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 devices 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 and etiquette 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!

Wow, used the water taxi for my Game 1 World Cup experience and loved it. Frank discovered a new…read moremode of transportation from West Seattle to downtown... Well, I started my day parking on the street by the dock. I jumped in line with fellow soccer followers on game day. Waited in line for maybe 15 minutes and a mini ferry showed up. I paid with my credit card ( $5.50 ) which was a screaming deal. Grabbed an upper deck seat for the journey and waited to launch. I think maybe 15 minutes to cross the great water way and that was it. For those considering using this service I highly recommend it. You're dropped off on the waterfront and have easy access to Pioneer Square, Stadiums & Pike Place Market. Cost wise it's really a great alternative to driving into town.. I'll use again in a few days for game 2 of THE WORLD CUP!

The water taxi is the only public transit option that costs $1 less via Orca Card vs Transit Go…read moreTicket app. The Orca Card costs $3, so if you plan to have more than one round trip by water taxi, using the Orca a Card would be the more economical option for you. Easily the best views of the Seattle waterfront. The water taxi is very punctual. They start letting folks on the boat 5 min before the listed departure time, and the dock about 10 mins before the listed arrival time. The front a back of the boat is open (unenclosed), including the upstairs back area, and I find being outside in the wind helps numb the feeling of motion sickness vs being in the interior areas of the boat. There are trash and recycle bins in the interior areas of the boat.

Arriving on Vashon Island to the ferry terminal. It is quick and efficient. My first time on this…read moreferry to the island and I learned a lot of things about the process. Cars line up on the side of the road to wait to get on the ferry. Definitely a cool experience.

When it comes to view, no doubt it's one of the best especially seeing the horizon as the sun…read moreslowly goes down. But the queue of the cars waiting to hop on the ferry - weariness! I mean, with the traffic coming in, and you are in line it's a bit crazy and my anxiety kinda trigger. Then include those staffs working there, most of them ain't no Aloha, tetchy aunties and uncles! But since this is the main hub going to Fort Defiance you gotta deal with it and hope for the best.

There's four elevators... why does only one ever work and it takes four minutes to show up.read more

To get to the platform, you have to take an elevator. There are no stairs or escalators. Which…read moremeans I hope you like small spaces. It's an odd way to build a station but here we are in the 2020s. There are only two platforms. One that goes south and one that goes north. After you exit the elevator, look up to see which way to go. Each platform is only maybe 100 yards from each other so it's not like you can choose wrong. Just hope your train isn't arriving if you do go the wrong way. It's a fairly busy station but slowly becoming less busy. With the amount of gentrification happening, youre seeing less and less BIPOCs here. There is a bus station outside of the station that can also take you downtown or towards Chinatown. Outside of the station is a coffee shop called "The Station" which I highly suggest. There's no ride and park area here. So you gotta either know the area to know where to park or maybe hop on at another stop.

The train takes you straight from the airport to the city. I paid $6 for a round trip. One way is…read more$3.50 or $3 I think. This is a lot cheaper than the train in Denver that does the same thing! Very convenient as you don't have to deal with traffic. Also lots of staff present! So it feels very safe. It makes many stops

It's nice to have an Othello Station because it's near some pretty awesome Vietnamese restaurants,…read morebut other than that, I can't really seem to find any other benefit to the Othello Station other than its location. Along the light rail route the Othello Station is on the path to Angle Lake Station and University Station. I do like that the Othello neighborhood has this station, making it convenient to use for those in the area. However, compared to other stations, this one lacks in features. I primarily noticed that with the smaller stations, such as this Othello one, it does not have an actual indoor space. The station is located in the middle of a busy road, where it's all outdoor. No indoor space...meaning, no bathroom, or an area to park and ride nearby, or talk to employees. It's simply a neighborhood station. To reiterate, location of this station is its draw, serving Othello residents. But there's not much to this station, compared to large ones that have public facilities that you'd find elsewhere.

The train takes you straight from the airport to the city. I paid $6 for a round trip. One way is…read more$3.50 or $3 I think. This is a lot cheaper than the train in Denver that does the same thing! Very convenient as you don't have to deal with traffic. Also lots of staff present! So it feels very safe. It makes many stops

Columbia City Station has went down hill FAST. It was clean free of trash and graffiti. Now you…read morecan't help but to see the vandalism, and trash thrown around the station. At time you may see a few "unwelcome" individuals that sit at this to charge a cell phone, play loud music or make a home. I can only hope this location gets better.

Our first ride on the Seattle Street Car was a treat! The driver super helpful and friendly,…read moreengaging the littlest passengers with enthusiasm and sincere interest. Orca cards are accepted, but bus transfers are not! Just so you know. The trip is relatively short from the north end of downtown to SLU, but comfortable, smooth and clean. It's not too crowded; at least not early on a Thursday afternoon while most are lunching. The trolley provides easy access to MOHAI and the Center for Wooden Boats without having to search for and pay for limited hours parking.

I hope they can salvage this somehow…read more As far as a people mover system, the South Lake Union Streetcar has as much appeal as the Seattle Monorail. It is a curiosity, but lacking in usefulness for most. The Streetcar runs from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in the Eastlake area to a stop across the street from Westlake Center. There is a train every 15 minutes. The system seems to model itself like the Portland Streetcar, but the current streetcar system in Seattle is inferior in the same way that Seattle's Sound Transit Light Rail system is to the Portland MAX system. In its current state, I think the main use of it is in shuttling Amazon and Fred Hutchinson employees from Westlake to their respective offices. There is not a whole lot of Metro bus service in South Lake Union (SLU), so the Streetcar does alleviate that issue a bit. But seeing that Westlake is only several blocks south from SLU, I think most people including myself would prefer to walk the distance rather than wait for the Streetcar. I would only take it if there was a train leaving shortly that would save me a couple minutes. Work on a First Hill Streetcar is going on now and there has been talk of extending the SLU Streetcar further north which would be great if it happens. It would be a waste to not expand. Right now the value of this line is not there, but hopefully city planners can turn that around with some forward thinking expansion.

Located in the heart of downtown Bellevue, this outdoor transit center (basically a series of…read moreberths where different bus numbers come and go) can be used to go to SeaTac airport in about 45 minutes. It also has local buses going throughout Bellevue, which can be used as connectors. The lightrail does not connect through Bellevue. There is a lot of construction next to the transit station (building some sort of high rise). I-405 is what connects Bellevue to the airport, and the bus takes it most of the way. It is just a standard bus, so doesn't have luggage racks nor empty spaces where bulky luggage can be placed. Works if you have one piece of luggage and the bus isn't too full. Bus driver was super friendly, and the fare one-way is $2.75 if using the mobile app that lets you buy the ticket on-line (you have 2 hours of unlimited uses once you activate it...so free transfers).

Bus nearly came at 11PM when it was suppose to come at 10:30PM. Then randomly on some days it will…read morecome 10 minutes early. If you go wait at the bus stop super early like 10-15 minutes to prepare for the buses that come too early but it's delayed, you will end up waiting 20-50 minutes in total just standing in the blazing sun or cold rain. But if you try to go on time with a few extra minutes early, there are days buses will be 8-10 minutes early so you will miss it and with my luck the next bus will be delayed. Today I went out at 1:10PM for a bus and it was super early so I waited for the next one and it was delayed. Now I will arrive somewhere around 2:30PM for a place that takes 10 minutes to drive to.