I take the bus to the eastside every weekday from Seattle for IT related work. Where do I work? That’s not the issue. :)
Thursdays are usually the most dreadful days for traffic, for some reason - but not today. It only took 25 minutes to get from downtown to Redmond this morning. And I noticed a lot more traffic heading west toward Seattle. I had already predicted what I thought was happening today, and - sure enough—I was right. It was the big Microsoft company meeting at Safeco field in south downtown Seattle today.
So, now, I have enough conclusive evidence to define the target of the following rant:
Carpool or take the bus at least once or twice a week, all you Seattle/west-side Microsoft employees, fer cryin’ out loud! [/Ed Anger]
- “But it would take longer if I took the bus!”
It takes the same amount of time getting there via SR 520 as by car. And it takes less time getting back via SR 520—thanks to the west-going HOV lanes, even if the traffic is bad before the HOV lanes begin west of I-405.
Still, though, the point remains. It takes the same excruciating amount of time in general because there are too many goddamned vehicles being driven by single occupant Microsoft employees who live in Seattle.
Today’s reversal of traffic only confirms that Microsoft employees take up at least half of the traffic going from Eastside to west, and vice versa. And it also confirms that much of the staff live in Seattle, and not in the Eastside.
- “But between dealing with my family at home, and dealing with meetings all day at work, I’m entitled to have my own time when I’m driving to work. If that’s in the car by myself, so be it. I don’t care what you have to say!”
I can’t argue with that, as I don’t have a family—at least yet. That said, you should try to use public transit for part of the week, even just one day of the week. I bet that 90% of the Seattle residing Microsoft work force has never tried public transit as a way to get to work and back who would make complaints similar to the above…
I don’t think I have to insert the fuel costs difference issue here. That’s self-evident and self-explanatory.
- “It’s a chicken-egg problem. If we all took public transit one day, then the buses would become uncomfortable, and driving would become much easier, which counters your goal.”
Wrong! This is not a chicken-egg problem. It’s a problem that can be dealt with gradually. Would everything work great if every employee dropped their cars tomorrow and took the bus? Of course not! There would be a public transit crisis.
These issues are best dealt with gradually. There has been much improvement in Seattle-Eastside bus routes just in the past two years—and it keeps improving. So kudos to King County Metro and Sound Transit for that. Perhaps we are already heading toward this goal, and I’m just impatient. :)
But, if locals haven’t already noticed, there’s been a major Seattle influx due to improved economic conditions here, at least for the short term. And most of these people are likely not bothering with public transit. Traffic has gotten from crappy to hang-yourself bad within 9 months. This is not a coincidence.
I want to be debated and insulted here. Go ahead. Give it your best shot. I’ll admit to being reactionary and incorrect given the proper evidence. There aren’t enough places to debate this, and I want to add more fuel to the burn here.
Step up the plate!
Have a go at me, you single-occupant driving commuting pansy!
