From a Metro service bulletin:
In response to customer input and real time observations, along Fourth Avenue and Pike Street, and to facilitate the improved operation of buses in the downtown Seattle core area.
Starting Monday, November 5, Metro routes 10, 11, 43, 47 and 49, traveling toward Capitol Hill, will no longer serve the stop on Pike Street at 6th Av. They will make their usual stops on Pike St just west of Fourth Avenue, then again just west of Convention Place.
This revision is being made to facilitate the movement of five other routes that will be stopping on Pike St at 6th Av on their way to northbound I-5.
Two late night trips on the Route 84 Night Owl will continue to serve the stop on Pike at 6th.
Metro expects this service revision to help all Pike St routes operate more efficiently and realize improved travel times.
Your patience as we implement these revisions and work to enter the information into our systems
is appreciated.Thanks for riding and for using Metro’s services.
Seattle Transit Blog has more on the service tweaks here.
I’ve sat at that stop more times than I would care to recount. One less stop that takes 5 minutes to leave from during rush hour is welcome news.
Unfortunate decision. This is where I would catch the bus when I would transfer from the light rail. Very popular place for the bus in comparison to the convention place.
Exactly!
This change was not made for the benefit of Capitol Hill residents.
How can Metro just sneak this in over the weekend?
My commute to Pioneer Square has gotten pathetic.
I don’t understand why this couldn’t wait until the streetcar or light rail are done.
This is a really poor decision….let METRO know what you think about this, as I did! It’s crazy that they would cut out the main stop that links light rail to Cap Hill when headed Eastbound!
I disagree, seattlebear. I live on the Hill and this will benefit me quite a bit. As Steve said on the 1st comment, those stops during rush hour can take 5 minutes or more to depart from. People are constantly running up to the door as the light turns green, and that one last addition causes two or three others to hop on. This often causes the bus to miss that light entirely, and sit through another cycle. The process then will frequently repeat itself. I have sat there as it cycles from red to green and back to red again 4 times or more during rush hour multiple times. Walking an extra two blocks to 3rd/4th and Pine is a small price to pay for my commute every day of the week. It’s ridiculous to have those buses stop every other block on the most crowded downtown street during the rush hour.
My 1.1 mile commute time is getting awfully close to 50 minutes or more on average during peak times. I’ll take a 5 minute deduction wherever I can get it.
Why stop past the westlake terminal? Cut out the following stop.
How is that stop any closer to the Westlake Link station than the 4th avenue stop? If you are getting off the train, you have your choice of getting out on 4th, 5th, or 6th avenues.
50 minutes to travel 1.1 miles, Yes? Why not just walk; even strolling that would take about 15 minutes.
Is it really that difficult for anyone to walk 1 or two blocks in either direction? Part of the inefficiency in our bus system is this idea that their must be a bus stop every two blocks. It’s ridiculous. This will make the 43 and 49 (the two main buses I ride) much more efficient downtown. Not that anyone on the hill really NEEDS to take the bus. Trust, we could all use the 10-15 minute walk up that hill everyday. Lazy people complain about everything.
aw snap—that’s my go-to stop after work to get back up the hill. i prefer 6th because it isn’t as shady and crowded as 4th. i swear trying to get on a 43 or 49 at 4th & pike at 530/6p is like walking into a human hurricane… now, it will only get worse.
Dan,
I have tried to walk many times. Some problems with walking:
1. I wear slacks, dress shoes/shirt and tie. Walking in pouring rain isn’t good for dry clean clothes. Not to mention my laptop. I don’t think I need to tell you how often I’d be walking in awful weather at night through less than safe parts of town.
2. Walking is not a 15 minute proposition. The best time I’ve been able to log is about 40 minutes. You get stopped at nearly every intersection for a light, and it is slow going.
3. After a long day and all you want to do is get home and relax, an uphill hike in a downpour isn’t all that enticing. You arrive home an absolute mess, and if you were hustling back to meet friends for a drink, you’re now stuck showering and changing before you meet up.
I know those sound like really lame reasons to most people, but I would challenge anyone to deal with that on a daily basis. Sitting on the bus for a bit, while often awful and frustrating, is the lesser of two crappy options 9 times out of 10.
“You arrive home an absolute mess.” <-- can i upvote this comment? totally agree.
This stop is the closet to getting up the hill after coming in on light rail to Westlake. Not too bad if you’re not toting luggage, I can walk, but if you’re toting luggage it’s easier to schlep to 6th & Pike to catch a bus. While there are no doubt good timing reasons for the change the problem is the poor linkage from light rail to bus up the hill on a dark, rainy night, at least for the next four years until we get light rail to the Hill, or the next year or so until we get he streetcar up and running.
I agree – I like this stop because it isn’t crowded as the 4th Ave stop. And now the 4th Ave stop is going to be PACKED. Ugh. Seems that Metro made this decision based on the needs of eastside (and north?) commuters at the expense of cap hill folks.
…but yeah, it kind of sucks, for reasons already pointed out (esp. proximity to light rail).
On more than one occasion I’ve just missed a bus at 4th and managed to catch up to it at 6th by jogging. I don’t think I’d be able to pull that off all the way to Convention Pl.
It’s too bad they couldn’t consolidate to a stop at 5th, though obviously that would be a big headache in terms of infrastructure.
I’ve been walking from Capitol Hill to downtown and back (a 40 minute walk) every day for over 20 years. Yes, there are a few days a year you’ll get you pants legs wet when we have wind plus rain, but really surprisingly very few. I also carry a laptop (in a weather proof bag) and an umbrella. It’s really not that big of a deal. I wouldn’t trade it for the bus.
I work on 5th and use to walk to 3rd to catch the 14 so I didn’t have to transfer. Metro took that away. Now I walk to 6th & Pine to avoid transfer. It can take 45 mins to go a little over a mile. I carry too much stuff too/from work to make walking desirable. I use the 6th stop from the airport often. The 4th stop is going to be even more of a nightmare. I will def. contact Metro. This is ridic. Any time savings will be added to 4th and cancelled out, no?
Lilah,
That is great that it works for you. It doesn’t work for me so well. I guess the point I’m trying to make is that I find it interesting that people think I should just buck up and walk 25 blocks uphill in the rain, but people who are upset about having to walk 2 blocks to the next bus stop somehow have a legitimate complaint.
6th was my stop. I guess I will have to catch the bus at the last second at convention center now and make it miss green lights there.
Can we get a report on what the customer input and real-time observations are? I just sent Metro a link to this article and comment thread. I also asked for a copy of this information.
Mixed feelings!
More efficient buses are good.
6th & Pike felt relatively safe, 4th & Pike is a drug zone.
No more mad dashes between Monorail Espresso and the departing bus.
Hear, hear. Have just put in a complaint/suggestion and plan to keep doing so; where did that ‘customer input’ come from? 4th and Pike, an overcrowded and rather noisome gathering place, is going to become horrific. After dark the stop is NOT SAFE, nor is the Convention Center stop much better. 6th and Pike is well-lit and has more foot traffic at all hours.
Would actually cut the Convention Place stop sooner than 6th and Pike…
Even if I was on 4th, I’d usually hoof it up to 6th just because the location wasn’t as gross–seems like they got rid of the best stop.
I guess I’m the opposite of many here. I personally ALWAYS use the 4th stop from the tunnel and generally prefer it to the 6th stop even though I’m a little closer to 6th as I can always get a seat at 4th. I do agree that the 4th stop feels quite a bit sketchier, but nothing I can’t deal with. Having a stop every 2 blocks really is overkill and honestly a lot of this sounds like overreaction.
The 6th Ave stop is definitely more pleasant to wait at if working late or coming home from a show. 4th Ave stop after 9pm is not one i like to be waiting at for very long. The other “improvements” that have been made – having to transfer to go south on 3rd Ave now, to get to the south end of downtown is a nuisance. Its easier to just walk or if weather is really wet, go to the convention center station and catch a bus in the tunnel to get down 3rd Ave.
A bus driver told me the changes are much more convenient for them. Fine, but they aren’t particularly convenient for the customers. hmmmm.
6th is the stop I use coming home from work, so I’m not very happy about this change even though I do understand that the bus getting stuck at the lights is an issue. I’ll probably end up using the Convention Place stop now instead as it’s a) closer and b) I also find 4th is not very pleasant.
The part that is interesting to me is the announcement says “This revision is being made to facilitate the movement of five other routes that will be stopping on Pike St at 6th Av on their way to northbound I-5”
So it sounds like you are STILL going to have buses at the 6th stop and getting stuck in traffic, and then those buses are going to have to weave over to the left to get onto I-5 – thereby blocking the Capitol Hill buses that are trying to get over to the Convention Place stop. I predict a lot of bus ‘leapfrogging’ going on…
At first, I was really excited for one less stop, so much faster!
But then I realized they were leaving the two “bad” stops, especially for those who may work non-traditional hours.
At night, 4th & Pike can be nasty, I always used to walk to the next one at at 6th. The convention center also gets its share of loiters and dealers, and it’s dark there, with little foot traffic :(
Oh well.
Maybe if they only implemented this change during peak hours, I’d feel better about it, but that’s never an option.
I second the post by gap (“4th”). I almost always choose to exit the tunnel on 4th simply because I can actually get a seat.
And really, to everyone who thinks the 4th and Pike stop is scary and dirty: we live on Capitol Hill…should we really be afraid of the bus stop?
For real. I work in the building at 4th and Pike and I’ve never in my life thought that corner was “scary” at all. I’m perplexed. Do they mean because there are two black people instead of just one on sixth? Seriously. If 4th and Pike is scary then how the hell do any of these people walk down Broadway or go to any of the QFC’s? I see a lot more scary stuff there than on 4th and Pike. Wow. Just wow.
Nice how the alert says nothing about how it will affect the 10, 11, 43, 47 and 49. What a SNAFU.
http://www.kingcounty.gov/transportation/kcdot/NewsCenter/Ne
I ride the 43 every day and have to say that this minor and much needed change has sped up my ride home. Kudos to Metro for being so responsive and creative in meeting the region’s public transit needs.