Bikes on Busses
One of the Seattle amenities to which I’m most amenable is being able to put my bike on the bus and catch a public transit ride to wherever I’m going. The entire Metro and Sound Transit fleets are fitted with bike racks that fold down from above the front bumper, allowing them to carry two or three bikes at a time depending on the size of the rack.
In my dozen years here, I can count on one hand the number of times a rack has been filled to capacity on a bus I’m trying to catch and never in my half decade commuting to Cascadia have I ever had to skip a ride because the rack was fully utilized—although one time, my bike was the third and a guy who showed up later had to wait.
Sometimes I feel almost guilty availing myself of this service; it’s like this phenomenal secret benefit customized almost solely for my needs.
During the school year, I typically put my bike on the bus a couple times a week on the way out to school; this allows me to do a bit of reading or, more often, doze over a book, entering that lovely dreamlike state which would potentially be fatal were I doing the driving.
What’s especially convenient about being able to do this—apart from the opportunity to safely catch a few much-needed Z’s—is that it enables me to not be beholden to bus schedules for transfer purposes. On my bike, it’s ten minutes downtown to catch the express bus to Bothell; if I used a Metro bus for the connection, I’d have to leave 40 minutes earlier.
I should, perhaps, be reticent to sing the praises of the bikes on busses program; if more people knew how great it was, I might occasionally have to fight for my bike’s place on it.
Fortunately, however, this is the 327 Words blog, not the New York Times.
In my dozen years here, I can count on one hand the number of times a rack has been filled to capacity on a bus I’m trying to catch and never in my half decade commuting to Cascadia have I ever had to skip a ride because the rack was fully utilized—although one time, my bike was the third and a guy who showed up later had to wait.
Sometimes I feel almost guilty availing myself of this service; it’s like this phenomenal secret benefit customized almost solely for my needs.
During the school year, I typically put my bike on the bus a couple times a week on the way out to school; this allows me to do a bit of reading or, more often, doze over a book, entering that lovely dreamlike state which would potentially be fatal were I doing the driving.
What’s especially convenient about being able to do this—apart from the opportunity to safely catch a few much-needed Z’s—is that it enables me to not be beholden to bus schedules for transfer purposes. On my bike, it’s ten minutes downtown to catch the express bus to Bothell; if I used a Metro bus for the connection, I’d have to leave 40 minutes earlier.
I should, perhaps, be reticent to sing the praises of the bikes on busses program; if more people knew how great it was, I might occasionally have to fight for my bike’s place on it.
Fortunately, however, this is the 327 Words blog, not the New York Times.
posted by Professor Dave at 6:53 PM
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