Driving used to be fun but not anymore…read more I took Driver's Ed in high school. Studied the WA DOL manual. Got up at 5am on the weekends and mastered parking maneuvers in empty parking lots. Practiced driving on I-5 and steering control on E Mercer Way. Passed the written and driving tests. It was a milestone celebration unlocking freedom and independence at 16 years old. Learned how to use the stick shift and feared the red light at 15th & Spokane St. on rainy days. Drove to Dick's on Capitol Hill with friends. Never had to share the road with electric bikes and scooters because they didn't exist. Never saw distracted drivers with smartphones because these devises weren't available to the public yet. We only had to worry about cars with California plates, the occasional BC plate, or someone who said, "DMV." ;p Driving in Seattle is different now. Traffic is worse. Nobody gives the "Thank you" wave anymore. I know someone who's been driving well over 10 years and they slapped a yellow New Driver sticker on their car and uses it as an excuse to drive like a crazy person. On I-5 I saw a guy texting at the wheel, saw a girl playing a game on her phone at the wheel. Cars without license plates, cars with expired tabs. People driving in the Bus Only lane, people driving with high beams. Motorcycle lane splitting. Witnessed illegal left turns from the far right lane and people driving down the yellow center lane. A lot of these habits and behaviors didn't happen when I first started driving. Seems like the WA DOL manual doesn't apply anymore. Unwritten driving rules taught and passed down by old school Seattleites are fizzling out. Those OGs have moved to Clark County near the WA/OR border, Eastern WA, out of state, and out of country. Gas is over $6+ a gallon and if theres an event near the stadiums parking can be between $70-$120. So if someone asks me why I take public transit, I have many reasons why. I take the light rail when my destination is near a station. I take it for peace of mind. I take it to save money. I've become mindful of my carbon footprint. The 2 Line trains from the Eastside are newer and cleaner than the workhorse 1 Line trains. There's the occasional smelly person, the sleeper, and the tweaker but I know have a choice to sit or stand away from them or get up and move. No fare gates or platform screen doors at the stations. Signage and announcements could be better too. As for the near future, I want to attend roll out celebrations for the Graham St. and Boeing Access Road infill stations. I'm also looking forward to the West Seattle and Tacoma expansions.

Overall pretty good with my experiences with Link. On our trips to Seattle if we are planning to…read morejust go to neighborhoods where the train stops through then we definitely utilize that over driving. There are a lot of shortened operation times due to upgrades, maintenance and expansion. As large as the Seattle metro area is I'm surprised there wasn't public transit train installed and with good coverage of stops long ago. But it seems to be happening now. I think of Campbell Scott in the movie Singles and how his plan gets shot down for a broader commute expansion with trains for a plan he submitted. It almost feels like an inside joke and maybe it always was or has been for a long time living in the metro area. Recently we rode on the new expansion that goes to Federal Way. We rode the train up from the large transit center and garage there and it was nice and smooth. A bit long but so much less stress not having to drive. I have my Orca Card handy with me and it's easy on and easy off. Overall good experiences with this train system!

Thank you Sound Transit! (Sounder Train)…read more For being our designated driver for the Seahawk games especially when you begin to lose track of those $8.25 beers in all of the excitement! For costing only $7 round trip per person and saving us lots of $ to spend on more of those $8.25 beers! For providing FREE parking to event goers on game day, saving us even more $ for those $8.25 beers! For being uber convenient and right down the street from home! For giving us a beautiful view as we are in route reminding us of all that we have to be thankful for in the NW! We're excited to use you more when the Sounders Start!

The best part of living in Edmonds and working in downtown Seattle is taking the train to work each…read moreday. Really, its great. An amazing view, a clean low stress trip, ample seating... I don't have to pay for parking at the train station in downtown Edmonds. Staff is always friendly and helpful. I really just don't have anything negative to say.

The 250 line is always late. I'd say it's a joke but I think they are trying to be so late ALL the…read moretime. And they don't seem to care

The Kirkland Transit Center is located in downtown Kirkland, close to the marina. It's location…read moreand easy accessibility make me a fan of this transit center. I've taken the bus a few times here, and it's always been an easy process. Compared to other transit centers, this one doesn't feel as populated. I've never had to wait in a line to get on the bus from here. Also, all of the posts are marked, to indicate where to wait at for a particular route/bus. It's an easy process. I just love that this transit center is downtown, with bus routes from Seattle and other Eastside suburbs. It's accessible, easy, and never busy. Plus, cars can also use the lanes that the buses use for pick-ups and whatnot.

This is definitely one of the better transit centers in the Kong country area…read more Plane and simple there is little trash out and about. The routs that come here go to Seattle, Bellevue and some local areas. The parking looks clean and fee of bums. The only stop that seems a little shady at nights is where the Bline to Bellevue stops. During the day there are lots of people out walking and it looks very nice. I would recommend using this transit station))- Something to not is that all the bus routes require masks. Oh and one more thing, there is no restrooms available. Or I did not see any(

Since Bellevue Transit Center has a yelp page, Redmond TC should have one too!…read more I like Remond TC. It is conveniently located. Its park & ride is also very easy for people to park their cars and hop on the buses. I think this TC is slightly more confusing than the Bellevue Transit Center. E.g, bus 221 going to different directions leave the same Bay area. Otherwise, this transit center is pretty cool.

My daughter and I took the Northbound direction of the RapidRide B Line, connecting downtown…read moreBellevue to downtown Redmond, connecting the two sister city's transit center. It runs every 10 minutes during daylight hours, and is one way to go to Microsoft's main campus. The cost is $2.75 each way with free transfers, most easily accessible via an Orca card (rechargable on-line, but not yet replaceable with a smartphone). We used the NE 24th St & Bellevue Redmon Rd stop, which was covered and had a display showing when to expect the next bus. It's a busy route, serviced by an articulated bus for both routes...definitely too long for streets (and corners) not equipped for it.

I like this RapidRide route. It is the only one servicing the Eastside. B Line travels between…read moreBellevue Transit Center and Redmond Transit Center. The bus services downtown Bellevue, Crossroads, Overlake, Microsoft and downtown Redmond neighborhoods. The route replaced two King County Metro routes, 230 and 253. Basically combining these services to offer more frequent service that were faster as they skipped bus stops that used to be serviced by the old routes. The RapidRide buses are new and have free Wi-Fi. You can also swipe your ORCA card to pay for your fare at the bus stop card reader before the bus arrives. This allows you to board the bus at one of the exit doors rather than having to pay at the driver side door upon entering. In general, buses run every 15 minutes for most of the day. During weekday rush hours, there is service every 10 minutes. While in the late evenings, there is a 30 minute wait. I don't use the bus often, but do when I am headed to the airport as I can take this bus to connect with the Sound Transit route 560 at Bellevue Transit Center. Though it takes longer to get to the airport, it saves me a bundle over parking at or taking a taxi/Uber to the airport. More often than not, it takes longer to get where you need to on public transportation. But I think this RapidRide line is great since it is convenient and is helping to minimize the delay. Particularly useful when I need to get to downtown Bellevue in a timely manner.

Minus 5 stars…read more Restrooms have NO water. No soap. No paper towels. No mirror. If you want, wash up at the Communal Sink between the restrooms. In full public view Btw, Very few people do. Gross. Gross Gross. GROSS.

I was in town for a game, and thankfully Everett's station was nearby with Amtrak operating out of…read moreit. The station is currently very closed off due to COVID safety protocols. For those particularly interested: -Hand sanitizer station is at the entrance -Masks are enforced while inside and on the train platform (Customer service provides masks to anyone who doesn't have one, even those just using the restroom) -Currently vaccination status is not checked -Social distancing is encouraged inside -Only one door is open (front of the building) -Plastic barriers throughout the lobby to manage foot traffic. Expect to have to walk in a loop to go to the restroom Restrooms are available to the public as well, and are in moderately decent condition. No paper towels, and the hand dryers are very weak/take awhile. If you're arriving or departing on a Greyhound or Amtrak bus, there's a separate area which is to the far right of the building. Taking the bus from Seattle to Spokane? If you're stopping at Everett and your driver gives you 10mins to step out and use the restroom, be mindful that you may not make that 10min window given the distance to/from and if the restrooms are crowded.

South Kirkland Park & Ride is located just north of the Kirkland border with Bellevue. It is…read morelocated right off 520 and close to Northup Way. A multi-story parking garage was built several years ago to provide additional parking spaces at this park and ride. I don't use this park and ride very often since I live in Bellevue. The park and rides at Eastgate, Mercer Island and South Bellevue are more convenient. Though if you live in Kirkland, this is probably your best option if you are going to park and commute into Seattle from here. There are a few buses that stop here. A few of them are more localized as they make stops only within Kirkland, though there is a bus that goes to Kenmore. And then there is the Metro bus 255 which goes to Kingsgate and Downtown Seattle. There are buses every 30 minutes each way on the weekends. But there is more frequent service (10-15 minutes) on weekdays. The good thing about waiting for the bus here is that buses stop in the same location in both directions. Though you do need to make sure you read the destination sign to make sure you are catching the right bus. The park and ride itself is fine. I just don't frequent it often because it is farther away and there isn't as much bus service to places where I am going. It is a bit more convenient if you are headed to the U-District and north Seattle as the buses that stop here going to Seattle use 520 instead of I-90.

I haven't had any problems after two months. I get there around 7am and always tons of spots. The…read more255 to Seattle arrives every 10 minutes or so and I'm downtown in no time. Coming back at rush hour can be a pain...getting a seat doesn't happen where I get on, and traffic slows down the return trip.

A nice monorail station that takes you all the way down to the museum of pop culture, space needle…read moreand a few other touristy things, from Downtown Seattle. It was a little chaotic but centered in a busy area, that was expected. I liked that I was able to walk from Pike Market to this station in a few minutes. Buying tickets was easy and for a round trip ticket, it is about $3.50 a person. The station was clean and it was easy to buy tickets because they have self-service kiosks as well as a couple workers that will help you out with your purchase if you need it. The wait isn't long but I will say depending on the day, this place can start to get crowded quickly because the station itself is rather small. It is very well-lit and kept clean. They also have elevators for those that have difficulty with the stairs or escalators they also offer.

A fun way to get to the Seattle center. A brief ride through parts of downtown Seattle. When I'm…read moretaking public transportation into the city and need to go to climate pledge, the needle or MOPOP this is fun mode of transportation. You can walk to Queen neighborhoods from here to. The monorail is clean, spacious and an Orca card works. There's only one stop and the monorail goes back and forth. Easy and reliable. It's on the third floor of the Westland center which is a mall. Don't drive! Take public transportation. SYOY!

So far so good this is my favorite mode of transportation! I love how quick that I make…read moreconnections. It is laidback and there is more security on there than on buses. I love that. And I love how often and quickly it comes. It gets you to a lot of fun stuff to do! It connects you to major Hospitals like St Joseph and Tacoma General. I rate all my experiences a big 5! The only downside is side is it comes late on Sunday's . But that is okay. Thanks Tacoma Link!

What great way to get from Tacoma to Seattle! Taking it to the airport is so easy! Clean and…read moreefficient!