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!

The monorail is a great option to get to Seattle Center from downtown! It's clean, well kept, and…read morehas convenient hours. Round trip for two adults and two kids was $24 ($8 roundtrip for adults, and $4 roundtrip for kids) which is cheaper than purchasing online. It's also cheaper than some parking options close to the space needle, so this was a win for us!

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.

Great deal to use when getting away from Portland to Seattle! We had great WiFi going but no WiFi…read morecoming back. Good thing I downloaded a couple videos for the ride! But for the price, the comfort and way of boarding was much better than catching a plane or driving when the price of gas is so high!

Amtrak Cascades is a regional Amtrak line that runs from Eugene, Oregon up to Vancouver, Canada…read more Currently there are 6 trains each day that operate on the Seattle to Portland portion of the line. I took a train from Portland to Seattle on this train and found the legroom to be disappointing compared to the Coast Starlight train that operates the same route daily. While the Cascades train is faster by about a half hour, I would choose the Coast Starlight if you prefer comfort over speed. On the positive side, the train has Wi-Fi and a frequent train schedule which makes it worth considering in spite of the smaller amount of seat legroom.

Connecting the busy Westlake light rail station to the touristy Seattle Center in downtown, the…read moreSeattle Monorail is 0.9 miles long, traveling on an elevated track, with the endpoints being the only stops. It takes about 3 minutes to travel between, costs $4 per one-way ride, and operates every 10 minutes. My wife and I took it twice during our one night trip to Seattle, and it was a good way to cut off a bit of a walk traveling from/to the airport and our hotel located at the Seattle Center. The monorail system was built in 1962 to take visitors to the World's Fair, which was being held at what is today the Seattle Center. It consists of 2 parallel single rail tracks, each with one train. After each 3 minute journey, the conductor has to walk the length of the train to get to the other forward facing 'locomotive' car, so there is a bit of time between the train arriving and the train leaving again (in the opposite direction). The two trains (Blue and Red) can run concurrently (often during high traffic times like during a Kraken hockey game), but I've only seen one of them run at a time. The space between the two tracks are where people boarding the train must wait, entering this space using an Orca card (tap-to-pay has yet to be implemented). There are no discounts for transfers to other Orca enabled transit. There is one seat on the locomotive car right next to the conductor, providing an unobstructed view facing forward. Would highly recommend doing that if riding it for the first time. It was my 4th time riding, but 1st time on that seat. Spoke to the conductor a little, and learned that for her, it's 42 round trips a day during her shift. Also noticed that the train passes right by the upper level windows of the Hyatt House hotel, so imaging guests in those rooms could get a cool view of the train as it zipped by.

9/14/2025 - Took a monorail ride from the Seattle Monorail Center to downtown Seattle at the…read moreWestlake station in 3 or 4 minutes at a round trip prices $4 each way or $2 for seniors. The Monorail runs every 8 minutes. It is worth the trip!

Really nice train station. Skip the massive craziness of traffic and commuting and save your brain…read moreand time by using the train. If you are a local, your Orca pass works on this.

I saw all the great reviews about Seattle's Link light rail so I gave it a try yesterday evening to…read moreget to the U District area from the airport. It may have been a random fluke, however, my first experience was a disaster at best. After riding 2 stops on the 1 Line, we were all instructed to get off at Ranier Beach stop as there was some sort of police activity prohibiting us from riding further and we at this point were asked to cross the street and wait for a shuttle. About 10 min later, a shuttle arrived however not everyone could fit so this shuttle was jam packed with people! We were told that this shuttle would take us to the Columbia City station and from there, the 1 Line would resume. As it was traffic hour when this all happened, shuttle was slow moving, so probably another 20-30 min later, we arrived. A train was waiting for us and after that detour, the ride was smooth all the way to my destination. I made the mistake of getting off one stop before I intended, so that added another 10min to trip, completely my own stupid fault. So a trip from the airport that should have taken a little under an hour took close to 2 hours for me. Was an interesting experience and for $3, I really shouldn't complain. I also saved my company $100 but also wasted 90min on public transit. And time is money. I think this might have just been a little bad luck and a less frequent occurrence, but it definitely made me not want to take this form of transit ever again. They do get one star because when I mapped it out on Google maps, there was clear warning there was a delay and detour. It was just my poor choice to take a chance and see what happens. However, if the opportunity presents itself again and there were no issues with the Link light rail, I might consider this option again.

With the recent opening of the expansion of the 2 line going to Lynnwood from Redmond, this…read moreWestlake Station (like all the other stations in downtown Seattle) now services both the 1 AND 2 lines of the Sound Transit Link system. This means that one can take one train without transfer from here to Bellevue and Redmond, crossing Lake Washington on the world's first light rail pontoon railway. My wife and I took this route while visiting our daughter and son-in-law in Bellevue, and the crossing was a routine non-event, just like it is supposed to be. My last review for this station was 2 years, at which time, only the 1 line serviced this station. Because of the way they designed the routes, the inclusion of the 2 line was seamless, requiring no station outages during the transition. My only small gripe is the signage at a major connection point at the center near the elevators, still only shows the 1 line (with its stops at the airport and university), instead of now the opening of the entire East side of Puget Sound area, accessible via the 2 line. It's confusing for visitors...better just to state that lower level is for Sound Transit, instead of explicitly naming each line, if they don't want to change the signage every time. Another big addition that occurred earlier this year (Feb '26), is the use of tap-to-pay (using a tap enabled payment card to pay for fare at the point of entry) at all stations and bus lines (like NYC and London has). We still ended up using our preloaded Orca card this trip, but can discontinue that for future (unless taking the Monorail, which still requires an Orca card). Transfers are free for 2 hours from the first tap (excluding the Monorail), with initial charge being $3. There are no gates, with the pay stations being intentionally out of the way...it really is about the honor system to tap. We also used Westlake station as the transfer point to get from the monorail on the 3rd floor of the Westlake shopping center down to the lower level where the station actually is. Connecting to the 1 line, we got to Sea-Tac airport station in 41 minutes (though from there, it's quite a walk to get to the terminal area).

So this is a major hub station and named after the most obvious point nearby - Westlake Shopping…read moreCenter - with its accompanying plaza (often free events and music here), major shopping, and major hotels and dining. This station has had some safety issues in the past so I don't frequent it as much as I would if it weren't for that concern.

Lots of options in payment as well as reasonable fares that people can afford you can pay using…read morecards that can be used long term or purchases a hourly fare that lasts just few hours.

As a long time metro rider (34 years) I've ridden the 3, 4 , 7, 49 , 42 and 106. I've encountered…read moremy fair share of interactions primarily on the 3 and 7 and have always respected drivers on these routes that use courtesy and don't yell. Fast forward to the 522. I've noticed that the majority of drivers on this route, specifically at the lake city stops appear to be like security officers. They don't smile, greet, and have any type of personality. I can name just two drivers who were nice and one driver even yelled at me. Some of the drivers appear to be senior drivers. I heard that sound transit is metro and metro drivers drive the 522. I have not experienced this perceived disgruntled ness on the 372 and 61. I hope metro can address my observations and provide additional training to these drivers. It's the same stand off ish attitude at the Roosevelt staff. Thank you!

The #49 trolleybuses are workhorses and they travel through some of my favorite and unique places…read morein Seattle. It runs through historical neighborhoods and serves students who attend Seattle Central College and UW. It travels by fun, vibrant storefronts of coffee shops, restaurants, and retail. You'll also see public art on sidewalks. If you continue to take it NB past Capitol Hill you'll eventually cross the University Bridge (opened in 1919) and into the U District. Right now you can take this bus from downtown Seattle to see the cherry blossoms at The Quad and the U District Cherry Blossom Festival. Sure you can take the light rail from Downtown to Capitol Hill to the U District but if you want to take the scenic route then take the 49.

Metro 49 is great when I go out to Cap Hill since parking on Cap Hill is a huge pain. Every time my…read morefriends and I drive to Cap Hill, it would take at least 15 minutes to find a free parking spot in the evenings. It is also because I don't know the area that well enough. So this bus is great! The best part of the bus is that it runs super late until 2am or 3am! I feel bad for bus drivers who work late and have deal with super drunk people. But if I want to have a late night out with friends on the Hill or even in Downtown, I could definitely rely on bus 49! It does seem to take very long, though. The bus is not very fast and stops VERY frequently. The bus is often on time. The bus, however, seems very dirty most of the time. Not sure why that is.

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.

Friendly, knowledgeable people.Great selection of trains and related items. My grandson (and his…read moredad and grandpas) had a great time shopping here.

I was really looking forward to visiting East Side Trains because my son loves trains. His birthday…read moreis coming up, and I wanted to see which items grabbed his attention so I could plan something special. Unfortunately, the experience was extremely disappointing. From the moment we walked in, the staff completely ignored us. No greeting, no acknowledgment, not even a glance. I watched them welcome and gladly assist every older white couple who came in, but we were treated like we did not belong there. It felt uncomfortable and honestly a little shocking. This is something my son and I truly enjoy together, and I spend thousands of dollars each year on Lionel VisionLine and MTH Premier Line pieces along with other premium train collectibles. I came in ready to support this store, but after the way we were treated, I will not be spending a single dollar here again. No one offered help the entire time we were looking around, and the only interaction we had was at checkout. I am sharing this because people should know what kind of experience they might have here. For me, it was unwelcoming and disappointing, and I will be taking my business to places that treat every customer with respect.