Why Yes! My Bus Did Just Hit That Car

I leave work anywhere between 4pm and 5:30pm depending on what I'm working on. I step outside, walk one block and hop on any of 6 different bus routes that pass by my office and go to the train station. Additionally, I can walk another 6 blocks and ride the light rail instead. Depending on how bad the surface street traffic is, this can be a good idea.

After today I may consider taking the light rail more often. I hopped on bus route 511 to take me down to the train station, but about two-thirds of the way there, the bus sideswiped a car (or maybe it was the other way around, who knows). It made an awful noise, and the bus came to a screeching halt.

There was some initial "huh"s from the passengers, but when the bus driver got on his radio, I knew I was not going to make it to the train station anytime soon. Fortunately, we were stuck on there for only about ten minutes before a kindly fellow in a fluorescent green jacket led us gingerly off the bus to safety on the sidewalk.

The bus system is pretty efficient during rush hour. We walked about a block-and-a-half and were picked up by another bus in less than 3 minutes. Overall, it was only about a 20-minute delay on my commute. Not too bad.

You must not know 'bout me
You must not know 'bout me
I could have another BUS in a minute,
Matter fact, he'll be here in a minute, baby

Downtown rush hour traffic in Seattle is crazy. There are a lot of cars, lots of one way roads, and many complex rules and signs that disallow certain kinds of traffic in certain lanes at certain times. I drove around in the fray a few times when I used to live in town, and it was super-stressful every time. I'll take my boring suburban traffic, thank you.

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.