On my way home today I got stuck in some heinous post-Mariners traffic. To make matters worse, the closure of lanes on I-5 had put more buses on city streets. On city streets near the stadium, it was a parking lot full of Metro buses, Sound Transit buses, and maybe even a few Community Transit buses. The roads were clogged.
As it turns out, northbound bus traffic was directed from 1st Avenue South, 4th Avenue South, and 6th Avenue South all on to 4th Ave South north of Royal Brougham Street. I got home about 45 minutes late. The buses’ interior reach about 80 degrees or higher, and the toddler on the seat across from me crapped his diaper. (Although you never can tell on a Metro bus exactly who has shit their pants, the toddler was my best bet. Sometimes it’s the driver.)
I don’t know a single car owner who would give up their automobile for the kind of experience I had today. Even in Seattle, a city known for doing good for goodness’ sake, most folks won’t ride transit if they have other options. Which is why I’m amazed that serious people actually think that adding buses, and not light rail, is the best route to take.