seattle public transportation, move to seattle (Tukwila: home, neighborhoods, university)

[ebiii]

Hello all! I'm an oklahoman, born & raised, but I have really poor eyesight and have never been able to drive. If any of you are farmilliar with OKC you know how HUGE it is, but you may not know how unbelievable inferior our public transport is. Bad operationg hours and no Sundays, limited locations, ect. Plus its too big to walk a lot of places; even though I live in a fairly populated area with lots of stores & restaurants, I have to cross 5, 6 lane roads with no pedestrian crossing. I almost get run over once a week walking to work. So basically, life for me is a struggle to go to the store for necessities, attend events, have a social life.

So I'm looking to move there, but I wanted to find out how effective the bus system is, and what other means of public transport are available. Do they run from rural areas to downtown, how late & early do they run, does anyone have any advice or info that would be useful? What parts of town are going to have the highest concentration of transportation?

Appreciate any guidance that is given.

[cyberwulf]

Public transportation in Seattle is very good. Generally speaking, most places within a 15-minute drive of downtown are well covered by multiple bus routes. There are transit hubs in several non-downtown areas (eg. University District, Northgate), and there some areas further afield where a bus commute can actually be shorter than the drive (due to reserved HOV lanes).

I suggest you check out Metro Online Home Page for the full scoop - in particular, check out the Trip Planner section to see how long it takes to get from one place to another by bus; the system will accept place names, not just addresses, so you can work from known landmarks.

[motor80]

Originally Posted by ebiii

Hello all! I'm an oklahoman, born & raised, but I have really poor eyesight and have never been able to drive. If any of you are farmilliar with OKC you know how HUGE it is, but you may not know how unbelievable inferior our public transport is. Bad operationg hours and no Sundays, limited locations, ect. Plus its too big to walk a lot of places; even though I live in a fairly populated area with lots of stores & restaurants, I have to cross 5, 6 lane roads with no pedestrian crossing. I almost get run over once a week walking to work. So basically, life for me is a struggle to go to the store for necessities, attend events, have a social life.

So I'm looking to move there, but I wanted to find out how effective the bus system is, and what other means of public transport are available. Do they run from rural areas to downtown, how late & early do they run, does anyone have any advice or info that would be useful? What parts of town are going to have the highest concentration of transportation?

Appreciate any guidance that is given.

There are many very walkable neighborhoods that are well serviced by public transportation. Some of my personal favorites are Fremont, Wallingford, Ballard, and Capitol Hill.

Depending on the route, some buses will run until 1AM. There are a couple "night owl" buses that start service at 2AM and run until 5AM - but service is pretty spotty. Most of the buses begin running at 5AM I believe (maybe earlier, I'm never up that early anyway!)

Here's a map to help you with the issue of bus lines: Metro Transit Regional Map

Also, you can use http://www.walkscore.com/rankings/Seattle to get a better picture of how walkable a neighborhood is.

Best of luck!

[oso_te_great]

Public Transportation out there does an excellent job of getting you downtown, yet a horrible job of getting anywhere else

[stuckinseattle]

Public transit here is NOT good, do not fall for the hype. You want to move to Portland, not Seattle.

[SonicsFan93]

Originally Posted by stuckinseattle

Public transit here is NOT good, do not fall for the hype. You want to move to Portland, not Seattle.

This, of course, coming from someone who's screen name is "stuckinseattle". Anyway, the bus system is pretty good, and most neighborhoods are very walkable. Light rail just opened from Tukwila to Westlake Center, and over the next few years will be expanded.

[Backstrom]

Compared to other large cities, Seattle falls a little behind in public transportation, but service is much better than it is in OKC. I can travel between any major commuter corridor just fine by bus. By the way, stuckinseattle, just curious, how often do you use public transit?

[argo69]

It's all relative. Compared to OKC, I expect the Seattle system will be an improvement but it still consists of mostly non-airconditioned buses. If you live on Capitol Hill or right adjacent to downtown, it will suffice for commuting to and from work however. Compared to Portland, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Boston, etc. the Seattle system is weak.

[motor80]

Originally Posted by argo69

It's all relative. Compared to OKC, I expect the Seattle system will be an improvement but it still consists of mostly non-airconditioned buses. If you live on Capitol Hill or right adjacent to downtown, it will suffice for commuting to and from work however. Compared to Portland, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Boston, etc. the Seattle system is weak.

Seattle's light rail and street car line is obviously just starting out and does not hold a candle to Portland's. That being said, Seattle's bus system is far more thorough than that of Portland. What people seem to forget is that, although trains are shiny and new and all the uber-hip rage these days, the route is fixed and cannot possibly service every neighborhood. Buses however, can be added to service new neighborhoods and routes can be modified. Don't get me wrong, I like the new light rail system and am hopeful the street car line will also get extended to high density neighborhoods, but a well rounded system of both buses and rail is needed.