Para-transit service in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / Herald file)

Para-transit service in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / Herald file)

Being car-less means cold waits, long trips: It’s ‘exhausting’

The Week Without Driving challenged policymakers and planning professionals to ditch their vehicles.

When Jo Ann Maxwell, who lives in the North Creek area, can’t get a ride from her family to see her medical specialist in Kirkland, the 10-mile trip can take three hours.

Even just a few years ago, she could have driven there in 20 minutes, maybe a little longer depending on traffic. But Maxwell, 69, has multiple sclerosis and doesn’t drive herself anymore.

Instead she relies on her family or three different transit programs to get her there and back.

“It seems to me that the different transportation programs could be (and) should be more coordinated,” Maxwell said. “Why do I have to transfer three times to go to my doctor?”

She and others who can’t or don’t drive are sharing their experiences with the Disability Mobility Initiative, a division of Disability Rights Washington that advocates for equitable transportation.

Their stories were shared last week by legislators, policymakers and transportation professionals across the state during the Week Without Driving challenge. They (mostly) gave up cars briefly to experience what Maxwell and so many others do when they take mass transit.

In a conference call about the event, state Rep. Emily Wicks, D-Everett, said a trip to Seattle required multiple buses. It went well until she wanted to get coffee, which required a walk down a steep hill and stairs, and eventually she paid for a ride-hailing service for the last mile.

“It was pouring down rain, I was so wet,” Wicks said. “I’m going to a meeting, I want to look good. That really hit me: the difficulties.”

Amandeep Kaur lives near Lynnwood and takes para-transit to school. The trip is about an hour, but the drive would be 30 minutes, she said.

People who use para-transit need to schedule their trips and can have to wait outside. When it’s cold and raining, that’s a challenge, she said.

For a lot of her trips, Kaur instead relies on family to drive her.

Jay Fazekas uses a wheelchair and relies on Community Transit’s Dial-A-Ride Transportation bus service. There’s a bus stop near where he lives in Marysville that doesn’t have a sidewalk, which puts people who want to take the bus at the same level as vehicles.

One of his transportation hopes is more wheelchair-accessible taxis in Snohomish County.

“I know what’s it like to be in a wheelchair and have to get around and not drive,” Fazekas said.

State Rep. April Berg, D-Mill Creek, spent the week trying to bus and walk, with some rides from her husband and children. She also wanted to tour her legislative district, which includes Lake Stevens and Snohomish.

“My biggest takeaway is how exhausting it is,” she said.

Her schedule last week included meetings at coffee shops in Mill Creek that she planned to walk to. But a windstorm changed that ambition, and instead her husband drove her. That’s a privilege, she said.

When she wanted to get groceries, Berg had to scale back her shopping list. A back injury from a car crash last year scuttled carrying her usual haul home from the bus stop.

When she had meetings in Everett and had to be in Seattle in the same day, Berg shifted an appointment to align with the bus schedule to take her south.

The frequency of that route helped her. But not every route in the county has a bus ready every 15 minutes, and she said transit service closer to 10-minute frequency would help people.

“As a policymaker, it showed me really how this has to change,” Berg said. ”This is just me trying it for a week, but for folks who live it we have to do better.”

During the legislative session next year, she said, she will seek increased transit funding and more money to build crosswalks and sidewalks.

To get there would require a boost for transit agencies’ operations funding. That’s something Wicks, who is on the House Transportation Committee, said would be sought during the coming session and in a new multi-year transportation package.

Those improvements could help Maxwell, who said she has felt isolated because of where she lives and the difficulty of getting around on her own.

“There’s many people who just say, ‘Forget it, I’m not going anywhere,’ because it’s just so hard,” Maxwell said.

She hopes the Week Without Driving happens again so more people can empathize with and understand the challenges of non-drivers, and advocate for improvements that help them and others.

Have a question? Call 425-339-3037 or email streetsmarts@heraldnet.com. Please include your first and last name and city of residence.

Talk to us

More in Local News

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Police investigating cause of fatal 3-vehicle crash on Highway 9

The man, 61, crossed the center line in Snohomish on Monday and crashed into the truck, the sheriff’s office said.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
1 dead, 1 in hospital after 3-vehicle crash on Highway 9

A concrete pumping truck and two sedans crashed Monday afternoon, closing the highway near Bickford Avenue.

Moses Malachi Brewer appears in court for sentencing Friday, March 24, 2023, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Man sentenced to 18 years for 2019 shooting in Everett

Moses Brewer, 23, shot four people in an Everett apartment, which left one victim paralyzed on his right side.

Logo for news use, for stories regarding Washington state government — Olympia, the Legislature and state agencies. No caption necessary. 20220331
Health care spending continues to outpace inflation, driven by prices

Can state efforts curb 6.7% growth per year in overall health care spending?

NO CAPTION NECESSARY: Logo for the Cornfield Report by Jerry Cornfield. 20200112
A buffet of budgets, a bunch of whales and a request for your miles

It’s Day 78. Here’s what’s happening in the 2023 session of the Washington Legislature

Anthony "Road Rage" Mohs (Photo Provided by Dana Mowbray)
Motorcyclist identified in deadly Mountlake Terrace crash

Anthony M. Mohs, 32, was killed Monday when an SUV crashed into him at the intersection of 212th Street SW and 44th Avenue W.

The Cathlamet made headlines when it crashed into pilings at Fauntleroy terminal on July 28, 2022. WSDOT launched an internal investigation to determine the cause of the collision. (Washington State Department of Transportation)
Cathlamet ferry to depart from Edmonds after repairs from July crash

The ferry will serve Edmonds-Kingston route for a week, equipped with a new black box that will become the fleet’s standard.

FILE - Former President Donald J. Trump watches the NCAA Wrestling Championships, Saturday, March 18, 2023, in Tulsa, Okla. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
Lawyer: Trump indicted, 1st ex-president charged with crime

Former president Donald Trump has been indicted on charges in New York regarding payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter.

Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation Thursday to add a ninth judge to the Snohomish County District Court. Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, who sponsored the bill, and Presiding District Court Judge Jennifer Rancourt look on. Taken March 30, 2023  (Jerry Cornfield / The Herald)
Snohomish County will get another District Court judge

Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation Thursday to add a ninth judge to the court. It’s the first expansion in a quarter-century.

Most Read