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Bus Stop | The 43

CHS Bus Stop - The 43

King County Metro Route 43 delivers riders back and forth between downtown Seattle and the University of Washington via Capitol Hill. Which means it’s an awesome window to the city’s humanity. You can also use it to tour both Pine and Pike. You’ll find students cramming among the short(er)-distance commuters and apparently homeless guys just enjoying the ride. The trip from downtown to UW can take anywhere from a half hour to the occasional hour-long disaster that makes you wonder if you got on the wrong bus. Here we find the 43 headed northbound — eventually — at E John and 15th Ave E.

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DB McWeeberton
DB McWeeberton
10 years ago

It’ll be interesting to see the effect light rail has on this and the 49 in 2016.

kansei
kansei
10 years ago
Reply to  DB McWeeberton

The 49 I could see getting cut at some point, since it really does follow the path of the light rail fairly closely (albeit making dramatically more stops, but quite a lot of those are shared with other routes for short-distance travelers. The 43 I’d be surprised though, since it does serve 15th ave and points east / north of that.

Roanoke Rogue
Roanoke Rogue
9 years ago
Reply to  kansei

Those of us who ride the 49 on or near 10th Ave. East north of the Broadway Business District would beg to differ! Getting rid of the 49 gets rid of practical bus service for us altogether. My commute to work (2.2 miles in a straight line) used to be handled by the 9. Now it takes the 49 plus the 9 or 60 (or sometime soon, the streetcar) to get to work. No 49 to get me to Broadway at least? Must be a better way.

Honario
10 years ago

The 43 gained some fame in a video that went viral in 2010: http://youtu.be/j3xtYm0ptno
I ride this line all the time. Wish I had been on that run. It looks like it’d be fun!

Joseph Singer
Joseph Singer
10 years ago

It’s also the 43 which was one of the routes that Metro threatened to cut the last time we had a bandaid put on Metro. I think the threat of the cut had a lot to do with the furor that people felt when Metro threatened to do this. Metro likes to make threats and have their name in a newz cycle whenever possible.

JTContinental
JTContinental
10 years ago

The 43 wins Most Likely to Smell Like Teriyaki

Honario
9 years ago
Reply to  JTContinental

Sammy
Sammy
9 years ago

Ah, the 43. I both love and hate this bus. It’s the one that gets me where I need to go most of the time (downtown from John? U district? Transfer to ST to the Eastside? All this workhorse) But am I alone in really wishing there were a 43 Express?

This bus stops every 100 feet or so as it travels down 23rd, if I could get one that just stopped on the ave, pacific, montlake freeway station, once on 23rd, once on broadway, and once downtown, it might be the best thing ever. Although on the other hand it might just be stuck in the same ‘ol traffic as errone else.

David
David
9 years ago
Reply to  Sammy

Rumor has it that the stops along 23rd/24th will be revised as part of the improvements that SDOT will be making in the next couple of years. They’re mainly intended for the 48, but the 43 would get the benefit too north of John.

BryanB
BryanB
9 years ago
Reply to  Sammy

@Sammy You do realize that what you are wishing for is what will be the Link Light Rail extension from Downtown to Husky Stadium when it opens in the near future, right?

Laurel
Laurel
9 years ago

I love this series! Very apt description for this route.

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