As a Lake Stevens resident who works in Seattle, I was one of those people really looking forward to the convenience of the new route and the new transit center. Now that it is here, I am completely disappointed.
The new Route 425 to Seattle (like every Community Transit commuter route north of 128th Street) only serves two classes of Seattle commuters: those who work in the downtown corridor, or those with flexible work schedules. Service south runs at 5:15, 5:45, 6:11 and 6:35 a.m. Service north is scheduled at 3:36, 4:06, 4:36 and 5:07 p.m. I’m happy to get up early to catch the bus (it’s the same time I get up to drive). Getting home is the problem. To catch the last bus, I’d need to leave my South Lake Union office no later than 4:30 p.m. Unfortunately, I need to be at work during “normal business hours” which end at 5 p.m. Even if I worked right downtown I might still miss the last bus home if I couldn’t leave at 5 p.m. on the dot.
All the other north/east Snohomish County route options combined (to Marysville and Snohomish) have only one northbound run after 5 p.m. (with no link to our new “hub”). Taking Sound Transit to Everett is not a viable option either since connecting service on route 280 reverts to hourly runs after 5:30 p.m.!
Well, I guess I could drive to Everett (or Marysville or Snohomish). Hmmm, why did we build the transit center again?
We constantly read articles asking why more people don’t use public transit. Here is a classic example. And just think: it only cost $4.5 million! Such a deal.
Thanks for nothing (again) Community Transit.
Neil Hickey
Lake Stevens
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