Sound Transit Andrew spotted this at 80th & Lake City Way:
For some help understanding what, in fact, is up with that, check out History Link’s Seattle Transportation Timeline.
Even car dealers want better transit
Category Archives: spotted!
Northbound 48, 9:00 AM
Chillaxin’ on the way to school:
Perhaps she heard (from our girl on the 27) that people really like to sit on seats with dirty shoeprints.
Speaking of adopted stops…
Recently, Metro removed the trash can from Good Shepherd’s adopted stop without even attempting to contact the church’s members. (I found out when I showed up for garbage duty a few weeks ago.) Now, I know why. Sometime between my attempted garbage duty and today, a shelter was added to that stop. Bus stops with shelters can’t be adopted (and, apparently, can be “un-adopted” retroactively) because they have large, free-standing trash cans that are emptied by Metro. The addition of the shelter is, of course, a good thing, but what’s with the covert operation? A little communication would have been much appreciated.
And oh yeah: Can we get a bench in there?
Fellow riders, take heart
We have rounded the bend!
I know the photograph ain’t much (yet again, the bus was coming), so in case you can’t tell: It’s a cherry tree (near the westbound 27 stop at Yesler & Broadway), sporting actual buds.
Only 83 days until the beginning of bus chick high season.
Speaking of good news…
Yesterday, April from Northgate e-mailed to tell me about a new development at her stop at 15th & Northgate Way.
Over the weekend, someone placed what looks like a handmade wooden bench [there]. I take the 73 or 373 to the UW almost every day–but this morning was the first morning I could sit while I waited.
She also sent a picture of the bench:
I love it when people surprise me with evidence of creativity and kindness (and resourcefulness, and generosity…). Thanks, April! As one of my very wise readers, “Port Townsend Chris,” once said, “Bus people are awesome!”
Safety poles: for more than just hanging on
Who says you can’t take your dry cleaning (or a change of clothes, or a fancy new dress) on the bus?
Until there’s a biometric option…
Sound Transit or Metro? Peak or off peak? One zone or two? Pay as you enter or as you leave? If you hate keeping track of this stuff (or carrying extra change in your wallet to supplement your pass), you’ll be happy to know that Metro, Sound Transit, and several other regional transit agencies are in the process of testing that smart-card-based, regional fare system I mentioned back in August. (In fact, I think the test was scheduled to end on 12/22.) Though I don’t regularly ride any of the participating routes, I’ve seen a few of the card readers in the course of my travels. Here’s one:
Apparently, they keep track of the time (peak or off peak) and location (ride free or fare), and (I assume, since I’ve never ridden with anyone who actually has one) automatically deduct the proper amount from a rider’s “e-purse.” Nice.
Last month, a few of you wrote to say that you planned to participate in this test. How did it go?
Eastbound 4, 8-ish
A man and a woman who apparently know each other meet in the aisle on the way to their seats.
Woman: “Hey, stranger! You make it through OK?”
Man: “I just got back in town. I couldn’t take it.”
Woman: “Well, you better turn right back around. We’re about to get another d*mn storm. And I just got my lights back on!”
As they continue to talk windstorms and lost power, the man in front of me sits on a tube of toothpaste. He tries to clean it, then gives up and moves.
The seat, post toothpaste accident (note the tube in the crack between the seat and the wall)
Later, at Jefferson and 14th, a very drunk (the kind of drunk you can smell coming) man gets on, muttering to himself in a thick accent.
“I’m going to a celebration of my people, in Africa, where it doesn’t rain. Not like here. Here it rains every f-ing day.”
Through all of this, Smooth Jazz is at the wheel. Smooth Jazz makes everything aaalllll riiiight.
How to get a bus chick to buy what you’re selling
I saw this ad on the 545 during last night’s insane ride home:
In case you don’t have superhuman vision, here’s what it says:
Your fantastic new job gives you such joy you start walking to work every day and before you can say tiddlywinks you’ve started a car-free revolution and the toxin levels in Puget Sound plummet and the orcas are taken off the endangered species list because the salmon make a miraculous comeback and with the abundance of lean protein our offensive line bulks up 23 lbs per player the Seahawks win the Super Bowl and Seattle is given 3 billion dollars by an anonymous donor and while building an agreeable mass transit system secret documents are unearthed and we discover who killed JFK the Roswell aliens really landed in Fremont and the meaning of all life right here in the Northwest.
Too bad I’m not looking for a job.
Recently spotted in transit
Either a bus veered way off course, or some sad souls have too much time on their hands.
At least the schedule’s still intact.
So much for the cool, new signal light at this freeway station.
Speaking of cool…
Relief for bus riders who want to know where the heck their bus is already:
Time to install those updates!
This monitor at Overlake Transit Center shows Tracker’s location view for all the buses that stop there. The monitor is displayed through a window of one of the OTC buildings. Here’s an attempt at some context:
That’s Bus Nerd in the reflection.
Love it! Maybe I’m dreaming too big, but I’d like to see something like this at every major bus stop.
Speaking of bus stops…
E-waste at the 8 stop on Yesler & 23rd
Maybe they thought the sign said, “Bottles, cans, and printers only.” The saddest part: There was a monitor on top of a trash can at one of the later stops on the same ride. Just foul.
Speaking of fouls…
Getting comfortable on the 27
Who needs a sofa when you can put your feet up on the bus? Not feelin’ this situation at all.
I am, however, feelin’ this situation:
Hipster-geeks swapping music on the 545
Wonder what song it was?
I’ve been saying that the bus would be a great place to test Zune’s wireless file sharing. No word on whether this particular test was successful.