Capitol Hill residents on the Montlake transfer
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I agree completely. I do not relish the time I spend waiting at the Montlake station each morning and evening. Many times I have exited the bus from Redmond at around 7:15 pm and watched the connection I wanted to make (43 or 48) drive away, with 6 lanes of ugly traffic preventing me from getting on it. That makes waiting for the next one even harder. If the bus crossed Capitol Hill I would save between 15 and 40 minutes each day.
Additionally, I would have more incentive to pester several friends on Capitol Hill who are single-car commuters to take the bus instead! They've got their FlexPasses but aren't using them because of the inconvenience of the transfer at Montlake, one of Seattle's yuckiest intersections.
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You rock! I can't tell you how happy I would be if this were to happen. I would definitely increase my bus activity if I didn't have to face waiting in the cold at Montlake, choking on the exhaust fumes, and trying to avoid the strange man who has decided that I am his special Montlake friend.
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Having ridden home [to Capitol Hill] on various days with at least 25 people during my time at Microsoft, I have probably heard the whole range of grumblings from Capitol Hill residents regarding the commute. I think the only reason some of us ever take the car to work is that making the connection at Montlake is so consistently stressful, and a terrible waste of time!
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I live on Belmont Ave. E. It’s usually no problem for me to walk down to the [express] stop in the morning - but coming home! Walking up Denny from Stewart at the end of the day is a real pain! If the bus went down Olive Way I could get off a block from my house! I also agree with the idea that transfer time IS wasted time. It is much better have a slightly longer bus ride than to have to transfer from a 43 - even if it is on an expanded schedule.
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A re-route over Capitol Hill is exactly what would make riding the bus attractive to me. I live near the top of the hill, about 5 blocks from the present route of the 43. By the time I walk to the bus stop, catch a ride either to downtown or Montlake, then transfer and ride all the way out to Red West [Microsoft’s north campus], I could have driven my car out there two times. There's nothing I'd rather have than time during my commute to read or just to stare out the window and think, but those advantages offered by a bus commute are outweighed by the disadvantages outlined [above] about how time spent transferring is wasted. Give me one bus to catch and no transfers, and the bus system's got another rider.
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This would be a massive improvement over the current situation, and would remove just about every obstacle I can think of that keeps me (and a lot of others) from catching the bus to and from work and leaving the car at home. What a pity they move at such a glacial pace - I'd be on the bus tomorrow if I could. Thanks for making this happen.
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This is fantastic. Thank you for sending this along!!
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It is too bad that beaurocracies work at such a glacial pace. It is completely astounding that Metro still thinks in terms of all commuters going downtown. How can they miss the obvious?
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[From a downtown resident]
This kicks ass! I am one of the people who will be sitting on the bus longer if it happens, but it's a good thing...
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I am a recruiter with Microsoft (I speak for myself here, not for Microsoft) - I work with external candidates, many of whom are considering relocating to Seattle from other US cities or even other parts of the world. Traffic and commuting times are a high on the list for many of them when considering a move here. I am somewhat biased, perhaps, when I recommend they choose Capitol Hill or Seattle area neighborhoods like Wallingford/Fremont/QA/etc., but in my mind, it's a way to encourage density while welcoming economic growth/new residents to our fair city. Ultimately, of course, many of them choose the East Side, which is just fine, but for the ones who choose the West side of the Lake -- I'd love to be able to brag about the direct bus service from one high densely populated area to one where many Cap Hill residents work (i.e. Overlake).
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I am writing to express my support for a direct bus route from Capitol Hill to Redmond, particularly to the Microsoft campus. As a former transportation planner, I know that having to transfer between buses and/or different modes of transportation deters people from riding the bus. In fact, to avoid transferring, I often walk 15 minutes downtown to catch the bus. However, when it is rainy or I wake up late, I am much less likely to do so. If, on the other hand, I could walk to the intersection of Broadway and John and catch a direct bus to the Microsoft Campus, I would be more likely to take the bus on those days. … I encourage you to add more buses [to the route]. I have been very pleased with the additional buses added this past spring, but as a somewhat typical software developer ;-) and as someone trying to avoid traffic congestion, I often wake up later and work later, and would be more likely to catch the bus if more left from downtown to Redmond mid-morning (between 9:30 and 10:30 am.)
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I experimented with bussing for a solid month and gave up due to the commute time. I live in Capitol Hill on Boylston, in the 600 block, i.e. just two blocks from Broadway, right next to the Cornish School of Performing Arts. I generally take the number 7 (if heading downtown -- hey why park?) and 43 buses.
I decided that connections at Montlake were completely ridiculous -- typically putting my one-way commute at 1 hour and 15 minutes. Instead, I opted to walk down the hill and catch the bus outside the tunnel terminus. Including the 15 minute walk, this got me down to one hour door-to-door. Of course, in poor weather, the walk up and down the hill is pretty miserable.
Compare this to my current driving commute: 30 minutes door-to-door max in the morning (travelling at 9:30 am) and about 45 minutes average for the return trip, i.e. a saving of 45 minutes to an hour each day. I intensely dislike driving on 520 or I90, and would much rather spend that time reading my latest novel and looking smugly down on the single-occupancy vehicles mired in traffic, and would love to ride a direct bus from Capitol Hill. I periodically check the van pool schedules, but find the typically earlier times that van pool commuters prefer to not mesh with my general schedule. The option of multiple direct busses during the morning and evening would just be so much more flexible.
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I live on Capitol/First Hill (intersection of 15th & Cherry ZIP 98122) and due to poorly planned routing and transfer times for buses, it takes me about 70 to 100 minutes (depending on traffic) to commute 1-way to work. I go to Downtown to take the [Seattle-Redmond express] because trying to transfer at Montlake adds an additional 15 to 20 minutes. I WALK Downtown because that's 15 minutes faster than any bus I can take which will allow time to transfer. This, however, is very unpleasant in the cold winter rain.
I've ridden buses in this city for 6 years now, and the commuting times have deteriorated to the point where I'm ready to buy a car. No matter all the good reasons to use public transportation, it's become not worth it when I spend three to four hours a day juggling transfers and waiting for buses that are increasingly late.
If there were direct bus service from Capitol Hill to the major Eastside commuting areas (Overlake, Microsoft), and if the buses run on schedule, this would reduce my commuting time by close to 30 minutes in each direction. Instead of 70+ minutes to make the commute, it's possible my commute would be a much more reasonable 40 minutes one-way. If such a change is implemented, I'll keep using public transport. If not, it's time for me to buy a car.