Buses, Trains, and Shuttles! Oh my!

Waiting for the buses to come get us

Penny and I live about an hour south of Seattle. However, when relying on public transportation (which is very good in the Seattle-Tacoma area), my commute is roughly 2 hours both ways and involves driving, walking, buses, a shuttle, and, of course, the lovely Sounder train.

Catching the last train out of Seattle (at 6:15) is similar to a game of Russian Roulette. I feel like I just barely make the train after the bus forces it's way through downtown traffic. Also, anything that can possibly go wrong with trains, train tracks, and people happens on the last train. For instance, a couple of months ago, we were told that the train would not continue past a certain point do to a "medical emergency up ahead". What that really meant was that someone tried to cross the tracks... and failed. Ewwww... and condolences.

And then there's today. Today we were informed at the stop just before mine that there was a "train crossing accident". Another "Ewwww". We ended up being stuck for about 45 minutes before they were able to reroute some buses to come get us.

Long commutes can be rough, but the time on the train belongs to me. I can read, work, play, or sleep for 45 uninterrupted minutes, twice a day, so I find it very relaxing. I could save a little time if I drove, but the added stress and costs are not worth it at all. Maybe one day we'll move closer to work; maybe we won't. Either way, I'm grateful for the awesome public transportation system here and that my employer pays for it all.

But please people, stop trying to cross over the tracks. In the person vs. train title bout, person always loses.