Ballardblog.com

When I stepped onto the #15 bus today I was confused that all the seats up front were taken.  I take the same bus at the same time every day.   At  the stop where I get on there is usually plenty of room.  It took me a moment to register all the faces and realize that most of the seat occupants were teenagers.  That’s when it struck me that today was the first day back to school and I was back to bus hell. 

Over the years as condos have been put up at dizzying rates the Ballard buses have gotten more and more crowded.  Then add in the increased price for gas over the past few years and the Ballard routes were already at maximum capacity.   However, last year when the Ballard School District decided to stop providing school bus service forcing students to take Metro buses to get to school, it pushed an already overburdened route to the breaking point.  People like me who use the #15 to commute to jobs were not given any warning about the impact to us by this poorly planned decision.  Last year I suddenly found myself being told that I couldn’t board the bus as there wasn’t even standing room left.  Adult riders who depend on the bus to get to their jobs were suddenly left stranded.  When I found out the cause for the sudden increase in riders, I called Ballard High School to complain.   I received a voicemail from the principal indicating that he had worked with Metro when it was decided that students would no longer have access to a school bus system.     I wonder how much ‘collaboration’ actually occurred between the school and Metro as the schedule was unchanged.  There weren’t any additional buses added to the route to account for extra capacity needed by this flood of additional riders.    It’s also obvious that the high school did not alter its start time to be slightly before or after the peak commuting hour so that workers and students would not be competing to get to where they need to go.     Also, students don’t appear to have been directed to take the local #15.  Instead they pile on the Express bus which is specifically used by commuters to get to downtown jobs. 

When the Transit Now initiative to expand Metro Transit service was approved by King County voters in 2006, the measure was supposed to enhance existing service to produce a network of core high ridership routes with all day, two-way bus service connecting residential, business and recreational centers.  The frequency goal was for service on these routes every 15 minutes as ridership studies show that when passengers can count on service being available, even commuter ridership increases.    These improvements are paid for by the people through another add on to our already high sales tax.   I of course assumed that there would be additional buses added to the #15 and #18 routes, two of the routes with Metro’s highest ridership statistics (hence the reason the Monorail was going to have its stations all along Ballard).   Instead for reasons that were not made clear, the route chosen by Metro to increase capacity was the #48 which runs from Ballard to the U District and points beyond.

The fact that both Ballard to downtown routes have long had riders standing from front to back make me wonder why Metro wouldn’t choose to use the Transit Now funds for these routes, at least from a liability standpoint.  Having so many people standing, combined with the way some drivers suddenly brake hard, it seems as if these factors create a certain amount of risk for Metro.  In case of a very hard stop, or an accident, I wonder about the effect of overcapacity on the injury rate and the potential for lawsuits. 

Today I wasn’t turned away from the bus, but I wonder whether that will last based on my experience last year.  I was, however, late to work due to the fact that boarding and unloading is a long process when the bus is packed full.  Is it too much to ask in this supposedly ‘green’ city that encourages people to get out of their cars, that those of us who actually do so, be able to board a bus, take a seat and get to where we need to be in a timely manner?   

Quick Update:  Today, Thursday August 4th, 15 adults were denied boarding on the Express #15 bus due to influx of students and lack of planning by Metro and Ballard High School.