Education, News

Seattle Public Schools to Parents: Psych! Now You Give Us $1 Billion?

While I was trying to make sense of this dishearteningly stupid story, Seattle Public Schools made a new announcement: “New proposal calls for return to current 2011-12 transportation plan and minimal impact to current bell times.”

Seattle Schools Community Forum, which has been watchdogging the district on this, calls the statement a “remarkable piece of dis-information.” It’s hard to argue with their concerns about how transportation logistics became a last-minute fire drill. Continue reading Seattle Public Schools to Parents: Psych! Now You Give Us $1 Billion?

News

Yes, New Seattle-to-Portland BoltBus Service Will Take Bikes

Because Portland is one of the most bike-friendly cities to visit you can imagine, my first question was whether I could bring a bike along. This led to a helpful tutorial on BoltBus baggage policy: “You are allowed one piece of baggage under the coach and two small bags to carry on (purse or backpack).” In theory, your bicycle is the under-the-coach item: “We do allow them and consider them to be oversize items as long as space is available in the baggage area.” Continue reading Yes, New Seattle-to-Portland BoltBus Service Will Take Bikes

News, Transportation

Alaskan Way Reroute Begins 2nd Week of May

Moving ahead with the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement project, Washington Department of Transportation crews will reroute Alaskan Way traffic south of Spring Street to a newly improved road below the viaduct. That in turn will change the way you get to the ferry toll plaza at Colman Dock. Continue reading Alaskan Way Reroute Begins 2nd Week of May

News, Transportation

Time to Play the Most Dangerous (Bus) Game

Each year, a few King County Metro bus routes battle it out for the distinction of being named the “most dangerous” in the system. One year it’ll be the 7, the next the 358. But you have to be careful: the Seattlepi.com was counting operator assaults when it crowned the 7, the Weekly was counting “security incident reports” when it selected 358. Continue reading Time to Play the Most Dangerous (Bus) Game

News, Transportation

New SR 520 Toll Boosts Microsoft Connector Ridership

You know who doesn’t care about the new SR 520 tolls? Microsoft Connector passengers. Or, rather, they no longer have to care. When I asked Microsoft’s Lou Gellos if the Redmond-based company anticipated a boost in ridership of their private transit system, now that the 520 bridge is being tolled, he chuckled and said they’d already seen an increase: back in April, when the tolls were originally planned to go into effect. Continue reading New SR 520 Toll Boosts Microsoft Connector Ridership

News, Politics, Transportation

Make the Bus Suck Less–Advice for Seattle’s New Transit Riders Union

We were already running late–the driver had arrived at his second stop on the run 5 minutes behind and yawning, as if from a nap, and managed to coast a bit past every stop on the way, coming to a halt next to a pole, usually, that people had to insinuate themselves around to get on or off. Occasionally he stopped for no one. Continue reading Make the Bus Suck Less–Advice for Seattle’s New Transit Riders Union

News, Transportation

After Carmageddon, The Buspocalypse

In King County, we’re facing major cuts in transit unless funding can be found. Sums up Seattlepi.com: “Without extra funds, a total of 600,000 hours of transit service would be eliminated over the next two years. This is about 17 percent of Metro’s entire system, but it would affect up to 80 percent of bus riders.” Continue reading After Carmageddon, The Buspocalypse