Puget Sound Transit Services - Photos and Discussion

[SolDuc]

Annnd...
Sound Transit had now officially started construction for the southern expansion of Central link to the Angle Lake (S 200th St) station!
The planned year for service is 2016, along with the University link.

[SolDuc]

Yesterday after checking out camera stuff at Glazer's I wend for a quick walk in the South Lake union park and had the chance to see all three streetcars in operation:
This is #301, with the viaSeattle wrap:

Seattle Streetcar Inekon 12 Trio #301 by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

This is #302, with the delta dental wrap:

Seattle Streetcar Inekon 12 Trio #302 by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

And finally this is #303, sporting the Fred Hutch wrap:

Seattle Streetcar Inekon 12 Trio #303 by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

After the First Hill line is done (extension to Aloha/Prospect done as well), KCM and Seattle should move onto a UW line or a Poineer Square/Westlake connector via 1st if it wants to have a ridership high enough to make profit for future lines. Personally I'm for the 1st street connector first as it would fill in the gap that has been around since the stop of the Waterfront line (lets face it, the tourists don't take the 99, even if they know about it). A ballard/fremont line would be nice, as it would connect two main tourist attractions (the Zoo and the locks) to downtown in a transportation that tourists will actually use (feet and boat are the other two).

[SS San Mateo]

A couple of bus pictures (with a ferry in the background):


Island Transit Chevy C-5500 Cutaway bus and M/V Cathlamet by planet_lb, on Flickr


Pierce Transit New Flyer C40LF and M/V Chetzemoka by planet_lb, on Flickr

[Blue Bus Fan]

Bellevue seems to be delaying the East link project because it will be going through residential areas which people do not want.

[Mike C]

Jun 15, 2013 21:24:08 GMT -8 Blue Bus Fan said:

Bellevue seems to be delaying the East link project because it will be going through residential areas which people do not want.

This is a post from over two years ago.  The information in this piece is mostly irrelevant and out-of-date.

Next time, please:
-Check the date to ensure that the article is current; and
-Give us a little bit more to work with in your post, rather than just a one liner - i.e. elaborate a bit more on the issues that you think are important for discussion.

Thanks for doing these things

[compdude787]

Jun 15, 2013 21:40:27 GMT -8 Mike C said:

Jun 15, 2013 21:24:08 GMT -8 Blue Bus Fan said:

Bellevue seems to be delaying the East link project because it will be going through residential areas which people do not want.

This is a post from over two years ago.  The information in this piece is mostly irrelevant and out-of-date.

And, since then, they've sorted out their differences and finalized the design. A lot can happen in the world over the course of two years.

[northwesterner]

Here's a link to a nice piece from KING TV on Seattle Metro's oldest driver. He's still holding down the fort operating a trolley bus at night as a full time driver. He was facing me going the other way at a red light downtown last week.

www.king5.com/news/local/A-ride-along-with-Metro-bus-drivers-route-199438881.html

I first ran across him about 15 years ago and always referred to him as "the really old guy that drives the 2 at night." I didn't realize he was only in his early 70s then...

[FNS]

Jun 29, 2013 18:00:34 GMT -8 Blue Bus Fan said:

Jun 29, 2013 17:29:55 GMT -8 Mike C said:

WVMT only has three articulated buses. All other trips are operated by conventional coaches. Articulated trips are usually those that are timed with busier ferry sailings. Conventional buses fill the gaps, and are on all trips that continue to Lions Bay weekdays.

Ok, thanks for information, Mike C. Then, why where there 3 New Flyer XD40 at Horseshoe Bay when the Coastal Renaissance arrived; and the 714 articulated bus was there when the Queen of Coquitlam arrived?

I do think West Vancouver Transit needs to add more 60-footers to its fleet and use them all on the 257 Express run between HSB and VAN.  Perhaps some on the local run as well.  Contingencies should be in place for days forecast for sub-freezing temperatures which calls for the use of 40-footers instead of 60-footers.  It's not good to see locals and tourists being left behind at HSB, especially those who have critical connections to other modes of transportation (at Pacific Central, CYVR, et al).  Foot passengers aboard BCF should be rewarded to good transit service ashore.

[SS San Mateo]

Everett Station, 05/24/2011:


Sound Transit NFI 60LFR buses by planet_lb, on Flickr

Pictured here are approximately a dozen newly arrived Sound Transit New Flyer D60LFR buses as well as at least one DE60LFR.  Note that the bus in the foreground does not have roof fins/fairings while most of the others do.  The early D60LFR buses did have them but at some point the later ones came without them.

Everett Station, a few months later (08/19/2011):


Sound transit buses (new & retired) @ Everett Station by planet_lb, on Flickr

Here we have a few new DE60LFR buses:


New Sound transit buses @ Everett Station by planet_lb, on Flickr

and some retired Gillig Phantom and D60LF buses:


Sound Transit # 9054 (now retired) @ Everett Station by planet_lb, on Flickr


Retired Sound transit buses @ Everett Station by planet_lb, on Flickr


Retired Sound transit buses @ Everett Station by planet_lb, on Flickr

[SolDuc]

So I got a few more shots to add to this thread.
Until recently I thought that 246 had only 30' Gillig Phantoms, but in fact the BSD 2:40 run gets an artic everyday.
Last Tuesday, it was a DE60LF, 6881:

KCM New Flyer DE60LF #6861 by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

Last Thursday, it was a blue DE60LFR, which I unfortunately didn't get pictures of. I think that the blue DE60LFRs are some of the best-looking buses we have here and if one is back in the next few days I'll make sure to get a picture of it.
Last Friday, it was another DE60LF, but this time I watched it climb the hill, which was interesting as it's pretty steep. Here is a head-on shot while it was stopped:

KCM New Flyer DE60LF #6850 by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

And today it was another DE60LF:

KCM New Flyer DE60LF #6821 by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

Also today, I went to the South Bellevue Park and Ride. My initial goal was to get shots of a D60LFR on 560, since the route is getting transferred to Pierce Transit on Saturday and there won't be artics then. I got to see 9808 on its way to Bellevue:

Sound Transit New Flyer D60LFR #9808K by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

One other thing that I wanted to do before the fall shake-up was to get pics of 9200, the only DE40LF both in the ST fleet and in the area. I was checking everyday on OneBusAway to see in service, and all of last week it was in service the morning but went out of Service around noon, and in the evening it was back. So today I wished that 9200 could be in service when I was at the P&R. According to data that I got before leaving it was not, but a coach change ended up happening at BTC and well, it was in service. It came down Bellevue way right after I had gotten a pic of the D60LFR, and at first I thought it was one of PT's C40LFs in driver training, but, no, it was THE DE40LF! So I got to grab a few pics:

Sound Transit New Flyer DE40LF #9200K by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr


Sound Transit New Flyer DE40LF #9200K by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

In between hybrid 550 I got to see a D60LF. Those buses look weird without the bump on the roof and it's hard to imagine it was once the standard:

Sound Transit New Flyer D60LF #9550K by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

Talking about hybrids, here are a few DE60LFs on 550.
9630 Turning in the park and ride:

Sound Transit New Flyer DE60LF #9630K by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

Here is another turn, on 9635, which is panned:

Sound Transit New Flyer DE60LF #9635K by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

Two DE60LFs passing just north of the Park and Ride:

The 550 by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

Finally, here's a fully-panned DE60LFR running 550:

Sound Transit New Flyer DE60LFR #9648K by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

[Mike C]

Discussion for the following agencies:

Pierce County Transit
King County Metro
Sound Transit
Community Transit
Everett Transit
Whatcom Transit Authority
Skagit Transit
Kitsap Transit

[SolDuc]

To add to the list:
- Island Transit (Island County, Whidbey and Camano Islands)
- San Juan Transit (San Juan year-round, Orcas summer-only)
- Jefferson Transit
- Callam Transit (although not technically on the sound, but on the strait of Juan de Fuca)
- Intercity Transit (Olympia)

[SolDuc]

So here instead of posting pictures of specific buses on specific runs like I do on CPTDB, I will post the best photos that I get from time to time.
Two of my two techniques that weild to the best shots include:
- Panning, basically following the bus while zooming in/out to get the bus in focus and everything else blurred (also applicable to ferries - but that will come up later today)
- Looking into the bus's headlights when the camera is set to anywhere between f/16 and f/22, which gets them to be transformed into very nice sunstars.

So first here's a DE60LFR on the C-line approaching Fauntleroy. Not only is this a well panned shot but it's also metro's newest bus in service:

KCM New Flyer DE60LFR #6085 by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

If you ever found yourself in Seattle at peak hour, you've probably seen Community Transit's double deckers, or "double talls" as they call them. Here's one of them going down 2nd just last Friday:

Community Transit Alexander Dennis Enviro 500 #10808 by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

Here's another panned trolley, on Third this time. All the trolleys are getting replaced by newer ones in 2015. The new ones will look very similar to Vancouver's trolleys, and will be New Flyers XT40s and XT60s.

KCM Gillig Phantom 40' ETB #4181 by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

Staying in the topic of ferries here's a 35' Gillig Phantom on the Sealth:

KCM Gillig Phantom 35 '#3197 by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

And then my last photo features a DE60LF from Sound Transit complete with the sunstars and Seattle and the Olympics in the background:

Sound Transit New Flyer DE60LF #9634K by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

[FNS]

Public transportation in yesteryear.

[Neil]

Oct 23, 2013 20:49:04 GMT -8 FNS said:

Public transportation in yesteryear.

Sooo much more visually interesting than today's buses. What we have now are big rectangles... sometimes they have different stuff on top, or different window configurations, but they're all basically the same. 

[Kahloke]

Sound Transit has a survey right now about where and how Sound Transit should expand after the current voter-approved projects are completed by 2023.  Some of you might find this interesting:

soundtransit.publicinvolvement.net/

[SS San Mateo]

WA: Metro Gets $4.7M Settlement Over Unwanted Buses

MIKE LINDBLOM

SOURCE: THE SEATTLE TIMES

CREATED: OCTOBER 28, 2013

King County Metro Transit says it recovered $4.7 million of the $6.1 million it spent on 35 short buses that the agency pulled off the streets, after drivers complained of poor sightlines and fumes.



The transit agency returned the entire batch to the manufacturer this summer, as part of an out-of-court-settlement, said General Manager Kevin Desmond. He said it's the first time Metro has spurned a group of vehicles.



Metro received the 35 diesel buses in 2009, seeking an alternative to full-size buses for outlying routes in East and South King County. They seat about 20 people and have low floors for easy boarding.



The StarTrans 1900 Series vehicles also had a "poorly designed and engineered driver station that limited shorter drivers' visibility," Metro complained in a lawsuit against Supreme Corporation, the Goshen, Ind.-based manufacturer, whose large vans and small buses travel millions of miles a year in the country.

More at: www.masstransitmag.com/news/11210520/metro-gets-bus-settlement

[BreannaF]

This bus isn't quite as old as the one above, which really does have some class to it.  The bus picture below lives on my home computer desktop because it is an example of what I really thought was the coolest bus design around in 1975.  At the time, the GMC Fishbowl was a pretty modern looking bus to me -- really sleek! 

Extra points for this picture though, since it is signed with the route that I would have rode to get to high school and elsewhere in 1975 or so. 



Photo credit goes to the Seattle Municipal Archives Photograph Collection.

[SolDuc]

Bus on the ferry...
Flyer D900 (35') on a Issy-130 (presumably the Issaquah) at Vashon, August '94. King County Archives.

Metro Vashon Island Express bus on ferry, 1994 by King County, WA, on Flickr

[SolDuc]

Not only WSF is getting service cuts due to I-695, KCM also is... They had been holding on to different temporary sources of revenue since then but next year with most going away they will have to cut service by a drastic 17%, right when transit ridership is going up more than ever and King County really needs it.

More:
metro.kingcounty.gov/am/future/
seattletransitblog.com/2013/11/07/metro-cuts-proposal-posted/

[SolDuc]

A few to share from my travels to Edmonds yesterday:
Bellevue Transit Center, with wide angle effect. This photo is also a good (or bad) example as to how cyclist are smart and use transit facilities. There's one going in either direction if you take a close look at it:

Bellevue Transit Center by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

This one unfortunately got a little out-of-focus but it's a great artic-turning shot:

Sound Transit New Flyer D60LFR #51218C by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

Finally, a New Flyer DE60LFA (A for Advanced) laying over, as seen from down low. KCM only has 20 of those buses, all for RapidRide service, and all but two or three operate on the A-line, the rest on the B-Line. Those have the one-piece windsheild and other neat features. This designed was short-lived and wasn't available when the other RapidRide routes started service, so KCM had to get more classical DE60LFRs.
KCM New Flyer DE60LFA #6017 by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

[Blue Bus Fan]

I guess that Sound Transit is getting some Enviro500 nicknamed the "double tall bus" for routes that are operated under contract to Community Transit. These will replace the remaining 1999/2000 D60LF.

Link to CPTDB, post 272. Here is link to the 2014 draft. 

[Blue Bus Fan]

Dec 22, 2013 14:58:44 GMT -8 compdude787 said:

Dec 21, 2013 23:31:28 GMT -8 Political Incorrectness said:

When it came to Link, we missed a huge opportunity to make it like Skytrain RRT. If we had fully grade separated it at first, we could have a higher capacity and that is necessary if not required for the University District. If I were to have started the system, I would have preferred Downtown-Northgate first to facilitate U-District traffic. From there, Bellevue and Overlake would have been my first options and open once the system got to Mercer Island and expand until the terminus in Redmond.

From there, West Seattle-Ballard would have been the next line to construct, followed by future extensions via SR 522 from Ballard, then constructing northward through the Aurora Ave. Corridor to Alderwood Mall in Lynwood. THEN I would have gone down south to Sea-Tac and Federal Way. The connect that section to Bellevue via Renton and the 405 corridor to help alleviate congestion on I-5 and I-405.

I agree with you. I think starting it out from the U-District and going to Downtown would have been a much better way to start out, since it would capitalize on college students who would be most likely to use rapid transit. Also, it allows people living on Capitol Hill or Downtown to take the light rail to Husky games, instead of crowding up local streets which can't really handle that amount of traffic. I wonder what Sound Transit's reasons were for having the first branch of light rail go to the airport.

I think it was for people to get from downtown to the Airport via a quick trip without a car. 
Another reason could be changing the bus routes that go to Pierce county, and then changing the bus routes that come from Snohomish County. 

I think the East Link should be the third line build because it will result in mass bus routes that could be cancelled or "delete" for King Co. Metro. The routes that could be cancelled from the starting of East Link is RapidRide B, 550 and any route going to Bellevue or Overlake Transit Center Station that comes from Downtown Seattle because the passenger could just take the train. But then again they need to find away to get the trains a cross the I-90 floating bridge in the reversible lanes without sinking the bridge. A good extension for Central Link is the Federal way Link extension. This could change a lot of routes that go from Downtown Seattle to Pierce county because the buses could just connect to Link at Federal Way Transit Centre. This would cancel a lot of bus routes such as RapidRide A and any other routes travelling between Federal Way to Downtown Seattle or any where else a long the line. But for both routes some bus routes will need to become feeders routes to the light rail.  

[SolDuc]

Is Sound Transit slowing East Link because of property aquisition? No! The project is going full power ahead, already at 60% design. And as part of the community I'm proud to be part of it, suggesting ways to make the stations better as I report on The Urbanist.

In other words, my open house report got published on a local blog! Whooo! See here!

[SS San Mateo]

Time lapse (from Vimeo user HazelScher) of 3rd Ave Transit Mall in Downtown Seattle, shot from the skybridge connecting Macy's and the parking garage.