasn’t had a regular driver, it seems, for a while. I’d really love it if Metro prioritized routes like the 57 that have so few buses with such a wait between them to have a regular, dedicated driver, rather than leaving us to the whim of who ever may show up that day. I take any of the second, third and last of the 57s and when one doesn’t show up–whether or not we get an alert–I have to hoof it to a stop for another route that’s a hefty and, on mornings like to today, sweaty walk away. 

    • JKC1362 August 18, 2016 (1:10 pm)

      I agree, it’s happening more often and I agree, seems once a day I see cancellation reports on here.  

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