At 8 a.m. on July 7, the number 56 bus to downtown Seattle leaves the corner of 61st Avenue Southwest and Alki Avenue, the first stop of its route, with 14 passengers on board. By the third stop, that number has doubled. By the time the bus has reached the intersection of California Avenue and Admiral Way, there are 50 passengers on board. With 66 riders, the bus is standing room only when it crosses over the West Seattle Bridge on its way downtown.

Jennifer Garnar, who has been taking the bus to work everyday since she moved to Seattle 10 years ago, said she has absolutely noticed the buses getting busier and is feeling the effects of the crowding.

"It's not the most fun thing when you get on a bus and you have to stand," she said. "But, I love it. I love that more people are taking the bus."

Transit use in King County is on the rise and West Seattle is no different. According to the American Public Transit Association, pubic transportation use in the county has increased by 6 percent over the first quarter of 2007 and West Seattle is seeing some of that increase.

According to Metro records, the use of two of West Seattle's major routes to downtown, the 21 and 56 has increased by more than 4 percent from the spring of 2007 to the spring of 2008. The use, measured in average weekday boardings, of the other major route, the 54, has decreased by more than 5 percent. However, the most recent numbers still do not take into account the recent spike in bus ridership due to the summer's increasing gas prices.

The rise in ridership has been noticeable to a lot of riders in West Seattle. Bill Borrow has been riding the bus to work for almost a decade and, while he is not deterred from taking public transportation by it, he said that since the recent jumps in gas prices he finds himself standing for the majority of his rides home from downtown Seattle.

Mary Steele, another rider with a decade of experience using the bus for her commutes, said the crowding on the buses takes some getting use to and people will need to accustom themselves to it if they plan on using public transportation.

"It's a socialization process," she said. "You're sitting right next to people. You've got people hanging over you. You have to get used to it."

More of a problem than crowded buses is the low frequency of buses to downtown during peak hours, Borrow said. Waiting at a bus stop for 20 minutes at a time can be seen as a huge inconvenience by commuters used to their cars, he said.

Steele said her biggest concern is that there are too many stops on many of the routes from West Seattle to downtown and that these stops delay trips and use up more fuel than necessary. She said many of the stops, especially in the areas around Alki Avenue, are superfluous.

"There shouldn't be a stop every other block up here," she said. "Some areas might be different, but here a couple major stops would cut the time involved and would also stop the excessive use of the gas pedal."

In an attempt to solve many of the transit issues in West Seattle, Metro has plans to create a RapidRide system in the area.

RapidRide in West Seattle will feature a major route to downtown Seattle with more trips during peak hours and fewer stops overall, Metro Transportation Planner Paul Roybal said.

There are five RapidRide corridors planned for King County and, with a 2011 start date, West Seattle's will be the first to be implemented, Roybal said.

However, the planned Rapid Ride route will not service a majority of the western areas of West Seattle, including areas near Alki Avenue, and will require additional transportation to get to the stations for people living in those areas.

Roybal said there will be a public forum to discuss additional public transportation needs in 2010.

Despite the drawbacks of the current system, Garnar said taking the bus is still an easy choice for her.

"I like being able to take up and to go on the bus and have my coffee and my paper or book," she said. "I hate driving."

Steele, while waiting for the bus on the corner of Alki and 61st and looking out at the morning sun shimmering off the Puget Sound, said she has an even simpler reason for sticking with her commute on public transportation.

"Out here the view is beautiful so I don't mind waiting," she said. "It's the most beautiful view in the world."

Michael Harthorne may be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com