BUS
RACHEL, Metro Route 216
Time 1 hour, 11 minutes
Direct Cost 0 with pass; single ride would cost $2.50, monthly PugetPass $90
Stress and Discomfort Low
Fun Factor Moderate
I’d checked Metro’s online Trip Planner first, so I knew that the 216 bus went directly from 228th and Fourth, across from our starting point, to downtown Seattle. However, setting out with the other contenders meant leaving 17 minutes before the next bus was due to arrive—time I would otherwise have spent sleeping in bed or relaxing at Starbucks.
I jaywalked to the bus stop, phoned OneBusAway, and confirmed that the 218 would arrive on time. I sat in blazing heat, listening to public radio, and boarded at 8:35. The driver greeted me with a huge smile—obviously she was starting her shift. I sat near the front and set my bag on the next seat, hoping I wouldn’t have to give it up. Commuters trickled in at each stop as the bus inched along and poured in at the Sammamish Park and Ride. At 8:48 a guy boarded talking on the phone about a trip to Iceland. Sounded great; my shirt was now stuck to the seat.
Nearly everyone was listening to iPods. One girl wore a Disney princess backpack and a T-shirt celebrating the metal band Avenged Sevenfold. I started sneezing, and a sad-eyed, balding man stared at me. My sneezes echoed loudly in the silence.
At 9:05 we crossed the bridge to Mercer Island. Just as I noted how light the traffic was, it ground to a halt. A man got on board, balancing his entire breakfast on a manila file folder. I held onto the seat beside me until a heavy-set man in a suit sauntered down the aisle clutching a Starbucks thermos. Three other seats were empty; naturally he squeezed in next to me.
The most interesting oddity was a middle-aged man reading Twilight. The bus proceeded without further delays to Fourth and Seneca, and I walked four short blocks downhill to Seattle Met’s offices.
Published: November 2009
Great article, but the scooter guy turned in a really pathetic performance. Everyone else took I-90, so why did this guy make the boneheaded choice to go up Lake Sammamish to Hwy 520? If his scooter was fast enough to get him to the starting point via I-90, why not take that route back to Seattle? If he had, he could’ve used the same HOV lane as your carpoolers, and probably won the Derby. As it was, he barely beat the cyclist (who stopped a few times for sightseeing!). That is so many flavors of sad, it’s not funny.
Motorcycles and scooters are efficient and fun alternatives to the ‘cager’ grind, and they can seriously reduce parking congestion downtown as well. Too bad you couldn’t have found someone with a little more ‘street savvy’ and common sense than this loser.