By Erika C. Barnett:
[Yesterday], the Seattle Transit Blog’s Martin Duke ran what I assume was an intentionally provocative piece, arguing that King County Metro should (among other changes to improve connectivity to downtown and between the Rainier Valley and Beacon Hill) eliminate the Route 7, which provides frequent service day and night to the Rainier Valley.
Where Duke’s idea runs aground is along Rainier, where he suggests eliminating the 7 and “replacing” its service by increasing frequency on the Route 9* (which runs from Rainier Beach to Capitol Hill), turning the 34 into an all-day route running between Rainier and Genesee and downtown, and extending the 39 to serve Rainier Beach. Many of these changes would require transfers to to light rail; others are designed to make it faster for riders to get to downtown. (In fact, three of the five “benefits” STB calls out refer explicitly to improving connectivity to downtown).
The first problem is that not everyone wants to go downtown (and many of those who do have already switched to light rail). Without the 7, riders whose destinations are on Rainier will be forced to transfer from what is now a single-seat ride to another route such as the 34. The more frequently riders have to transfer, the less likely they are to use transit–a well-known phenomenon called a “transfer penalty.” Read more.
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{ 7 comments }
dude. if they get rid of the 7, that makes my already long commute(s) to work that much longer. I live in Brighton and work, respectively, in North Seattle and Capitol Hill, often odd hours. I’m not the only one like me in that regard. the 9 doesn’t even run after 7pm.
This is Seattle so the answer is easy, get a bike or take the magic train.
A blog writing a provocative piece? Color me shocked!
@graham – I don’t know if there is a good solution to your N. Seattle problem, other than getting you to the Link quickly (and hence downtown, from which you can transfer). My commute is to the U-District; at least the 48 makes that trip, although because of the local nature of that route, it takes me an hour to bus from Rainier & Graham to 45th and University Ave. Living near Graham street east of Rainier means that I am pretty far from the nearest light rail station.
Certainly, Mr. Duke’s post was pointing out the problems with the existing structure. The 7 bus is part of our culture anymore, but really they need to focus on two areas. First, for people going downtown get them to the Link quickly, and make it easy and safe to ride the light rail (fare structure, etc…). Second, for people staying in the Valley, provide convenient service between Rainier Beach and, oh, I-90 or so. After that, they can use routes like the 9 and 48 that go north to Cap. Hill and the U-District without the wide downtown detour.
Erika mentions the transfer penalty; I would be interested in seeing the data on that (as well as on current ridership and route choice). I certainly know that the number of transfers lengthens my commute noticeably (but generally because any transfer means a wait between 5 and 15 minutes). But if I could count on shorter transfer times ( < 5 minutes per stop), I would not mind so much.
To Erich’s point, as a former rider the 39 from Seward Park to Downtown I really thought I was gonna hate having to transfer to Link Light Rail at Columbia City. The route changes Sound Transit implemented following the introduction of the light rail projected that I would have a slightly longer trip time to downtown than I did before. However, the transfer is not burdensome at all. In fact, I really enjoy the fast and smooth train ride for the second half of my trip downtown. With the trains departing every 7 minutes at peak times, I don’t even bother running for trains that are already at the station when I transfer from the bus. I just walk leisurely and catch the next one.
Now if only the buses on the way home were running at that same frequency (or even just every 15 minutes) all would be well!
I just can’t justify having to take a bus to the light rail (which is not convenient from where I live) pay for the bus and then have to pay for the train. Doesn’t make sense to me. My husband has to take the 7 to Henderson Street and then catch a 106 to Georgetown. They really messed everything up for us on the Ave down between Othello and Henderson!
“They really messed everything up for us on the Ave down between Othello and Henderson!”
They sure did!
I’m not 100% in support of eliminating the 7 but I can say I live pretty far south on Rainier and refuse to take that unless I absolutely have to. Safety factor aside, it takes more time for me to get where I need to go on this bus than it does for some people to get to work from Auburn, Tukwila, or Lynnwood; that’s just sad. I’d rather they completely overhaul the entire system down here such that people can easily and expediently feed into the light rail if they want to, or they can travel up Rainier if their destination isn’t downtown. I’d like to see more support for folks wishing to travel quickly downtown who live south of Graham that doesn’t require taking the 7 or 9not-so-express or backtracking down and hanging out at Rainier & Henderson. Although, I wouldn’t want anyone transferring from bus to light rail to pay an additional fee. I’m just frustrated that there’s this huge hunk of metal traveling up and down MLK that gets you from point A to point B with minimal stops and shorter time that only a privileged few are able to take advantage of. Meanwhile, I’m left stopping every block (or every other block on the express) on what should be a 30-35 minute trip turned into 45 mins to an hour. I stew about this while waiting for paint to dry and/or the light to turn green while crossing MLK.
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