October’s Golden Transfer goes to the Tuckers–Sterling (aka “Daddy Tucker”), Danuelle (aka “Mommy Tucker”), Little Sterling, Shaun, and Steven–an Eastside family who put down the keys to their SUV and got on the bus this month.

It started with Daddy Tucker, who took an evening class in Seattle and chose a comfortable ride on a Sound Transit commuter bus over the bumper-to-bumper insanity on 520. Bus Nerd and I (both separately and together) ran into Daddy Tucker on the 545 on his way to class.

And then, at the Douglass-Truth extravaganza on the 14th, we ran into the entire Tucker family. They came all the way from Kirkland for the occasion, and–this time, at the insistence of Mommy Tucker, who had some Metro free-ride passes–made the trip without a car. Mommy Tucker felt it was high time for the boys Tucker to take their first bus ride (255+48, for those who care to know), and this bus chick agrees. Here’s hoping it won’t be their last.

The lovely Tucker family at the Douglass-Truth bus stop, triumphant after a successful ride

This month’s Golden Transfer goes to Metro’s only floating bus, the Elliott Bay Water Taxi, which completed its final run of 2006 just 23 minutes ago. From May 1st until today, the Water Taxi transported a record 118,000 passengers across Elliott Bay. Some of those passengers were repeaters, of course: commuters; frequent beachgoers; and me, a woman who likes to visit her parents.

In addition to being the cheapest scenic boat ride in the city, the Water Taxi is also a useful form of transportation. It provides a short, convenient route between downtown and Seacrest Park in West Seattle. And, in case you’re not headed to (or coming from) Seacrest, you can ride a free Metro shuttle between the park and Alki, the Admiral District, and Alaska Junction.

Taxi!

Waiting in line to get on

Bus Chick and Bus Nerd take one last ride.

Jeremy and Elizabeth at Matador

To celebrate the Water Taxi’s last night in service, we rode over to the west side to meet my parents; my brother, Jeremy; and his girlfriend, Elizabeth, for dinner. We ate at Matador, which I thought was a good choice: Good food. Nice crowd. Decent mojitos. (Note: You can follow red wine with mojitos when you don’t have to worry about driving.)

So thanks EBWT, for enabling so many of my summer adventures: sunset roller blading, Salty’s brunches, fireworks-viewing, and, of course, innumerable parental visits. It’s going to be a long seven months until I can ride again.

Buh bye

This month’s Golden Transfer goes to Warren Yee, volunteer coordinator for Metro Employees Historic Vehicle Association (aka MEHVA), an all-volunteer organization of current and retired Metro employees “dedicated to the preservation of Seattle and King County’s transit heritage through the restoration and operation of vintage transit vehicles as a working, living museum.”

Warren and his team of volunteers don’t just maintain the historic buses; they also donate their time to drive them–for MEHVA-sponsored tours, and occasionally, for private events.

Saturday before last, despite a scheduling mix-up that resulted in some seriously overbooked buses and drivers, Warren worked his volunteer-coordinator magic to provide a wedding bus for Busnerd and me. (It would have been a mini disaster if he hadn’t been able to help us, since we had promised to provide transportation, and many guests had planned accordingly.) He found us a bus (a cool one at that), made sure we had a driver for the first leg (thanks, Manny!), and even stayed up past his bedtime to drive the final leg: the not-so-glamorous post-reception midnight run.

Thank you, Warren, for your efforts to preserve Seattle’s history–and an important day for two people who will never forget you.

I don’t have a picture of Warren, so here’s the next best thing: a 60s-era Seattle Transit bus.

Here it is again. You can find more pics of cool, old buses on MEHVA’s website.

Way back in the beginning of the month, I took the 550 to Bellevue to pick up a Flexcar for a weekend rental. Because I’d been on a fairly long hiatus from my job on the Eastside, and because I had rushed to catch this particular 550, I completely forgot that a ride across the lake on a Sound Transit bus costs $2.50, a dollar more than my $1.50 pass.

Unfortunately, my wallet contained no singles–only a $20 bill and 70 cents in change. By the time I realized this, the bus was long past the ride-free zone, which meant it was too late to get off and break the bill (read: buy some chocolate). And so, fueled by bad childhood memories of the day I lost my bus tickets on the way to school and an irrational fear of committing a bus foul, I began to panic.

I didn’t want to draw attention to my situation by asking the other passengers for change, but, after a split second of deliberation, decided it was far preferable to the attention I would draw if I waited to work it out with the bus driver at the end of the ride. I sucked it up and asked the woman next to me if she could break a 20. She couldn’t.

At the stop on Mercer Island, I mustered up the courage to try again, this time with the guy in front of me. He had some change, but not 20 dollars’ worth. When I offered to trade the 20 for whatever he had, he asked what I needed it for. I explained my situation, and he handed me a dollar, refusing my 70 cents and my profuse thanks.

“It’s no big deal,” he said. “It’s just a dollar.”

Then he got off the bus. (I assume it was because we had reached his stop, but there’s also the chance he wanted to avoid the possibility of any other psycho chicks begging him for bus fare.)

And so, I am awarding July’s Golden Transfer to my unknown 550 hero. Yes, it was just a dollar, but on that particular afternoon, it was everything to this bus chick.

This month’s Golden Transfer award goes to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in the Central District–and not just because it’s the church I happen to attend.

Good Shepherd’s congregation has adopted a bus stop (on 23rd Avenue near Union), which means that, starting after the first major cleanup this Saturday, they will keep it free of trash and graffiti for all of the lucky 48 riders who use it.

Mrs. Annie Lamb, the force behind the stop adoption, has been riding the bus for longer than I’ve been alive. And she’s not the only one. Many of Good Shepherd’s members ride the bus. At least once a week, I see someone from church on one of my regular routes. Did I mention that the Golden Transfer logo was designed by GS member Zach Tucker?

So thanks to everyone at Good Shepherd, for your loyal ridership and for your contribution to the bus-riding community. I have it on good authority that God looks favorably upon those who support public transportation.