The biggest, and arguably the worst, thing to come out of the King County Metro deal, the elimination of the Ride Free Zone downtown. Soak up fast-moving, efficient, useful downtown transportation while it lasts because it's not long for this world. more ›

While perusing the wonder that is the Seattle Municipal Archives' Flickr page, we came across this and just couldn't wait to share it with you. Apparently the "Magic Carpet Study" was the name of the research and development that Metro Transit conducted in the early- to mid-'70s into an experimental downtown free ride zone. We gotta say, we would be so much more inclined to enjoy a brief trip on the "magic carpet" ride than to utilize a system with the name Joe Metro went with: the "ride free zone." Just another example of what a groovy place Seattle was in the '70s....We have the distinct feeling that today's transit studies don't have such a nifty name or cover page. more ›