Due to Seattle’s unique geography, nestled between the Puget Sound to the West, and Lake Washington and the Cascades to the East, the main flow of transport North to South is guided through what is a relatively narrow stretch of land. This invariably has led to high levels of congestion and an inability for Seattle to greatly expand its highway networks. No wonder Seattle boasts one of the best and well used public transport (or transit as the American’s like to say) networks in the US.
Buses play an incredibly important role in Seattle. Roughly 1,800 buses are operated by the King County Metro authority and Sound Transit agency, providing between them a pretty comprehensive network of buses. The buses themselves are generally high quality vehicles, providing capacious cabins, accurate next stop announcements, and – contrasting with the lighter weight buses that many UK operators use – boast smooth and comfy rides. Many buses are hybrid and Seattle also has something that can no longer be seen beyond the walls of transport museums in the UK – trolleybuses. Whilst the overhead wire for trolleybuses can frustratingly ruin a tourist’s picture, the environmental benefits they deliver for such large urban centres is quite evident. Perhaps it was just the dominant flow of sea air from the Pacific Ocean, but Seattle felt and smelt fresher than many European cities I have visited, particularly London.
Perhaps this was just an unlucky experience because Seattle has historically taken bus priority very seriously indeed. In 1990, the 1.3 mile long Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel opened. Looking a little like the Washington DC Metro system, this tunnel was not built for rail but for trolleybuses. Such a commitment to big bus infrastructure is rare and was welcome to see, providing light rail like service quality for bus passengers. Fast-forward to 2009, and buses started to share the tunnel with the newly opened Link light rail system – an interesting sight, although catching a bus and Link train together is something of a challenge.