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Bus Stop | The 2

14569185692_30304b38c4_zSome Seattle bus routes are ubiquitous, and some are iconic. The 2 falls into the latter category. Serving Queen Anne, Belltown, Downtown, First Hill, Capitol Hill, the Central District, and Madrona, the 2 is one of Metro’s legacy routes that Seattle could not function without. It only crosses the borders of Capitol Hill for a short stretch of its huge domain, but it makes a big impact on the lives of Hill residents.

On a recent Thursday evening, I met Marilyn waiting for the 2 at Seneca and Harvard Avenue. When I told her I was writing about the bus line, she told me “I love the 2…it’s always on time.” She glanced up the street at the almost-due bus, adding, “Almost always.”

14383547617_8cfb513cdd_z“And another thing,” she said. “The drivers are always courteous.” And with that her trolley bus chariot arrived to carry her downtown to do her shopping for the day. Recently I rode the 2 to Madrona Park, to one of the most beautiful bus layover spaces in the city overlooking Lake Washington, and watched the sun go down on another beautiful Seattle summer evening. On my way back I was greeted by Everett Minard, Metro’s oldest bus driver, who drives the 2 like clockwork.

In February 2015, unless a funding source is secured for Metro, changes are going into effect for the route 2. The Queen Anne portion of the route will be entirely discontinued, to be replaced with more trips on the 13. The First Hill portion of the route will switch from Seneca Street to Madison, combining service there with what is left of the route 12 during peak hours.14383321830_c0cc7c212c_z

Service will also end earlier in the evening (we visited a 2 stop at Broadway/Union on a night this winter), with the frequency between buses late at night increasing to an hour at times.

Whether combining service onto Madison from two parallel streets will improve service for all Metro riders by creating a more efficient system, or that Seneca will be the worse for losing service that it has had for decades, is up for debate. Now is a time for hard choices to be made by Metro. One thing is clear though: The 2 is more or less sticking around.

Previously on Bus Stop

 

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citycat
citycat
9 years ago

The 2 is a very important route; it is one of the few that serves people who live in the CD/Madrona/Leschi area. With the Leschi neighborhood completely losing the 27 route and Judkins Park losing the 4, and service for the 8 being cut to no longer include the CD, the 2 and 3 routes are absolutely vital.

joanna
9 years ago

Remember the County Council has not actually acted on this and that the County is still preparing the most recent financials. If the city steps in with funding for our routes, it is important to ensure that they are for our routes as currently constructed (deployed). If later change are contemplate, that should be a separate process. Seattle voters need to be clear on how these revenues would be used.

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[…] day after I started writing this article Ryan Parker published a spotlight on Metro’s #2 bus for the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. It’s a funny coincidence because my history of Roanoke […]

Karen
Karen
9 years ago

I sure hope they don’t do that – the #2 provides really helpful service from downtown to Virginia Mason. Getting from Madison to Virginia Mason’s Lindeman Pavilion would suck on crutches or in an orthopedic boot (and a lot of orthopedic services are in that building). Time to write Metro.

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[…] CHS writes up the 2. […]

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[…] 5 years old, and ridership continues to beat projections. Capitol Hill Seattle Blog spotlights the Metro Route 2 and Metro Route 47, it will be tough to see the workhorse 47 go away. On the plus side, we will be […]

Dianne
9 years ago

The reroute of Route 2 is being done by Seattle Department of Transportation as part of their Bus Rapid Transit program. I would encourage everyone to check the SDOT website to see all the changes being made by them. I would also encourage everyone to contact the Seattle City Council and tell them “hell no”.

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[…] The 2 […]

Jack
Jack
9 years ago

I bought my house on Madrona Drive in 1989 largely because it is on the Route 2 busline, which I use every weekday, often on the weekends. I can drive, but it is very difficult for me. I may be forced to relocate if Route 2 is changed too much.