King County Metro

On RapidRide D, "bus bunching" and ridership growth

Guest — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 17:17:29 +0000

Guest (not verified) Thu, 11/14/2013 - 9:17am

Courtesy of King County Metro

Last night at the Ballard District Council Meeting, King County Metro Transportation Planner Paul Roybal talked about one of the subjects most likely to incite cynicism in Ballardites: RapidRide D.

RapidRide D, which was implemented in September of 2012, has become the new normal for Ballardites wishing to commute downtown. Whether they like it or not, that's a different story. (We've heard opinions on both sides.)

Roybal said that ridership on the D has increased by 19 percent since it's inception in September. This brings them right on target for their goal of having a 50 percent increase in ridership over five years, he said.

He also noted that they have been getting better at controlling "bus bunching," where because of congestion two buses will arrive at the same time.

“Those occur from time to time due to traffic conditions or events," Roybal said. “We’re doing a better job of controlling the spacing of the buses by better communication with the bus drivers."

Residents brought up that the route through lower Queen Anne -- and through the event-riddled Seattle Center -- could be a possible reason for congestion.

“That’s some of it, certainly,” Roybal admitted, but added that the Lower Queen Anne route didn't necessarily account for most of the problems. “The D Line is connected to the C line and the two result in a very, very long route. … there’s a lot of opportunity for congestion along that route.”

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Seattle Department of Transportation

Metro could face dramatic cuts in 2014

Guest — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 23:40:23 +0000

Guest (not verified) Mon, 04/01/2013 - 4:40pm

Photo by Jerry Gay

King County Metro Bus could have some problems come 2014, when temporary funding measures run dry.

Metro says for northwest Seattle and North King County, including your favorite neighborhood, bus trips and hours of service are reduced or changed on about 25 routes. Many routes in this area were already changed or eliminated as part of a major service restructure in September, 2012.

In King County overall, 65 routes could get cut and 86 more could get reduced service. Metro has a total of 217 routes.

The cuts are due to a funding gap leftover from a flailing economy and a reliance on a gas tax that has failed to keep pace with the needs of Metro.

According to Metro:

"Metro depends on sales tax revenue for about 60 percent of its operating funds, and has experienced a dramatic drop in revenue since the economic downturn began in 2008. Facing a $1.2 billion revenue shortfall for 2008-2015, Metro has taken many steps to preserve as much service as possible. In 2011, the King County Council approved a temporary congestion reduction charge that is providing about $25 million annually until 2014."

Meaning, once 2013 is up, bus service might not look the same, as Metro could be facing a shortfall of $75 million a year. Metro says they're in talks with city, county and state government on how to proceed with a long-term plan.

King County Metro provides this lowdown on possible cuts and reductions in our neck of the woods:

All-day service—Parts of Shoreline (N 145th Street) could lose all service. North Beach, Sunset Hill (32nd Avenue NW), and west Queen Anne (10th Avenue W) could lose all non-peakperiod service.
Peak service—Riders traveling to downtown Seattle, the University District, and Uptown during peak travel periods could see a reduction in service, which could create crowded conditions. Some riders who currently have direct trips could have to transfer to get to their destinations.
Midday/weekend service—Green Lake, Greenwood, Loyal Heights, Magnolia, Queen Anne, Shoreline, Uptown, and Wallingford could see reductions in services during off-peak periods.
Night service—Eastlake, Fremont, Green Lake, Greenwood, Loyal Heights, Queen Anne, Seattle Center, Shoreline, South Lake Union, Uptown, and Wallingford could see reductions in night service.
Other changes—In addition to the reductions listed above, some routes could be modiﬁ ed to be more direct or to serve different markets.

Routes that could change: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5X, 8, 16, 19, 24, 26, 26X, 28, 28X, 29, 31, 48, 48X, 61, 66X, 70, 82, 83, 304, 331, 355.

Other routes that could experience crowding and reliability issues: 13, 32, 40, 44, 330, 345, 346, 358X, RapidRide D Line.

Metro says: "Many riders would have to change the way they travel. Metro would work to accommodate riders on major transit corridors, but some trips would no longer have the capacity to meet the demand for service. Riders on major routes could experience very crowded buses. They could also be passed up by full buses more often, and might have to adjust how they travel as a result of the changes. Metro might have to make further reductions in lower-priority areas in order to provide adequate service levels on major transit corridors."

For more info, visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/transportation/kcdot/Future.aspx

Zachariah Bryan can be reached at zachb@robinsonnews.com

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RapidRide digital signs now show arrival times for other buses

Guest — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 20:39:05 +0000

Guest (not verified) Mon, 03/25/2013 - 1:39pm

Photo courtesy of King County Metro

For the bus rider without a smartphone, a bit of good news: King County Metro has updated the electronic RapidRide signs along C and D lines to include arrival information for other buses other than just RapidRides.

According to their blog, "It’s important to us to keep improving our technology to help our riders travel as smoothly and swiftly as possible."

Next, they say, they'll be working with their vendor to get larger digital signs for stops that serve many routes, so riders can see arrival times for several routes at once.

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District Council wants Ballardites to take survey on bus changes

Guest — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 15:11:48 +0000

Guest (not verified) Thu, 01/10/2013 - 7:11am

RapidRide Man marketing the new RapidRide last summer.

Photo by Zachariah Bryan

Got a bone to pick with or a pat on the back to give to King County Metro for the sweeping changes they made to bus routes last September?

Now's the time to express all of your deepest feelings about the new bus riding experience. Ballard District Council has put together a survey to determine what the general Ballardite reaction is to new bus routes, cut routes and, yes, RapidRide D.

You can find the survey at tinyurl.com/Ballardtransit

See below for their survey introduction.

King County Metro Transit made big changes to its bus routes on September 29th, 2012. They made these changes after much public consultation. This is a Ballard District Council led initiative to determine whether these changes have made it easier or harder to use public transit. Some people feel their commute or other use of the bus system has been impaired, while others feel the changes have been an improvement. This is not designed as a scientific survey, but an opportunity to see whether or not the service is improved over what it was.

Most changes to routes and schedules were a response to the introduction of the Rapid Ride C and D lines providing service from West Seattle to Downtown Seattle, and Ballard to Downtown Seattle via Queen Anne. If a question does not apply to you, simply leave it blank.

Most questions have generous comment boxes. We appreciate any comments you can make to put your responses in context or clarify them.

Participation in this survey is completely voluntary. The information we collect will be tabulated and used in transit planning discussions for Ballard and in discussions with Metro Transit.

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Ballard District Council

One bus added to RapidRide D Line

Guest — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 17:11:51 +0000

Guest (not verified) Tue, 11/13/2012 - 9:11am

RapidRide Man poses with the new RapidRide bus at SeafoodFest.

Photo by Zachariah Bryan

Starting today, Nov. 13, Ballard will be getting one more bus for it's RapidRide D Line; meanwhile, King County Metro's emphasis is improving the C Line to West Seattle.

Metro is adding two buses for the evening commute today, bringing the total of added evening RapidRide buses to six, with two added Nov. 5 and two added Oct. 8. Only one will be starting in Ballard, however, and going the full route all the way to West Seattle. The other five, in order to avoid the Lower Queen Anne traffic tangle, will be starting in Belltown and going down to West Seattle.

This means lots of good news for West Seattle. But for Ballard -- where the Ballard News-Tribune has been receiving a steady influx of emails from community members unhappy with the service -- not so much.

Metro is continuing to monitor bus frequency, growing ridership and rider feedback.

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Without 46 Route, residents look to alternatives

Guest — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 20:28:21 +0000

Guest (not verified) Fri, 10/05/2012 - 1:28pm

Route 46 is among the bus routes that have been cut starting Saturday, Sept. 29. And some residents may be left hanging.

Photo by Jerry Gay

Among the cuts that happened to transit on Saturday, Sept. 29, people who work and residents that live along Seaview Ave, between the Ballard Locks and Golden Gardens, may be left hanging.

That’s because the only bus line that serviced the strip, Route 46, was cut due to low ridership.

But according to Gail Luhn, president of the Shilshole Liveaboard Association, people relied on the service. She recently met with King County Councilmember Larry Phillips to express her concerns and to explore the possibility of other options that can serve the residents of Shilshole Bay Marina, retirement condos and others. She said that many in the Marina were low-income and had no other means of traveling, and that she had mobility concerns for those who were elderly who lived in retirement communities such as Sunset West. In addition, she said there was a small contingent of middle and high schoolers who will now have to hoof it to the nearest stop to get to school.

Without the 46 service, these residents will need to travel approximately a mile, down by Ballard Locks, for the nearest transit access. For some, this is not an option.

In an email sent by Phillips to King County Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond, Phillips recommended that Metro review alternative options proposed by Luhn. Desmond then sent an email to Luhn outlining several possible options for residents unserviced by buses. Luhn said she may be organizing a meeting but had no response at the moment. Ballard News-Tribune will update with any new developments.

View the alternatives below:

Access Transportation: Eligible customers may use Metro’s Access, which provides door-to-door service throughout King County for people with mobility problems. (http://metro.kingcounty.gov/tops/accessible/accessvan.html)

Taxi Scrip: For low-income King County residents aged 18-64 who have a disability or residents aged 65 and over. Once registered in the program, participants may buy up to seven books of taxi scrip each month from Metro at a 50 percent discount. (http://metro.kingcounty.gov/tops/accessible/taxi_scrip.html)

Shuttles: Several nonprofits offer shuttle services. Hopelink (http://www.hope-link.org/get_help/transportation/) coordinates transportation to and from medical appointments for low-income residents on Medicaid assistance. Senior Services (http://www.seniorservices.org/transportation/Home.aspx) provides volunteer transportation services for seniors to hot meal programs, medical appointments, senior centers, grocery stores and other local destinations. The Hyde Shuttle (http://www.seniorservices.org/transportation/HydeShuttles.aspx), operated by Senior Services, is a donation-based shuttle for seniors (55 and older) and people with disabilities. The shuttle will transport customers to and from any location in the area between the Ship Canal and North/Northwest 145th St and between I-5 and Puget Sound.

Ridesharing: Metro Rideshare Operations (http://metro.kingcounty.gov/tops/van-car/van-car.html) helps customers form vanpools and carpools. RideshareOnline.com (http://www.rideshareonline.com/) can be used by any individuals looking to share a ride.

Car-sharing: Residents who can drive can join Zipcar (http://www.zipcar.com/), a car-sharing program. Desmond notes that there does not appear to be a Zipcar station along Seaview Ave NW, but residents could petition for and attain one if there is enough interest.

Biking: Shilshole is located along a bike pathway. The Seattle Department of Transportation maintains a bike map and shows all bike-related facilities, including bike racks, maintained by the City of Seattle. Residents could bicycle to the closest bus stops and lock up their bikes and bus from there.

Park-and-Ride Facilities: Under Luhn’s suggestion, Desmond said that Metro is exploring the option of a leased park-and-ride facility near the stops for Route 44 on 32nd Ave NW between NW 54th and NW Market streets. They have contacted three property owns at nearby locations, one of which said no and two of which have not yet responded. Street parking in the area is free, Desmond said, though City of Seattle policies discourage use of on-street parking for park-and-ride purposes.

VanPool van: Following up on Luhn’s idea of a VanPool van to be stored at the Shilshole Bay Marina, Desmond said it may not be very effective in this situation unless a number of residents are trying to make the same trip at the same time each day. Desmond did say that Metro could sell the Seaview Liveaboard Association a retired vanpool van that would have to maintained, insured, scheduled and fueled by the association. For example, Chevy Astro vans with an average age of 11 years and 90,000 miles would cost about $5,800, Desmond wrote.

RapidRide now in action

Guest — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 17:49:00 +0000

Guest (not verified) Sun, 09/30/2012 - 10:49am

Photo courtesy of King County Metro

You’ve seen the new fancy-schmancy red and yellow bus. You’ve met the LED-sunglass-and-cape-wearing RapidRide man. And you’ve heard both the boasting and the mocking of what the new bus line will do (or not do) for the Ballard neighborhood.

Well, now it’s time to see what it can do. Because RapidRide, as of Saturday, Sept. 29, is in action. Ballard will be getting service from the RapidRide D Line, to be specific.

The bus line promises to be fast and reliable, offering service every ten minutes during rush hour, every 15 minutes off peak and travel through the most used transit corridors. In the D Line’s case, this means the bus will be coming from downtown and cutting all the way down 15th Ave NW, stopping at key points such as NW Market St, NW Leary Way, NW 65 St and NW 85 St (see map for details).

Besides looking ritzier than your average bus, the RapidRide bus features three doors to get on and off more easily, no steps nor over-clunky access for people who are disabled, and Orca card readers allowing people to pay before they get on board. Other features include an electronic stop reader, well-lit bus stations and RapidRide-specific roadway improvements.

For more information, visit the King County Metro website (metro.kingcounty.gov/travel-options/bus/rapidride). Stay tuned as Ballard News-Tribune’s reporter tests out and reviews the RapidRide experience.

Who's right in the Route 44 debate?

Guest — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 17:39:25 +0000

Guest (not verified) Sun, 09/30/2012 - 10:39am

Cut stops along Route 44 include ones located along Market St at 26th Ave NW, 17th Ave NW, and 14th Ave NW. The pair at 5th Ave NW/6th Ave NW have been reinstated due to community concern.

Map courtesy of King County Metro

As the BNT reported last week, King County Metro has decided to move ahead with reducing the number of stops Route 44 takes along NW Market St in order to make bus service faster and more reliable.

Officials from King County Metro have stated that quarter-mile spacing between stops is the industry standard. Currently, many stops in Ballard are much closer together, so they are trying to increase the spacing in order to make transit more efficient.

Though King County Metro states that they received comment primarily on the pair of stops located at 5th and 6th Ave NW (which have been restored), Ballard community members have in the past expressed concern with other stops.

As early as May of 2010, the Ballard District Council sent a joint letter enumerating several problems. The most controversial of stop removals are those at 14th Ave NW and 17th Ave NW.

The stops at NW Market St and 14th Ave NW serves people shopping at the Ballard Market and Safeway, according to the District Council letter. Without this stop, people will now have to cross both NW Market St and the busy 15th Ave NW crosswalk in order to get to a bus, with a full load of groceries. Or they will have to walk down to 11th Ave NW. In addition, a new 238-unit apartment building, Avalon Bay, is being constructed on the 1400 block of NW Market St, which may significantly increase demand.

The stop at NW Market St and 17th Ave NW is a primary access point for the Swedish Hospital facility and surrounding medical services.

In November of 2010, Dan Dixion, Vice President of External Affairs from Swedish, sent a letter stating concern for removal of this bus stop.

“Removing any bus stop by the Swedish/Ballard campus would not assist us in any way and (we) would like to recommend to you not to remove them,” Dixon wrote.

However, since the new RapidRide D Line will be stopping at NW Market St and 15th Ave NW, a couple of blocks away, staff have been generally positive about an improved commuting experience, according to a letter sent by Jennifer Graves, nurse executive at Swedish. She said Swedish’s Commuter Services Department had come to survey staff about the issue, but received little complaint.

Senior citizens living in the Schwabacher House on 17th Ave NW and 59th St NW are also concerned. One resident, Mary Pinson, wrote a letter to King County Councilmember Larry Phillips asking Metro to leave the stop as is.

“When you mention 7 percent of riders would have to walk further it sounds miniscule,” she wrote, “but if you consider the age and ability of the individuals it takes on a whole new meaning.

Kevin Desmond, general manager of the Metro Transit Division, responded to her letter saying that the 17th Ave NW stop was chosen to be cut because it was very near to two other stops seen as more critical, at 20th Ave NW and 15th Ave NW.

In another letter to King County Councilmember Larry Phillips, Ballard resident Stephen Lundgren stated that he used the stop on NW Market St and 26th Ave NW.

“Please support my community’s interests in not allowing Bridging the Gap or Metro funds to be used to widen the gap between bus stops unnecessarily and inefficiently,” he wrote.

Further District Council concerns addressed the large amount of development currently happening in Ballard, much of it right by the cut stops, which would increase demand for ridership considerably.

Bruce Nourish over at the Seattle Transit Blog dismissed objections to the changes, reasoning that the current number of stops is unreasonably slow and inefficient.

“The stops slated for closure here are extremely close together, one or two blocks in all cases, and there is absolutely no complicating factor (steep grade, lack of pedestrian crossings, etc.) in play which could require special mobility consideration, nor are any of these stops optimal transfer points to any other service,” Nourish wrote. “In the absence of any such factor, the 1/4 mile standard is, for a slower, local service such as the 44, the best compromise between length of walk to a stop and the need for the bus to keep moving and stay on schedule.”

As of Saturday, Sept. 29, and despite concerns, the stops have officially been cut.

King County Councilmember Larry Phillips

Ballard

Ballard News Tribune

Among transit cuts coming Saturday, 44 will lose stops

Guest — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 01:30:23 +0000

Guest (not verified) Wed, 09/26/2012 - 6:30pm

King County Metro is moving ahead with a plan to reduce the number of stops serving Ballard in order to make Route 44 faster and more efficient

Photo by Zachariah Bryan

As the BNT reported earlier, King County Metro was looking to reduce the number of stops along the 44 route, which goes between Ballard and University District, in order to make the bus faster and more efficient.

The original plan was to cut 5 stops each way, for a total of ten, which would have increased the average distance between each one from 900 feet to 1,050 feet.

However, two of those stops have been reinstated due to community concern and complaint, according to the King County Metro blog. The pair located at NW Market St and 5th/6th Ave NW is here to stay. Metro received comments from over 350 people, 70 percent of which concerned that pair, ultimately leading to the decision to keep them.

According to the blog, most of the comments were related to access for nearby elementary and daycare field trips and trips by students to and from Hamilton International Middle School. They also h eard from mobility impaired bus users who were concerned about getting to and from their intended destination due to lack of curb cuts to the east.

The other stops are still on the chopping block, though, and bus riders should not expect them come Saturday, Sept. 29. These stops include the following:

NW Market Street and 26th Ave NW
NW Market Street and 17th Ave NW
NW Market Street and 14th Ave NW
15thAve NE/NE Pacific Street

Drive less, get free Orca card

Guest — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 19:10:11 +0000

Guest (not verified) Wed, 09/19/2012 - 12:10pm

Have you thought about wanting to make the switch to transit, but didn't quite want to pay the price for the convenience of an Orca card? Now is your time for a smooth transition, as King County Metro will provide free Orca cards to anyone who registers for their new InMotion campaign. See below for full release.

(Full disclosure: Ballard News-Tribune is a community sponsor of the InMotion program.)

Ballard and Crown Hill are getting In Motion!

This fall is the perfect time to make easy changes to the way you travel by joining the Ballard/Crown Hill In Motion program, beginning September 10th. In Motion offers a great opportunity to learn about how to get the most out of the existing travel network, learn about the new bus services starting September 29th, 2012 while saving money, avoiding traffic and parking hassles, improving your health, and earning rewards!

To sign up, all you have to do is pledge to reduce drive-alone trips by at least two trips a week and log your trips. Once you pledge, you’ll receive a free ORCA card with unlimited travel until November 24, 2012. You can win more rewards the more weeks you log your trips, like $25 or $50 gift cards from local businesses like Sonic Boom, Crown Hill Pet Supply, Ballard Sip & Ship and Kick It Boots & Stompwear. When it comes to discovering new ways to get around—now is the time! Visit the In Motion website at www.kingcounty.gov/inmotion (click on Ballard/Crown Hill) to learn more or find us on Facebook.