by Seattle Times staff
RTA officials talk about a "seamless" system, in which riders would be allowed to hop from buses to trains and light rail and back to buses for a single fare. We wondered how the system would work for real people, so we asked readers around the region to tell us where and how they commute. The we asked RTA officials to give those readers their best options under the new system. (Since specific bus routes haven't been drawn, bus-travel times are estimates.) Would our commuters be better off? Would they use the new system? Here are the results:
Myron Lindberg
West Seattle resident Myron Lindberg believes in mass transit.
He could drive to his job at the Kent Boeing Co. plant in about 30 minutes. Instead, his two-bus trip takes 65 minutes. His wife, Shirley, has an easier commute, a short one-bus ride into downtown Seattle.
"We save 10 percent on our auto insurance and wear and tear on the car," Lindberg said. Boeing kicks in $15 for a bus pass, and Lindberg enjoys reading the paper or catching a few winks on his way to work.
RTA officials said Lindberg could shorten his commute time once the commuter rail got under way, even though he would need to take two buses to complete the route. Lindberg is cautious.
"The only problem I have is that as soon as you involve another connection, you waste more time," he said. "Will the bus be there when I get off the train?"
Marlene Deming
The best transit system in the world would have a hard time accommodating Marlene Deming, a postal worker who drives to work from Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood to Redmond.
Deming, who works a graveyard shift, is dreading a slight change of schedule that will put her into morning rush-hour traffic heading back into Seattle.
Deming said odd working hours and co-workers who are scattered all over prevent her from getting into a carpool.
She could take light rail, but it would involve a bus-to-rail-to-bus-walk trip that would increase her commute time.
"Environmentally, light rail would be superb," said Deming. "I would love to ride the rail, but (the plan) seems too shortsighted."
RTA officials concede that Deming is a tough sale. At issue is how Metro plans to connect Eastside bus routes to light-rail stations.
Jane Chartrand
Jane Chartrand would have to lose her free parking in downtown Seattle and watch her travel time skyrocket before she gave up her car.
Her shoes never get wet in the rain during her garage-to-garage commute from Bellevue to Seattle. She lives next to a freeway entrance and her employer pays for parking.
"I believe in the concept of mass transit," said Chartrand, who says she probably will retire before the RTA finishes the light-rail line between Bellevue and Seattle.
RTA officials said free parking will not be around much longer, partly because of the state's commute-reduction act. They are confident that Chartrand could get to work in 39 minutes with a bus/light rail combination.
Driving across the 520 Bridge takes her about 40-45 minutes, and that's just fine with her.
"I like the convenience of having my car," she said.
Jane Howell-Clark
Three times a week, Janet Howell-Clark boards the 48 Express in Greenwood. Thirty minutes later, she is at work at the University of Washington health-science complex.
RTA officials said they can do a bus/rail combination that can get her to work in under 20 minutes. But like other riders, Howell-Clark is not excited about the idea of boarding a bus and then transferring to light rail.
"I already have a pretty good commute. The bus leaves me in front of my job," she said. "All that would help me would be more 48s."
The 48 Express is a popular route to the University District. Howell-Clark said she is lucky enough to catch it early so she doesn't have to stand.
As far as the RTA plan, she is going to give it serious thought. If suburbanites don't believe the plan will do anything for them, Howell-Clark is not sure it will do much for Seattle commuters.
Carla Hopkins
One of the big questions for Carla Hopkins is whether Community Transit would discontinue express-bus service to downtown Seattle if commuter rail and light rail went into service.
She would be willing to take a train to work only if her express bus, which takes about 25 minutes from downtown Edmonds to her job at Group Health in downtown Seattle, were eliminated.
By getting on a train, she would lengthen her commute by several minutes under RTA's best scenario. What RTA officials say they could offer Hopkins in exchange is reliable departure and arival times
Her husband, Arthur, who is retired and mostly travels to the Lynnwood area for shopping, has lost some faith in the RTA proposal.
"My wife's commute could increase from 25 minutes to 40 minutes and she may have to transfer at least twice before she gets to work," he said.
But he is pleased the plan could add more frequent local bus service.
David and Rebecca Leaf
The RTA plan is not likely to make much of a dent in David Leaf's commute from Kent to Renton. But it will get him to other places faster than his car.
It takes 25 minutes for Leaf and his wife, Rebecca, to drive to the Kenworth plant in Renton where they work, and about 45 minutes to return home in the afternoon rush hour.
"I didn't expect light rail to be an option to getting to work. But we definitely need the plan, even if it is going to answer only half my questions," Leaf said.
The Leafs and their four children enjoy visiting downtown Seattle and family in Edmonds. The commuter rail will get them there faster and with less headaches, he believes.
"Getting to work is not the point for me in this plan. The point is that we need to keep cars off the road. Pollution, carbon monoxide. It is just not good," he said.