The Pros and Cons of CSAs
Snowpocalypse 2010: Metro Strikes Back
Washington Leads the Country in Troubled Banks
Requiem For a Dream Season
it'a oh. so still
you're all alone
and so peaceful until...
You get inside the Pioneer Square bus tunnel station! Dah, dah, dah, dah! The bus tunnel downtown just reopened and it looks the same, as we noted yesterday, but it sounds different. It's louder. It's growlier. It's like a city street suddenly yanked indoors. There weren't that many people down there yesterday, and the buses were not quite deafening, but when they started to pile up in there and there's six or eight of them all running their engines AT THE SAME TIME IT STARTED TO GET NOTICEABLY LOUD. Didn't the buses used to run electric in the tunnel? They weren't yesterday. There are probably going to be a few kinks after two years and we don't really mind breathing diesel fumes for a few days while they get them worked out (we've been huffing diesel fumes our whole life). We just wonder if this Deathstar is fully operational, after all, or if we're still waiting for someone to turn on the juice.
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AFAIK it's going to be diesel permanently in the tunnel. Diesel is (currently) much more efficient (as Europe has long known) than electric, gasoline, or ethanol. I expected they would have a powerful ventilation system and maybe some sound-absorbing materials in use, but I could be wrong! The buses are all slowly switching permanently to diesel, which is one of the reasons the tunnel had to be remodeled.
Aren't they "low-emission" buses running on some sort of hybrid battery-assist?
I’m quite sure all buses running in the tunnel operate on a hybrid compressed natural gas and electric power. While they still make sound while the engine is running, ive noticed that the drivers actually turn off the engine when stopping. At the I90 end of the tunnel there is a big sign that reads "absolutely no gas or diesel powered vehicles allowed in tunnel." i didnt notice any diesel fumes either...
you're right, I let Seattlest mislead me. It is hybrid buses that are being switched to, NOT DIESEL. Nevertheless, the driver doesn't have much control over whether or not the engine runs in a hybrid, the computer determines the amount of charge that's needed and runs the engine accordingly. Regardless, I'd rather have a little noise and a cleaner world for the children.
I don't think it's your imagination. The tunnel used to have a pair of overhead power lines (same as you see above surface streets). They've been replaced with a different style of overhead power, presumably for the light rail. It sure doesn't look like they could run existing electric buses on the new power lines.
I definitely noticed a strong exhaust odor in the tunnel yesterday.
@3, I'm having trouble locating anything about natural gas buses on Metro's website. This page, for example, describes the hybrids as diesel/electric.
@5, I noticed the brand spanking new powerlines myself. Took a picture, actually. It didn't occur to me that they were for light rail, although that makes sense. Also, I didn't notice an exhaust odor so much as the noise.
We're waiting for Seattlest to put research before ranting:
http://transit.metrokc.gov/am/vehicles/hy-diesel.html
These diesel-electric hybrids have been in use since 2004, and we saw them in the tunnel before it closed, so your memory might be a little off. They have a special "tunnel mode," so the driver actually does control whether they're relying more on electric v. diesel.
Also, it's the particulates, CO, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxide that are dangerous in diesel emissions (and significantly reduced in these hybrids), not the sulfur that you smell, so no need to worry about "exhaust odor" harming you.
I'm a 20-something young professional who is
trying to find her footing in the working world
after college. I regularly take the bus, as my
company offers subsidized parking passes, but
drive to work a few times a month when I go to my
early morning yoga class. Even after City of
Seattle Ordinance #122192 passed in January
hiking up parking rates another 5%, I was still
convinced it was worth it to drive. But what
happened to me last week makes me LOVE Metro -
even when they're working out the kinks in the
Bunnel (Bus Tunnel).
I parked in the "Third & Stewart Garage,"
otherwise known as the Bon/Macy's parking
monstrosity which will eventually be turned into
the chick "Hotel 1." I arrived at 6:35 a.m. in
time to participate in the advertised $10 "Early
Bird Special." I followed the instructions to
park on the roof and validate my ticket in the
little box on the roof and proceeded to my gym,
Epicenter Fitness, where I validated my ticket
(they offer three free hours).
Much to my dismay, when I returned later that
night, I was charged the maximum price: $24
because I did not pay before 10:30 a.m.
Apparently the $10 "Early Bird" is only available
for those "special" enough to remember the
laundry list of parking requirements at the crack
of dawn. The attendant directed me to my new
nemesis, Patrick, to resolve the issue. Needless
to say it was NOT resolved.
Where do parking garage managers/attendants think
they can get off charging nearly a quarter of a
hundred dollars to park in their piss-smelling
car receptacles? Much less, laugh at you for not
reading the "three foot sign" which, by the way,
is only visible when it's actually light out. Bus
drivers will never laugh at you for missing your
stop. Nor will they discourage first time riders
by asking them to remember a ridiculous riding
regimen. If riders had to sit in the back of the
bus, pay mid-way through the ride, and be
penalized for getting validation, Metro would not
be such a success. From now on, I'm riding the
bus all the time and doing my part for CTR
(commute trip reduction). Thanks to Patrick and
his lovely garage for the inspiration.
- Friend of Metro, Foe of "Third & Stewart Parking Garage."
@7: "We're waiting for Seattlest to put research before ranting."
Settle in, it's gonna be a long wait! :P