On the Buses...

[khiemtran]

The bus system in Seattle is very cool. I got a shock when I tried to catch a bus from University Street Station. After searching around the station for the right bus stop, I finally twigged that I was supposed to catch the bus in the station itself.



It was kind of strange seeing the buses driving up along the tracks along with the light rail trains, but I guess it's no different from having trams and trolley cars on the street.

Note: this photo was actually from a reconnaissance run I made before I actually needed to catch the bus, as I was worried about being late. It was a good thing, because I saved all the time I would have spent blundering around looking for the actual buses.

Getting onto the buses also turned out to be a little bit tricky, because there were machines for selling tickets, but they only covered the light rail destinations. So, when my bus came, I entered clutching my fare and asked if I can buy a ticket. There was the usual stunned look as the driver tried to parse my accent (I generally have to say things twice on my first few days in the US), and then a slightly longer pause, as though I had just asked for a plate of salmon and a nice glass of grenache. "No!" says the driver, recognition dawning at last. "When you get off you can."

It turns out that you need to feed your notes and coins into a machine as you leave the bus - although most passengers have Orca cards and it's only towards the end of the trip that I see someone actually doing it.

Actually, it also turned out that my request wasn't quite so ignorant. On my return trip, I see a sign explaining that I needed to pay on entry on buses to Seattle, but on exit on buses heading the other way. I guess it's to save time at the busiest stops.

Also, my ears weren't quite accustomed to transit-speak yet, so I had fun listening to the driver calling out various stops such as "Bellevue prknrd" and "Bltdtlcentr" and wondering vaguely which of them was my stop.

The buses themselves were also cool. They had folding bicycle carriers in front, as seen below.


Of course, they only had room for about two bicycles. At the Mercer Island Park and Ride (by the return trip, my ears had finally tuned in), I heard the driver talking to a cyclist who was asking to board. "I don't know..." said the driver, not unkindly, then she asked "the owner of the orange bike" where he was planning on getting off. Said owner replied that he was getting off at the end of the line, and so the new cyclist bowed out gracefully. I don't know whether she was just going to wait for the next bus, or if she had some other plan, but she seemed to take it in her stride.

Meanwhile, down by the waterfront, there was a separate trolley car system that seemed to be completely closed.

Apparently, it actually used Melbourne tram cars, although I also heard that might eventually be demolished.

Aongside it were some much older tracks, that look like they were part of the wharf infrastructure.


I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this, otherwise I think I can see why it fell out of use...

Comments

[i-ate-my-crusts.livejournal.com]

this brought back memories! both the University St Station and the wonderful bike carriers :-)

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

It was certainly a nice place to visit. It was kind of nostalgic for me too, because it reminded me of when I used to work for a giant tech company. Had I taken a slightly different fork, I could quite easily have ended there, like some of the friends I caught up with while I was over there. I guess subconsciously, I was having a bit of a peak at that alternate path and wondering if I could see how my other self was doing...

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

In that kind of weather, the cyclists should be travelling on two wheels!