Now that it's really summer, tourists are showing up at SeaTac from all over. And they're taking a Metro bus into town. With gas at $4.50, even locals returning to Seattle are taking the bus. And the 194 should be perfect: service every 15 minutes for a 30-minute, two-buck ride. But what happens? Even when the bus (one of the double-length, articulated models) shows up on time, it takes almost half an hour to load.......

Even folks who don't drive are being affected by the rising cost of fuel. Plane and train tickets prices have been raised recently to cover the increased cost of gas and, as we noted last month, it was only a matter of time before we'd be adding Seattle Metro buses and Access vans to that list. King County Executive Ron Sims proposed the bus fare increase today. The other alternative is cutting Metro services,......

You know the problem. You're on the bus and you have a choice: You can get off in two stops and make a transfer to a bus that will get you to your destination, or you you can stay on and transfer to a different one at a second stop. The switch at the first stop is a shorter and faster route, but only if the bus you are changing to is coming in the......

In case you got slowed down on I-90 this morning, and were cursing to yourself in the car, we thought we'd help calm you down with a little on-the-scene info. This just in from Seattlest Tera, who was stuck on the scene for an hour: "I have a hilarious bus story. Our bus broke down on I-90 and we are all stuck on Mercer Island. Our 'rescue' bus missed the exit. Good job, Metro.......

"71" by the talented Tim Willis With the ever-increasing cost of gas, the Seattle P-I seems to have taken an extra keen interest in public transit. A quick perusal of the local news on the P-I's site found more stories about taking the bus than any other topic in the local news. It sounds like an exaggeration, but these were all headlines for different stories, from the same day. * Bus Trip Planning Can Take......

Seattlest is grateful for our bus pass and our Zipcar membership. Paying more than $4 a gallon just doesn't sound enticing for us, but we're not surprised when we hear about rate increases and other ancillary fees (like having to pay for our baggage when we fly) being passed onto us for using public transportation. Now, of course, Metro is chewing on the notion of increasing bus fares. Personally, we'd be okay with a......

Wednesday morning, Route 301 from Shoreline to downtown Seattle. Waiting patiently, sweating profusely, standing on an over-crowded bus yet again. It's been in the news many times this year. Ridership is up. And with gas prices as they are, we expect the number of people riding will only climb higher. Back in 2006, King County Executive Ron Sims announced a plan to deliver "up to 21 million more annual bus rides within 10 years." Transit......

Earlier this week, as MyBallard noted, King County Metro reported that Seattle bus ridership in the first three months of 2008 is six percent higher than the same period last year, which we think is great. The more of us on buses, the less of us driving. However, the more of us on buses, the more chance there is to encounter obnoxious cellphone users, which we do not think is great. So we were psyched......

"Third and Pine, rain or shine," the bus driver almost sings to his passengers. As the bus approaches each and every stop, our driver offers a whimsical rhyme or at least a lengthy, informative spiel on what you'll find, should you choose to disembark here and now. He is charming, jovial, and more importantly, a great driver. He doesn't feel the need to Top Gun his rig, only to come to a screeching halt fifty......

We're not sure if Metro planned to give us an extra day of the old fares by scheduling the new ones to take affect tomorrow (the day after Leap Day), but we sure do appreciate it. Either way, please remember that as of tomorrow off-peak fares will be $1.50 and peak fares will be $1.75. Youth and seniors will keep paying what they've been paying until July, by the way. As a part of our......

According to an article today's PI, it looks as if the city will be spending some money to study the possibility of adding more streetcars to the city's streets. The Transportation Committee passed a bill approving a feasibility study for six lines yesterday. The study, as approved by the committee, would estimate construction costs per mile and yearly operation and maintenance costs for the six lines. Among other issues, it would identify detailed street corridors,......

Riding the bus to work the other day, our heart skipped a beat when we noticed signs taped to the window heralding the arrival of new spring schedules (they're blue!). Once we'd calmed down, we realized how silly it is to get excited over the prospect of a slight change to our bus schedule. It was the kind of self-deprecating experience we figured would make a good lede for a post informing you, gentle......

We're gonna start asking Seattlest Dan to pick our lottery numbers. A full year ago he looked into a cloudy future and typed:We predict next year will see even higher numbers at Metro Transit as job growth continues and "gas prices remain high." Ridership is going to skyrocket when either the Viaduct closes to traffic or light rail starts coming on line, but neither of those will likely happen in 2007.The bus people have dutifully......

Er, not quite. There is an actual, physical monster in Cloverfield, and unlike the no-see-em trailer, the film eventually shows it in all its gruesome glory (and no, it ain't Stay Puft). Opening Friday, J.J. Abrams' camcorder monster movie (which some describe as "Godzilla meets the Blair Witch") covers a terrible day for all of Manhattan and, in particular, for a group of New Yorkers throwing a bon voyage party for one of their......

Coming home from work on the bus last night, we got to thinking about how even getting to vote on a light-rail package this year is going to be an uphill fight. The dire prospects for light rail anytime soon pushed us to extrapolate the costs to our psyche of waiting during the ride home. First we had to run a few blocks in the rain to catch the 8. While admittedly, we should have......

Seattlest David: What's up, computer? Computer: Good evening, Dave. Everything's running smoothly. And you? Seattlest David: Well, not so great. Can you explain why the bus tunnel's computers weren't working during the busy holiday shopping season? Computer: I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that. Seattlest David: Uh, ok, well, actually, looks like everything's fixed now. How about the problem with the New Year's Eve fireworks? Computer: I'm sorry, Dave, I don't have enough......

An intriguing bus mate if there ever was one."box 'o bones" by ~wesa~ from the Seattlest Flickr Pool. Thanks for sharing!......

Bolstering our faith in the local transit authorities, for the second time this week, the downtown bus tunnel is closed. The official reason is computer problems, as a H.A.L.-like super-brain down in the I.D. station controls the heating and ventillation, traffic signals, and zombie-workers that make possible Seattle's pathetic attempt at a subway. No word on when the tunnel will re-open, but earlier this week it was same-day; as before, tunnel lines are re-directed......

"Play smart," came the exhortation from Blanchet parents, as their children began to fritter away a lead that had been 13 points with three minutes left. But let's face it, people--asking high school basketball players to "play smart" is like asking high school musicians to "maintain your vibrato" or high school cheerleaders to "save it for marriage." So, on our Metro League Tuesday (TM), through a series of ill-advised drives, poor passes, bad fouls and,......

Franklin vs. Garfield is one of the Seattle sports events that you just shouldn't miss. Here's what we wrote about it for The Stranger in September:True local hoops fans don't miss this game between two perennial inner-city basketball powerhouses, even at the cost of connubial tranquility. The 2005 game at Garfield fell on Valentine's Day, but happily married Husky basketball coach Lorenzo Romar was there anyway. A win in this game means neighborhood bragging rights......

Besides the Big Wood Festival going on up at Brouwer's (which even exceeded expectations last night), this weekend marks the 3rd Annual Winter Beer Festival put on by the Washington Beer Commission. The Winter Beer Festival is held at Hale's and will feature over 30 different winter beers from Washington brewers. It can get a little packed, but it's a great time and last year was a solid lineup. This year keep your eyes......

All mass transit is not created equal; here in Seattle, a city with buses and, well, nothing else, unless you're specifically talking with someone about monorail or lightrail or streetcars (you know, theoretical mass transit), when you're talking about supporting mass transit, you're talking about supporting buses. And buses suck. Last week, Erica C. Barnett had a column in The Stranger that spoke to our experience riding the bus to and from work daily: It's......

We were rushing between shows on Capitol Hill and Fremont last night when we pulled up to the Fremont Bridge and saw the big detour and BRIDGE CLOSED signs and our heart sank. The detour route meant driving across the Ballard Bridge, and if we'd known that, we'd have taken Eastlake to the University Bridge, instead of Westlake. Had we but known! Anyway, here's the schedule for the closings, so that you know:Tuesday, November 13......

"No more moons-over-my-hammy", documented by mary and filed in the Seattlest Flickr pool. We don't mean to steal Mary's thunder; however, her photograph moved us to write down some of the thoughts we've been having about the Ballard Denny's closure. We knew it was coming; however, just like the presence of vampires in Sunnydale, we didn't actually want to think about it. The light, the clouds, the darkness of the trees, and the Shell......

Tomorrow, the biggest, bestest band to ever emerge from Seattle—there, we said it—releases a new concert DVD. You can buy (or Netflix) Immagine in Cornice (Italian for "Picture in a Frame") and watch it in the privacy of your own condo, or—lucky us—catch it big-screen-style at the Metro. Cornice is a film from photographer-turned-director Danny Clinch, who knows from shooting big-shots (Johnny Cash, Tupac Shakur, Bruce Springsteen) and documenting their acts on film (Spingsteen’s Devils......

Seattlest just got done attending the press conference for the re-opening of the Downtown Bus Tunnel. After two years of work, it's set to reopen next Monday. That's exactly two years (as King County Exec. Ron Sims was fond of repeating over and over today) after it closed. We have to say, we're pretty impressed with what they've done. Needless to say, it's a pretty big achievement in a region not exactly known for making......

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,......

The Seattle Transit Blog reported (and Seattlest echoed) the fact that 3rd Avenue Downtown is going to remain a transit-only corridor during rush hour way back in June, but since the press release just came out and it'll probably be in the papers tomorrow maybe we should revisit it. Based on the outstanding success in moving buses quickly and efficiently through downtown, Mayor Greg Nickels today announced that local transit agencies will continue to use......

-- John Moe's Family Herman project: the funniest riff on The Family Circus since the Dysfunctional Family Circus. -- Consumerist presents: Confessions of a Starbucks Barista. Commenters say: she sounds like a PR flack. -- An Event Apart is in town. -- Metro buses unwrapped, then partly rewrapped. -- Up-to-the-minute updates on Seattle Web 2.0 popularity. Quick, someone give them venture capital. -- Dig your trench coat out of your closet -- the Noir......

--Avoid the University Bridge from this day forward. Check yer bus route before heading home, at least. --Free Metro bus when you buy a house! --Free monorail pass when you buy a used car! --In 2007 a "civic square" includes 32 stories of condos. --Goldy and Ichmo have been all over the story of China poisoning our food supply. --A former sheriff's deputy from Washington accused of circulating video of himself raping his daughter......