The number of Seattleites taking public transit in upcoming years is expected to increase, causing many residents to question if the efforts to improve its quality and efficiency will increase as well.
Zayneb, an 11th grader living in West Seattle, juggles her daily classes at West Seattle High School and South Seattle College. Like many kids in her grade, she relies on the bus to take her from point A to point B every day.
“I will schedule my day and plan my day according to when the bus will get there or how long it’ll take me to bus somewhere,” she shared, “So, it really does affect my daily routine.”
West Seattle High School has a student body of around 1,500 kids from all parts of the neighborhood. The 128, 50, and the RapidRide’s C are some of the most popular bus routes that students take to arrive on campus.
From Zayneb’s home in Roxhill, in the southern part of West Seattle, she must take at least two buses to get to school. “Waiting for the bus to arrive takes around 10-15 minutes. So, I’d say the whole process is like 45 minutes.”
Students in Roxhill, White Center, and any neighborhood which doesn’t have the 50 or the 128 running through have expressed discontent for the multiple bus routes it takes just to get to their school—which is only a 15-minute drive away. Meanwhile, there are countless routes that end or pass through downtown. “I don’t think we need like 40 buses to go downtown,” Zayneb said.
Katie Wilson, the newly elected mayor of Seattle, believes that Seattle residents deserve transit that is fast, reliable, and affordable. She shares on her campaign site that it’s the norm in developed cities such as London and Mexico City and therefore should be in our own as well.
“Places I have visited, like the U.K. and the Netherlands, are so much better since they have more subways and trains and everything is faster and better organized. West Seattle seems to have very limited bus routes. It’s often very chaotic when it doesn’t need to be,” Claudia, a sophomore at West Seattle High School, claims.
Since her election, Zayneb asserts that she hasn’t seen many changes towards the direction Wilson aims for. However, Seattle’s free public transit for minors is greatly beneficial for students like Zayneb and Claudia who don’thave any income. It allows them to explore parts of the city only accessible by car long before they obtain their driver’s licenses.
While Seattle students have a love-hate relationship with their transit system, they hope to continue exercising their privilege to ride free, and that it can expand to other demographics in the future.
