I would like to respond to Michael Taylor-Judd's letter concerning my opinion piece (Oct. 19) on the monorail.

From Morgan Junction to First and Union on the 54 (non-express) bus, it takes about 23 minutes in the afternoon, and only about 18 minutes in the evening. If Taylor-Judd ever rode this bus, he would know that. This is faster than walking to the Alaska Junction station and taking the monorail (38 minutes), or taking a bus to the Alaska Junction station and taking the monorail (29 minutes) would be.

You do not spend $5 billion on a 10-mile rail line because a few times per year the viaduct is closed or there is an accident on the West Seattle Bridge. That is foolish. Monorails break down occasionally, also. The current Seattle monorail and the new Las Vegas monorail have been out of commission many times. With over a dozen trains, steep grades, and many switches, the Green Line will have breakdowns even more often than those. What will Taylor-Judd do when the monorail stalls on the West Seattle Bridge? Jump off and walk into town?

I disagree with Michael that bus times will slow down in the future. High gas prices are already getting people out of their cars and onto buses. This trend will only accelerate as gas prices continue to climb. One bus can carry at least 80 riders -- taking 80 cars off the road. Imagine removing 1,000 cars per hour from the West Seattle Bridge and replacing them with just 12 buses per hour. As this happens, bus - and auto - times from West Seattle into downtown will become faster, not slower.

And buses don't cost $5 billion or more for a 10-mile route.

Greg Buck

West Seattle