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RSS icon Comments on Bus Fares Going Up Tomorrow

1

Reducing crowding? But I thought people were SUPPOSED to ride the bus? Now we're going to attract more ridership by having less ridership?

Posted by Fnarf | February 29, 2008 10:56 AM
2

Buses are so crowded nobody rides them anymore.

Posted by whatwhat | February 29, 2008 11:03 AM
3

that bus driver is hot.

Posted by emily | February 29, 2008 11:03 AM
4

If they just raised the parking fee by 50 cents, that would decrease global warming emissions more and make up the revenue.

We need more bus service - more frequent, more places, longer hours - not more fares.

Besides, the downtown free ride zone means you'll still get drunks on your bus, Erica.

Posted by Will in Seattle | February 29, 2008 11:08 AM
5

Surely you guys could find a film-still from the movie SPEED, but agreed, that driver is hawt. Vrrrom, vroom, hissssssssssss.

I ride the bus every day to work and this certainly won't discourage me from having to commute from Capitol Hill to Factoria. If the money can be used to purchase more buses and/or more frequent runs and routes... I'm all for it.

Posted by Andy Niable | February 29, 2008 11:10 AM
6

My commute is now officially cheaper to drive.

Posted by PGC | February 29, 2008 11:14 AM
7

We pay $2.75 here in Vancouver but if you are a crazy crack addict, well you just get to walk on free and because no one is going to kick you off.
So if you do not like the fare hike then become a crack addict then you can get on for free.
But I guess $2.75 is ok because we do have RAPID TRANSIT in our city which is expanding at this very moment.
So I say increase the fare to $2-. Then use all the extra money to build rapid transit which will help get your non electric busses off the road.
Oh right I forgot to mention we l have electric busses here in Vancouver along with new hybrid ones. Some are diesel.

Posted by -B- | February 29, 2008 11:17 AM
8

That's it I will quit using the bus these guys are just like Zipcar - increasing the fares and they don't clean them and I couldn't reserve one last Sunday and no one answers the phone and they run late and no one is fined and when I'm at the bus stop early I don't get any credit ---- this sucks boycott Metro the greedy pigs.

Posted by ouch | February 29, 2008 11:17 AM
9

Can someone please quantify "the need for increased security"?

Posted by Big Adventure Steve | February 29, 2008 11:18 AM
10

And now we have to carry around a bag of quarters to supplement the change that Metro won't honor, even though they sold $1.25 bus passes and script to us knowing full well of the rate hike. Thanks a lot.

Posted by manic preacha | February 29, 2008 11:20 AM
11

I hate to be such an ECB hater today (I lurve you!), but the contradiction is too much ... Raising bus prices 20% ==> awesome! Raising ZipCar prices 5% ==> price gouging! I'm guessing somebody has an employer-subsidized bus pass.

Posted by nbc | February 29, 2008 11:21 AM
12

I didn't know Lou Diamond Phillips is driving buses now. My how the mighty have fallen.

Posted by La Bamba | February 29, 2008 11:22 AM
13

ouch @8 "when I'm at the bus stop early I don't get any credit" - Priceless.

Posted by nbc | February 29, 2008 11:24 AM
14

If someone at the Stranger has an employee-sponsored bus pass, they also have a second job.

When's that Orca smart-card system supposed to start working? I'm less irked by the fare increase (17% and 14%, not 20%) than by the doubled rate of quarter consumption.

Posted by Nat | February 29, 2008 11:26 AM
15

smug canadian basterds....
gubment always fucking the poor
I never minded crowded bus's I never rode the bus for some smug yuppie attitude, i've always ridden the bus because it's cheap....even if it is crowded it's better then walking from cap hill to east lake or ballerd. what else can I do, hitchhike?

inflation in this town is getting ridiculous....two years on just when i start to really get to know this town I have to leave because of a bunch of smug yuppies who dont want to stay put in the burbs like there supposed to

Posted by linus | February 29, 2008 11:39 AM
16

I can't wait for more assholes to try to get on the bus, dig out pennies, and argue with the driver about what the box says.

Posted by Emily | February 29, 2008 11:50 AM
17

Get rid of the ride free area and make people pay to get on the bus.

Posted by elswinger | February 29, 2008 11:55 AM
18

Or just let the damned driver kick off the deadbeats without having to worry about getting some sort of reprimand from management.

Posted by COMTE | February 29, 2008 12:01 PM
19

@15 - actually, $2.75 Canadian is like $5 US, isn't it?

Posted by Will in Seattle | February 29, 2008 12:02 PM
20

Which means it's going to be $70 a month for someone to get to work if they don't have a job sponsored bus pass: ouch!

and of those 22 new buses we're supp. to be getting, they better allocate a couple for the #8 rush hour and they'd better be the big motherfuckers 'cause I'm sick of riding the #8 at 5pm with 80 other people crammed onto one of the little buses...

Posted by michael strangeways | February 29, 2008 12:11 PM
21

no offensie against you canadians...your real nice people, you just can be a little smug about being not american sometimes, you lucky basterds. come to think of it my main complant about the major metropolin area's of the upper west coast is the pervalince of irritating smugness


dont worry, I love ya'll anyway

Posted by linus | February 29, 2008 12:19 PM
22

@19 - More like 3.50$ US - but point taken.

Posted by Colton | February 29, 2008 12:20 PM
23

According to my currency converter widget:

CAN$2.75 equals US$2.79

Posted by elswinger | February 29, 2008 12:29 PM
24

@23 - I mean morally. Our money's soaked in blood.

Posted by Will in Seattle | February 29, 2008 12:34 PM
25

Here in Chicago a monthly pass is 75 dollars, which adds up, but once it gets raised, you forget about it after a few weeks anyways.
And hey, EVERY CITY has SHITTY FUCKING BUSES! Get over it.
Are bellingham's buses still 50 cents? That was awesome though...

Posted by Chicago | February 29, 2008 12:44 PM
26

My march pass was the same price. Huh.

Posted by Mr. Poe | February 29, 2008 12:45 PM
27

I would not mind paying more if the fucking #64 ran on time to and from work every damn day like it is scheduled to do!

Posted by Andrew | February 29, 2008 12:49 PM
28

$45 bucks here in SF. That get you unlimited MUNI, streetcar, and BART (within city limits). I've never heard of a sweeter deal.

Affordable monthly passes for commuters, raise the price at the fare box - I really think that's the best plan.

No matter what though, the bus is kinda going to suck. It's just a big fuckin' car that picks up anyone and everyone and jerks and lunges and stops every two block. Street level trains do slightly better I guess, at least they have room inside to move around.

Posted by Dougsf | February 29, 2008 12:56 PM
29

Bus fares are STILL too damn cheap. Make the bus fares in Seattle Metro $2.00, and REMOVE the inner city FREE exemption. This will reduce the inner city problem of subsidizing drunks/druggies/vagrants from basically riding the busses all day for entertainment.

Also make the Express routes $1. Anyone who is looking to reduce thier vehicle usage by taking a long trip via bus deserves a break, and that will have compounding effects on reducing overall traffic.

Tranist is WAY too damn cheap within the metro area. If you can afford to live and work in downtown Seattle, then by all means you should PAY the going rate. $70 is definitely not a huge expense for commuting per month if you are employed downtown.

If you can't afford it, please move to another city with lower cost of living requirments. We aren't here to subsidize your lifestyle and housing choices.

Posted by Reality Check | February 29, 2008 1:03 PM
30

I got my March pass for the $1.75 fare.

Posted by Ivory | February 29, 2008 1:52 PM
31

Right R.C. we should subsidize those that wish to live further out but those that decided to pay to live near-in should be punished with higher bus fares for shorter less subsidized routes.

Double the fare for suburban to city trips helping to pay for their buses that need to support their mega-mansion life style. Don't like it, buy a condo in town.

Posted by ouch | February 29, 2008 1:59 PM
32

La Bamba @12: That's Steve [last name deleted to protect privacy]. He's Metro's nicest and hottest driver. Hey Steve!! We love you.

Oh, and La? Steve is Japanese-American, not Filipino. Amazingly, there is actually a difference! So, ummm, if you want to avoid mixing up all of us crazy-lookalike Asians in the future, you might want to try this.

http://www.alllooksame.com/

Posted by jap not flip | February 29, 2008 2:40 PM
33

metro needs to create debit cards for the bus where you can add fare as you need it at various locations.

Posted by Bellevue Ave | February 29, 2008 3:06 PM
34

@31 - um, don't you mean it should be even more expensive to live further out?

I think we could have $1 fares for Seattle, $2 fares for another city in King County within 4 miles of Seattle, and $25 fares (each way) for anywhere else ...

Posted by Will in Seattle | February 29, 2008 3:14 PM
35

Do any of you proposing ridding the ride free zone actually ride the fucking bus? Paying to get on the bus dt during rush hour would take forever.

There is nothing wrong with the ride free zone.

Posted by hunh? | February 29, 2008 3:15 PM
36

It costs more here to ride the bus and to get a monthly pass then it does in Chicago, which has a transit system that blows Seattle away, but at least the bums can ride for free, fuck this place.

Posted by Nat Cur Vag | February 29, 2008 3:24 PM
37

The fare should just be a quarter. That keeps the drunks and the crackheads from riding all day, saves the hassle of handling all the dollar bills, and really provides a transit alternative. I remember when Kitsap Transit found out that it would actually be cheaper to eliminate all the fareboxes, but having a minimal fare keeps the buses from being rolling mental institutions. The Tacoma light rail line is free.

Posted by kk | February 29, 2008 3:26 PM
38

@36,

Are you sure about that? Chicago recently raised fares to something like $3, I believe.


@37,

I don't know if a mere 25 cents would keep the homeless off the bus. A quarter for staying out of the cold is a bargain.

Posted by keshmeshi | February 29, 2008 3:32 PM
39

Will can you read?

@31 - um, don't you mean it should be even more expensive to live further out?


#31 had written

Double the fare for suburban to city trips helping to pay for their buses that need to support their mega-mansion life style. Don't like it, buy a condo in town.


Posted by ouch | February 29, 2008 3:51 PM
40

#35 Yes, I ride the bus. And if it wasn't for all the bums riding the bus for free it would be a lot easier to get on and off the bus, including rush hour.

Posted by elswinger | February 29, 2008 4:28 PM
41

Reducing crowding, ECB?

Isn't that counterproductive towards the movement of getting more people to use transit?

I mean... does she even think about this shit before she writes it?

Posted by Gomez | February 29, 2008 6:23 PM
42

To: 36 and 38

Like I said Chicago is 2 dollars for bus rides (no zones here) and 2 dollars for the subway, anywhere. But you can get some pass that makes it 1.75
Monthly pass is 75 dollars for everything (but not Metra, the suburban rail)

Posted by Chicago | February 29, 2008 9:52 PM
43

36 and 38:

2 bucks for the bus and subway (not suburban rail)

75 bucks for a monthly pass

there is a deal where you can get a pass that makes rides 1.75

and seniors ride free, that's stupid though

Posted by chicago | February 29, 2008 9:57 PM
44

@42/43: Or the NYC Bus and Subway system. The subway cars there are about as clean as the busses here and for whatever reason seem to attract a lot less crazy people percentage-wise.

Oh, and they run all night, come frequently, and go everywhere.

All that for $2 or $76/month.

They do seem to break down a lot these days.

Posted by Mike | March 3, 2008 8:39 AM

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