Carless in Seattle

express vs. local, and a stroller update

We’ve had a lot of changes at our house lately. First, my sister-in-law Rachel, who was in Seattle for the summer helping us take care of Elanor, left to go back to college. She took her car with her, of course, leaving us officially carless once more.

Second, when Rachel left, I was able to quit my job, so I’m now staying home and taking care of Elanor.

With both of these changes, my bus riding habits have also changed pretty significantly. No longer do I primarily ride the commuting or express buses. Instead, I’m riding lots of different buses, and all during the middle of the day.

It’s a really different experience, for sure, riding the local routes of the express buses I used to ride. The demographic makeup of the express buses versus the local routes is very different. Instead of being filled with commuters with laptop bags slung over their shoulders and insulated coffee mugs in hand, reading the newspaper or magazines like The Economist, the daytime buses are filled with a much wider range of people. There are a lot of students, especially on the 17, which serves Seattle Pacific University. There are a lot more people riding with reduced fare permits, a lot more elderly people, a lot more people who look a bit rough around the edges.

If I’m blunt, the main difference seems to be that those on commuter buses are people who have made a choice to ride the bus because it’s easier to get downtown, or it’s cheaper than paying for parking, or it’s better for the environment. And on the daytime buses, there tends to be a much higher percentage of people who ride the bus because they don’t have a choice; it’s their only way to get around.

There are pluses and minuses to each sort of ride. The commuter buses tend to be quiet (which can be both a good thing or a bad thing, depending on whether or not Elanor is with me). The daytime buses tend to be emptier, which is nice when I have Elanor and a bunch of stuff.

People are much chattier on the daytime buses, which annoys me sometimes, since I’m used to the unspoken rules of the express bus, which includes the rule that people don’t talk, and if you do talk, it’s done quietly so as not to disturb anyone else. When we ride the local routes, that rule doesn’t usually apply, especially if Elanor is with me. Lots of people tend to talk to me about her, always asking how old she is, and a lot of the time, commenting on how cute she is.

When I’m by myself, I can usually avoid talking to people by just not making eye contact, but when Elanor is with me, she usually makes eye contact with anyone and everyone, so I wind up talking to more people than I usually would. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; for the most part, people are nice and how cute Elanor is. (And how can I argue with that?) Plus, most people have a filter so they stop talking if I don’t feel like prolonging the conversation.

I’ve had to adjust my expectations and remember that it’s okay to talk to people on the bus, that I’m not on a commuter bus and no one expects me (or Elanor, for that matter) to be quiet.

I’m working on how to deal with the stroller rule. (Which, incidentally, I cannot find in writing anywhere on Metro’s website or in any of their printed materials I’ve seen. Interesting.) I bought a smaller stroller a few weeks ago, and since I’ve been at home during the day, I’ve tried bringing it on the bus with me several times when we’ve gone out to run errands.

About half the time, I’ve been asked to take Elanor out. About half of those times, the driver asks me to fold the stroller, too. And the other half of the time, the driver doesn’t say anything, and I’m able to leave Elanor in the stroller. (This is really nice especially when we’ve been shopping. Holding a diaper bag, a shopping bag, and trying to fold stroller by myself on a moving bus – all while holding a baby – is not easy. It’s enough that if we’re only going a couple of miles and we have the time, I just walk instead of having to deal with the hassle of getting on and off the bus.)

One driver told me that the reason he asks people to fold the stroller is that if he gets caught letting someone leave their kid in, he can get in trouble, which doesn’t surprise me.

I don’t know. I certainly don’t want to get anyone in trouble, but I really appreciate it when drivers don’t make me fold it. If I set the brakes, and set the stroller between my legs as well as hold onto it, it’s pretty secure. And if we’re on some of the newer articulated buses, it’s even better, because the seats right behind the handicapped ones have more legroom than the rest, and the space is just enough to fit the stroller in.

For now, I’m just trying to work around the rule. I only bring the stroller when I really have to, and otherwise just try to use the Ergo. It’s not a perfect system, obviously, but we’re figuring it out.  It’s just one of the many tradeoffs inherent in our carless lifestyle.

Coming soon: a post about my involvement with a Metro Transit Rider Advisory Panel. Yes, I’m a transit geek. I know. I’m okay with that.