write about my adventures on public transit

the last few days I was in Portland for a business trip and got to ride the MAX to work and bike home each day. Portland is so much fun and friendly for biking and taking transit. I didn’t even think to take a bus since it’s so easy to just take the MAX. And on my bike route home I took a route where I could do a Zoobomb on the way back! Funnest commute ever.

A few days ago I got off to a late start and missed my usual bus. So, I ran down to another bus stop and caught a different one that just barely doesn’t transfer to my next bus. Knowing this, I got off the bus downtown and ran down into the tunnel. I saw a 101 which stops where my final bus stops, but it was pulling away. I hopped on the 550 and rode it to the last tunnel station where I was able to run and catch the 101. The 101 started heading down busway, but I could see the 594 in the distance a block ahead. The 101 got stuck at a signal but eventually got on the same block as the 594 near Spokane st. The 594 had just picked up all the passengers and was about to head out on it’s express route, but it got stuck behind the signal at Spokane st. The 101 pulled up right behind and I dashed out and begged the driver to open the door even though she had already pulled out from the curb. She opened the door and I made it!

I just began a new internship where the office happened to be located on Vashon Island, which is only accessible via ferry.

So each day I have been getting up super early to make a 7:35am ferry from Downtown Seattle headed to the Island. On most days I’d catch an express bus a block from my house, but I was able to bike there too which was funner. On the boat since it was in the reverse direction there were at most 7 people in the morning compared to the 100+ coming to Seattle. The boat was kinda loud, but had nice seats and tables where I got a lot of work done on my new laptop. Unfortunately that boat wasn’t wifi-equipped like all the other ferries.

Once I got to Vashon Island, a bus would be waiting for us passengers making the transfer really convenient. All in all I’d probably leave home at 6:50am and get to the office at about 8:30am, which could be the equivalent time that it would take to drive to the Fauntleroy ferry terminal and all.

On the way back the bus would always get there early and more people (sometimes as many as 20) would go back to Seattle. The scenery was amazing on this commute as I would see downtown Seattle from Elliott Bay each day, and all the other vessels from huge container ships to small sailboats and even a submarine one afternoon.

I’ll miss this commute, however I won’t miss the cost. Each ferry ride was about $7.50 round-trip and then I’d have to pay extra for the buses too. Starting next week, our company is moving their office to Tacoma, so I’ll have the option now to take the commuter train, although it is also really expensive ($4.75 each way) and leaves way too early in the morning from Seattle at 6:10am.

I was on my way to an interview last Friday and was planning on catching a bus to downtown. I was all dressed up in the suit and tie. I had my bicycle with me, but I wasn’t about to pedal to downtown to be all sweaty for the interview.

I rolled up to the bus stop about a minute before the bus was scheduled to arrive feeling cocky about how awesome I am at arriving just before the bus is scheduled. Only this time, the bus didn’t arrive on time. It pulled up 10 minutes late and I got on to the standing room only bus (which is actually normal for that route, so no big deal (to me at least)).

The bus took off and made its way up to the University Bridge, which was wide open. We waited for this barge for something like 4 minutes. I saw one of my biker friends pass the bus as we soot still. The bridge went down and then the bus was off at pace fast enough to hit a red light just after the University Bridge with all the bicyclers long gone down Eastlake.

The bus was moving fine now along Eastlake, but all hopes of the bus gaining back any time was wiped away as some dude on the bus broke out into a seizure. The driver stopped the bus and called in a medical emergency. I could tell that at this point the bus wasn’t going to get me there on time, so I asked the driver to let me off and he did. Now, the guy with the seizure, I don’t know what happened with him, but I do know that I have no place being in the medical industry and was of no use to anybody on that bus, perhaps I was even an obstacle in this situation.

So with no regrets and less than 30 minutes until my interview I took my bike off the bus and started pedaling through Eastlake towards downtown (in my suit). As I got onto 2nd ave I unbuttoned my suit hoping to air myself out. I rolled up to the building, locked up the bike, took off my helmet and gloves in the elevator and was 10 minutes early. After this ride I can understand why some people have their worries about buses.

Everytime that I’m in downtown Seattle, my brain is whirling about trying to figure out what bus route out of the 5 or 6 that I could take will get me home fastest.

Luckily I was downtown at 10pm this time, so only 2 really made sense, either the 66 or the 73. Well the 73 wasn’t coming for another 15 minutes, but the 71 showed up while being followed closely by the 66. Since both of these buses hit up Eastlake, I figured that since I needed to go to the bathroom that I would hop on the 66 and see if it would beat the 71 to the Zoo where I would relieve myself.

I hoped on the 71 and saw a regular driver and I told him “I’m going to race you to Eastlake on the 66”. I got off at the next stop which was 3/union and then ran to 3/pike to catch the 66. The 66 however, stopped at nearly every stop along the route and hit reds at 4th, 6th, Boren, Stewart, and Republican. By the time I got to Eastlake/Lynn the 71 was nowhere in sight either behind or in front. I figured that I had lost the race!

Well, I went into the zoo and had an el jefe which I thought was a pretty bad weizen and then I went back out to catch the 73 once the glass was empty. Transit is so much fun!

A few days ago I pulled a slick move to save me some time taking the bus. I started out at the SR 512 P&R waiting for the 594 to Seattle. However, I saw the express 574 coming into the bay. Although that bus only went to Seatac Airport, I figured that I may be able to catch some other bus from the Tacoma Dome Station since the 574 skips downtown Tacoma, but some other buses don’t.

Lo and behold the 574 pulled up to Tacoma Dome Station just as the 590 express to Seattle was loading up. I quickly got off and onto the 590 and saved probably about 20 minutes on my total trip by catching this tight transfer!

Tonight I had another encounter with my favorite bus. I was coming home from a day with my sister riding on the 594. As the 594 neared Jackson St, I saw the 73 creep ahead but it stopped at the next light at Main St. I stayed on the 594 to avoid biking up 4th ave. The 594 got the green and then shot past the 73 on 4th, and it hit every green light without stopping all the way to Union St!

I got off there and started biking to the 73 stop over at Virgina/6th. But as I got there I figured that I might as well bomb down Eastlake. So I went through a few new roads near REI and discovered a cool bar I’d never seen before called the Southlake Grill. I bombed down Eastlake, but didn’t make the green at Eastlake/Fairview. I kept on biking at a slow pace through Eastlake and then waited a bit over at Eastlake/Harvard for the 73, and tried to find a new route up to Boylston. But the 73 showed up, so I started riding over the University Bridge and figured I’d catch it at the same place I caught the 73 at New Years. The bus didn’t stop there, so I biked past it to the stop at University/41st. But by then, I figured I could probably beat the bus up the ave, so I started biking up that way. I got up to 15/ravenna and had left that bus in the dust, but the light at 65/15th was about to turn green! I sprinted from 62nd uphill and barely made the light as it turned yellow when I hit the intersection! I continued to steadily make my way up 15th. By the time I crossed Lake City, it was game over. I saw the 73 in the back just crossing 75th. I easily made it up to 85th almost a minute ahead of my bus and triumphantly shook my fist in the air!

I realized that this race with the bus could be a turning point for me because I took the initiative to put in some extra work and saved myself a few seconds and got a good workout too.

I started off 2008 with quite possibly the most epic bus catch ever!

It was 1:55 (AM) and I had just got off the phone with my former co-worker at King County Metro who told me that (as the schedule said) no buses were running back to my home, and that I would probably have to catch the 83 which is notoriously smelly.

Well, I started walking back towards the U District from Wallingford figuring I’d drunkenly wander the 4 miles or so back home. But as I got to about 7th I saw a bus heading over the University Bridge! I started running to the stop 3 blocks away figuring it may just be a late night 49 that would save me 12 blocks of walking uphill. I sprinted under the bridge towards the stop while holding down this plastic “Happy New Year” top hat and could see that the bus was going to stop.

Yet I also saw that it wasn’t the 49, it was the 73!!! The bus that goes directly to my house! The bus that stops running at 00:45 was perfectly on time for me! I ran up the embankment and across the road and hopped on my favorite bus.

This was such a fantastic way to start the new year and as I deboarded the bus, I had to offer my driver a beer. It was the least I could do, but he refused, which also made me glad that he was so upstanding to refuse alcohol while on the job.