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Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 11:09:08 am
This came into my inbox yesterday evening from Sound Transit. I was thankful I wan not trying to take the train yesterday. Did anyone’s commute severely delayed? Thankfully Sound Transit runs buses from Tacoma to Seattle during the rush hour. I just hope nobody in Puyallup or Tukwila trying to catch the one afternoon northbound train got stuck, where bus connections are much less frequent and direct.
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 10:57:55 am
KUOW once again dove into the streetcar and transit discussion on their 9am show this morning. You can listen to the whole show on their website. It is a fairly interesting program. Although it’s Seattle focused on Seattle’s streetcar plan, the conversation is relevant to Tacoma and streetcar movement in our city. Also Seattle and Tacoma share a history where the neighborhoods were founded by streetcar stops.  One of the guests on the show is the owner of KAPOW coffee who sold the famous South Lake Union Trolley shirts. Robin Williams sports one in their store here. From www.ridetheslutshirts.com</div>
Saturday, June 28th, 2008
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 09:51:18 am
There are a lot of big events and fairs going on around Tacoma this month. That also means parking headaches and congested roadways. Pierce Transit is providing excellent service to both tall ships and the freedom fair. If you haven’t tried transit and you are going to these events…let this be your first ride!
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 11:51:06 pm
This little WSDOT press release was a surprise for me. It thought this controversial sprawl project was DEAD for the time being after the failure of prop 1 last year due to lack of funds. Is this press release spin or am I just ignorant on this one?
P.S.- Speaking of sprawl, as I post at midnight I am stuck in the LA airport. If anyone wants to see what unchecked development and a sea of never-ending freeways does for a city…take a trip to L.A. This place is a concrete jungle of intersecting interstates and divided neighborhoods… It’s very hard to explain if you haven’t been here, but believe me it’s truly freaky.  Thursday, June 19th, 2008
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 02:50:53 pm
I got a press release from Pierce Transit a few days ago telling me to join them in national dump the pump day on June 19th.
Doing a media campaign to encourage people to try out transit is a good thing... but at 4.30$ a gallon I don’t think transit agencies have to do much to encourage people to test their services. I was taking the bus home from Seattle on Monday at 2:45pm because I had a meeting in Tacoma to get back to. It was practically the middle of the day right as Sound Transit’s high frequency commuter bus service was starting up for the afternoon. This is what I encountered on my 591. I couldn’t believe it, standing room only at 3 o’clock!  Regardless if you ask people to dump the pump or not; its exactly what people are doing. P.S-there was hardly any traffic on the ride back to Tacoma.
Categories: Pierce Transit, Sound Transit, Tacoma, King County, Saves you money, Alternative Ways to get around, Bus
• 2 comments
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 01:47:59 pm
I was waiting to catch the 594 up to Seattle at UWT when the LINK approached, which is nothing unusual. Upon its approach from Tollefson Plaza I noticed that its colors looked particularly odd. As it stopped at UWT I snapped this shot. Apparently the link has been wrapped in advertising for CLICK and is now purple.  Wrapped Link on the morning of 6-17 We are all used to wrapped buses, but wrapped light rail is a new one. Ad Wrapping: Positives: Negatives: In the case of the CLICK ads I will say this. At least they did not cover the windows of the light rail cars, also it is good that it is local ‘company’ that is covering our little light rail that could. Do you hate ad wraps? Love them? Or not care? Wednesday, June 11th, 2008
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 10:08:07 am
KUOW will be discussing a possible Sound Transit discussion in 2008 in a few minutes! My guess is you will be able to call in and make your voice heard, please represent the South Sound well. Go to KUOW.org to listen live right now or go to http://kuow.org/programs/weekday.asp to listen to the archives of the program at a later time. Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 12:22:14 pm
High gas prices and increased transit ridership splashed on the front page of the Seattle P-I this morning. Energy and transportation related news has been all over the place in recent weeks. Almost daily the TNT has an updated blurb on the front page of their website announcing that gas prices in Pierce County have hit record highs…again. The P-I article states the logical fact that as gas prices rise rapidly, people buy less gas, are more conservative the thoughtful about their driving habits, and use transit more. The article also talks about the cost of driving versus the bus fare. While its good to compare, the article misses out on one key factor, the cost of driving is much more than just the cost of gas. I suggest you use this trip calculator to get a closer estimate of the true cost of driving, which includes gas, insurance, maintenance, and deprecation. As the article states the cost of gas is almost the same as the cost of a bus fare. When you factor into these other direct costs of operating an automobile the savings are immense. Add in the huge hidden public costs of building roads and the cost is nearly incomparable. I am experiencing this increased transit ridership directly, especially in my daily commute. If I leave Seattle anytime during the 5-6pm hour on the express bus back to Tacoma every single bus is standing room only by the time it gets out of downtown. The Sound Transit rush hour system is getting to the point where it is overfull due to the increased ridership. My guess is the percentage of folks switching to transit is even higher for longer distance commutes than it is for shorter intra-city trips. I have also noticed that many of the weekend high frequency routes running in and out of downtown Tacoma during the day are often running near capacity. Perhaps increased transit ridership, and a regional reduction of driving and CO2 emissions will be one piece of good news that comes out of these painful gas prices. Also I might be going crazy, but I swear the freeways have becoming slightly less congested in the past few weeks. What have you noticed?
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 11:55:06 am
Sorry for the lack of posting this last month. I took a trip to D.C. and upon my return I have been slammed at work have not gotten back into the swing of things. That said, there is a huge amount of transit related news recently in light of our slow economy and soaring energy prices. I’ve empirically witness increased ridership on local transit systems, which the papers are reporting widely (Front page in the P-I today). I am going to crank up the posting here soon reporting on some of the things I’m seeing and correlating that to recent news stories. I’ve also got some great transit pictures and reflections from my trip to D.C. that I will put up. As a programming note I will be posting at least one to two times a week due to my busier schedule not daily like I have in the past. To kick off the conversation here is my initial question for you. Have any of you felt an increased ridership on your local transit routes? Have you started trying out the bus in Pierce County because gas is getting to expensive
Categories: General
Thursday, May 8th, 2008
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 09:17:14 pm
It was a devastating day when I lost my gym bag. Loosing a new pair of racquetball shoes is nothing compared to chasing after a laptop (see comments in linked post), but it was still a bummer. The morning after loosing my bag I grabbed the LINK to 10th and commerce. The downtown parking garage was looking as blighted as ever.  Then came the moment of truth, zoom in on the downtown bus shop, home of Pierce Transit’s lost and found.  The employees inside the bus stop, like usual, were extremely cordial.  The trip was a success. Thank you Pierce Transit and fellow Seattle bus commuters for hooking me up with my bag! And yes, in case you were wondering, this transit geek is also nerdy racquetball player. Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 11:57:06 am
The Volcano recently posted an interesting story in discussing the effects of Fort Lewis’ huge growth. While more soldiers at the Fort is good for the local economy, it is bad news for our already strapped transportation system and other services. I have railed on the traffic around Fort Lewis many times, especially when I made the bus commute to Olympia daily. See my posts here and here. This is one of the worst choke points in the County and is only going to get worse. The Volcano reports:
Its very unfortunate that there is not more federal traffic mitigation money coming in. Traffic monitoring and tow trucks are good band-aids but are not long term solutions to a very big problem (I won’t even get started on Cross-Base). We need sustainable transportation alternatives in this congested area. Here are my three suggestions, ranked from cheapest to most expensive. 1) Extend carpool lanes from Tacoma to the Fort. This will give people more incentive to carpool, van share, and take transit. Right now when traveling through this mess it does not save time to take transit due to the lack of carpool lanes. 2) Use federal traffic mitigation funds to implement Pierce Transit run express bus service to the Fort. Originate the runs early in the morning when the soldiers need to be at work from the areas where the majority of them live. This would be an direct and easy way to take cars off the road and provide reliable transportation for our soldiers coming back from overseas. 3) Extend the Sounder to Olympia. Pierce County taxpayers can pay to get it to the County line and then Thurston County taxpayers could take it South from there. This would take thousands of people commuting between King, Pierce, and Thurston Counties off I-5 daily. Also we could put a station near Fort Lewis and provide seamless shuttle service into the Fort. Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 08:27:01 pm
I was on a packed bus today coming home from a long day of work in Seattle. The commute home was quick and I was excited to meet a friend for some racquetball. I got a work phone call right as the bus was pulling into the Tacoma dome station. I took it and chatted while I exited the bus. 5 minutes later after the bus was long gone, I realized I had forgotten my gym bag in the overhead section of the bus. It is self-inflicted transit stupidity at its worst! So frustrating! I am crossing my fingers that Pierce Transit has my gym bag at their lost and found tomorrow. Hopefully nobody wanted my stinky gym shorts and 4 year old racquetball racquet. So instead of playing racquetball, I am enjoying a beer, watching the M’s get dominated (its 10-0!), and checking out the latest results of the never-ending Democratic Primary. Friday, May 2nd, 2008
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 02:14:33 pm
This was taken before boarding my bus this morning shortly after 8:00 am at the UWT bus stop.  I guess chalk is the new preferred form of media for Tacoma’s guerilla urbanists. At least It gave me something to think about as I waited 3 minutes for the 590 to show up.
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 01:58:40 pm
The TNT editorial board chimed in on the presidential politics of gasoline prices, supporting Obama’s stance on the issue. This time I think they are right on. Taking a few cents of off gas prices will not solve America’s transportation energy prices. A shift in driving habits, more fuel efficient vehicles, alternative forms of fuel, and dense pedestrian/transit oriented development are all keys to this complex puzzle.
Categories: Politics of Transportation
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 06:55:17 pm
And I promise I am actually going to come this time! When: Tomorrow at 5:30-8pm Green Drinks encourages biking or taking the 11 or 13 to get to The Hub! The Spew has an entertaining post on the event here. There will even be some prizes for people who bike in honor of bike to work month! See you tomorrow.
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 05:51:31 pm
Next time somebody tries to claim that transportation policies are not political; this ad airing right now in Indiana and North Carolina will quickly prove them wrong.
Categories: Alternative Ways to get around, Politics of Transportation
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 04:46:35 pm
Lookout fellow Seattle commuters, this is just in from Sound Transit. I suggest you take the train this day if that is an option for you, I witnessed this march two years ago. It was massive and really shuts things down especially for Northbound travel. Luckily the underground transit tunnel is an option that wasn't open two years ago.
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 09:30:46 pm
Everyone thought Jeff Rubin guy was crazy when three years ago he told us that oil would cost 100$ a barrel, now he is predicting that in four years it will be up to 225$ per barrel and gas will be upwards of 7$ per gallon. This is apocalyptical stuff. Our entire economy as we know it has been over dependent on the cheap oil pipe dream. Last week when James Kunstler was in Tacoma to discuss his latest book, the long emergency. At his engaging talk he predicted that the end of cheap oil will lead to the slow death of auto-centric suburbs, make flying an activity reserved only for the elite, and will force us to grow our food and live locally. He argued that the intercity highway system as we know it will be obsolete and the only way that we will continue intercity travel is by building “a rail system that at least Bulgaria would be proud of”. His talk was scary yet fascinating, and the crowd was a great demonstration of the growing urban community in Tacoma. In case you missed it, here is a good video of Kunstler talking about ‘places worth caring about.’ Maybe economist Rubin and apocalyptic Kunstler are wrong… just in case, I suggest you learn how to take advantage of our extensive bus network and pump up your bike tires, this could get ugly.  Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 01:58:28 pm
One of my friends just sent me this. I like it. Happy Earth Day…If you don’t push your car over a cliff, at least leave it home for a day! 
Categories: General, I hate Traffic
Friday, April 18th, 2008
Posted by Andrew Austin @ 02:26:40 pm
I was walking from my house to meet some friends at my favorite happy hour the other evening and saw this sign. I’ve read it before but I’ve never actually stopped, thought about it, or taken a picture with my cell phone. Yesterday I finally did.  This cracks me up, “Public pier for recreational boats and seaplanes only.” Has the Thea Foss or Tacoma in general ever been visited by a sea plane? Not to my knowledge, but maybe I’m wrong. You’ve gotta hand it to the city and the Foss Development Authority for their optimism though, who knows maybe The Foss will be the next South Lake Union (in 25 years).
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The Bus Stops Here
Andrew, a Bellingham native, moved to Tacoma (without a car) to attend Pacific Lutheran University. This is where he first experienced the benefits of mass transit. A Religion and Global Studies double major, Andrew has run political campaigns and currently works for the state government. He lives in Downtown Tacoma, which he loves because he is able to take transit pretty much anywhere he needs to go. Category
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Andrew Austin writes for The Bus Stop as a volunteer blogger for The News Tribune. He will write about current transportation news and discuss transportation policy in the region. He will also highlight the sometimes insightful and often memorable experiences and observations gained while using public transportation. Lastly, he will talk about the benefits both theoretically and practically gained by making the choice to use transit.