Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Car Drivers: Are you considering riding the bus?
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October 20, 2011 at 10:54 pm #600961
ws4everMemberIt’s not so bad. Busdriver this AM said #’s of buses to WS increase tomorrow.
October 20, 2011 at 11:36 pm #737767
mpentoParticipantYes I have considered it and the answer is no
October 21, 2011 at 2:58 am #737768
ws4everMemberAnd it would have meant so much to me.
October 21, 2011 at 5:31 am #737769
dhgParticipantIf the bus were rail then yes, I’d take it in a heart beat. What’s the advantage of sitting in traffic on a bus? One big disadvantage: I can’t say screw it, I’ll go a different route or I’ll turn around. That’s the problem with metro: they’re using the same roads. When the weather ices up, what’s the alternate transport? A bus slides around worse than a rear wheel drive car. When traffic is backed up, buses sit in traffic.
October 21, 2011 at 1:26 pm #737770
SmittyParticipantOctober 21, 2011 at 3:09 pm #737771
HuindekmiParticipantI considered it, but…
I work on the east side. And unfortunately, the only traffic mitigations the city has put into place assume that every commuter is traveling into downtown Seattle and only into downtown Seattle.
So… the bus… I’d have to take a bus into downtown Seattle, transfer, take a bus into downtown Bellevue, transfer, and take a bus that would drop me off just over a mile from my office. All that, assuming I made every connection, would take over 1.5 hours, not including the walk to/from the office.
Best case in my car is 35 minutes door to door. Worst case in the car is better than the best case in the bus.
October 21, 2011 at 3:39 pm #737772
KlauseMemberWoW! Disheartening to know that there are so many bus snobs in the West Seattle area. I commute downtown by bus and drive my car in when really needed. I’d rather sit in traffic on a bus than in my own car. At least I’m not wasting my own gas or having the added stress by driving. I also know several people that commute by bus to Bellevue and don’t find it so difficult, yea, a few transfers and what not but it’s still a viable option. There are even people that commute by bus and train from further out like Orting, Puyallup,Olympia and Everett. Apparently no bus snobs in those areas. Seems that people that tend to live close to their work are the ones less likely to use public transportation. Go figure.
October 21, 2011 at 3:43 pm #737773
HuindekmiParticipantGuess that makes me a “bus snob” for wanting to spend the extra 2 hours each day with my kids rather than sitting on a bus. Go figure.
October 21, 2011 at 3:49 pm #737774
SmittyParticipantBus snobs rule.
October 21, 2011 at 4:02 pm #737775
skeeterParticipantMy wife and I are not able to take the bus due to our work location. But we do carpool. And we are very thankful to folks who spend the extra time to take the bus. It helps everyone out.
October 21, 2011 at 4:15 pm #737776
BostonmanMemberI agree with dhg. If the bus didn’t sit in the same traffic I would take it more. In Boston I commuted into the city everyday by subway. No issues.
Call me a snob if you want but I also would rather spend the extra 90 minutes a day with my family.
October 21, 2011 at 4:53 pm #737777
HormelParticipantLeaving the car at home and riding my bike into downtown. If I was not doing that I drive instead of taking the bus. Hate to say it but I would rather sit in my car than stand for so long on the bus. Not a bus snob but that is really hard on my back.
October 21, 2011 at 5:10 pm #737778
KlauseMemberNo, Bus Snobs don’t Rule…Kids Rule…You’re right, Family first and a good reminder for that. Simply overlooked that aspect of the commute. But, for those that don’t have family, what’s your excuse for not taking the bus or carpooling…other than no service to your location.
October 21, 2011 at 5:38 pm #737779
SemeleParticipantWait, so if we don’t have kids we have no excuse to not ride the bus? Give me a break. I work on the EastSide and the hour and half it would take me to ride the bus (on a good day) when it takes me 35min to drive is not a reasonable commute option. Besides, even though I don’t have children I do have a life. I have a dog that needs to be taken out and a place I have to be in WS at 5:30 weeknights.
If there was a good rail system here I would take it in a heartbeat. When I lived in Chicago I rarely drove my car. To call someone a bus snob because they don’t want to spend an extra couple of hours a day commuting is just ridiculous.
October 21, 2011 at 5:47 pm #737780
JimmyGMemberI may not have kids, but I still have family Klause. Your precious little snowflakes aren’t more important than my family.
I will not be taking the bus. I’m adjusting my route and starting time and will proudly wear my bus snob identity on my sleeve.
If someone wants to print up a “Bus Snob” bumper sticker I’ll gladly put one on my SUV.
October 21, 2011 at 5:53 pm #737781
KlauseMemberWhoa…wait a sec Semele…I see that you’d rather ride your bike to the eastside (https://westseattleblog.com/forum/topic/friday-is-bike-to-work-day), which seems to me would take much longer in commute time and is way more dangerous than taking the bus..? Not sure your response holds much weight in having to be home for your dog or someplace by 5:30. But I do understand having to be home at a descent time for animals or other issues. Just don’t quite understand why you would slam me on the bus issue when you so openly commented on wanting to ride your bike to work more often. Isnt’t that some form of alternate commute? Planes, trains, bikes, carpools…whatever your commute, is what I was getting at.
October 21, 2011 at 5:58 pm #737782
KlauseMemberSlow down JimmyG, didn’t you read my comment?? I did say FAMILY first, so don’t slam someone for having kids and besides, mine are old enough to take care of themselves. So my precious “little” snowflakes, as you put it, are more important to me than your family is.
October 21, 2011 at 6:04 pm #737783
SemeleParticipantYou have got be kidding me. “Not sure your response holds much weight in having to be home for your dog or someplace by 5:30”
Me having a standing 5:30 appt daily doesn’t stand as a good excuse? Who are you to decide what is acceptable in someone else’s life?
And for your information it only takes me an hour to ride my bike to work (less time than the bus). And I do that in the summer, when the weather is good and only once a week due to my schedule. Also, when I am training for riding STP etc.
I am not slamming you on the bus issue, I just take offense to your attitude that people are bus snobs for not wanting to spend 2+ extra hours commuting. And the fact that only people with families have a right to not want to spend that extra time commuting. You don’t have the right to tell people what should be important in their life.
You want to spend more time commuting, great! I for one have more important things in my life to do than spend 3hours a day on a bus.
October 21, 2011 at 6:14 pm #737784
DBPMemberWhen I think of the term “bus snob” I don’t think of someone who declines to take the bus for reasons of mere timeliness. Rather, I think of someone who refuses to take the bus simply because they don’t want to have to sit there with people they don’t know. I think of someone who just paid a lot of bank for a Beemer or cush SUV and wouldn’t dream of being seen at a public bus stop with all the riff-raff.
(You people know who you are.)
Bus snobs are fine by me.
Let them have their cush SUVs and their privacy.
BUT let them also subsidize mass transit by:
â–ş Paying higher gas taxes
â–ş Paying parking taxes
â–ş Paying highway tolls
â–ş Paying license tab fees
For that matter, let EVERYONE who drives a single-occupancy vehicle pay MORE money to subsidize mass transit — whether they have a good excuse for driving or not.
—David Preston
(occasional driver)
(occasional biker)
(occasional walker)
(occasional bus rider)
October 21, 2011 at 6:18 pm #737785
amaliaParticipantWow. Takes me a total of ~1.5 hours each way (I don’t work downtown) to bike or bike/bus, and I don’t have to go to the gym afterwards, so for an athletic person, it saves time (and $!). I’ll probably skip the bus next week.
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If you work downtown, you have the right to drive by yourself and pay for gas and parking (for whatever reason you’d ever want to do that), but don’t complain about traffic. You ARE the traffic.
October 21, 2011 at 6:21 pm #737786
SemeleParticipantIf I worked downtown I would ride my bike everyday that I could. It’s what my husband does and it’s actually faster than taking the bus!
Thank goodness I get to work from home for two of the days next week!
October 21, 2011 at 6:25 pm #737787
KlauseMemberDBP…Well put. Exactly what I was “trying” to say, but guess didn’t put it into the proper words.
October 21, 2011 at 7:13 pm #737788
DBPMemberOh, and by the by . . . don’t think that “I work in Bellevue” gets you off the hook either, folks.
Just how did you come to work in Bellevue but live in West Seattle anyway?
Did someone hold a gun to your head and force you to take the job there or buy the house here? Nope. That one was all yours.
OK, so maybe you made your decision when gas was $2.00 a gallon and the commute to Bellevue was 30 minutes. Maybe you assumed that things would be that way forever and that oil and land were renewable resources.
Now the party’s over, isn’t it? But don’t you worry. This is America: Home of the Free.
Wanna live far away from where you work? Fine. You’re free to choose that. As long as you’re also willing to pay the TRUE COST of your choice.
Yes, America, it’s time to start paying the TRUE COST of all the gas you burn and all the roads you require to be built for your convenience. How does $10 a gallon sound? $20? $50?
Going once . . .
Going twice . . .
Sold! [gavel knocks] One gallon of premium to the man in the cowboy hat!
The rest of us will take just a portion of that $50 and build a better, simpler way to live. Starting with good mass transit.
But the choice will still be yours, cowboys and girls. You can have your big cars and your long highways. As long as you’re willing to pay for ’em.
Cash on the barrelhead!
October 21, 2011 at 7:17 pm #737789
JiggersMemberDBP..Chuckle..chuckle..I thought snobs only existed over in Bellevue.. Maybe I’m wrong.
October 21, 2011 at 7:36 pm #737790
HuindekmiParticipantI’ll take your challenge, DBP.
When we bought our home, both my wife and I worked downtown. I used to bike commute. But that company doesn’t exist anymore. It merged with a competitor and moved out to the boonies up north in Bothell. I didn’t think it would be that stable, and sure enough, it wasn’t.
When the downsizing occurred a couple years ago, I tried to find a job in downtown again. Not many available, so I ended up taking another job on the eastside.
I guess your suggestion would be to sell your house and by a different one whenever you get a new job. I’d be on my third home, losing money each time. Great idea given the economic uncertainty these days.
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