This morning, Capitol Hill tech workers sleepily climbed aboard the 545 for their daily journey to and from the Eastside via the 520 bridge. Microsoft’s private shuttles now handle the trip for many but back in the good old days the 545 was a frustrating zig zag for Capitol Hill commuters who were forced to travel downtown to connect with the Sound Transit route to the mother ship. The Seattle PI last week remembered the fifth anniversary of Anirudh Sahni’s effort to bring the 545 to Capitol Hill:
Sahni, a former Microsoft engineer and Capitol Hill resident, spent 8 years lobbying for an express bus stop on Capitol Hill for those traveling to Redmond. On Sept. 26, 2005, Sound Transit finally added a Capitol Hill stop to its express route between Redmond and Seattle — the popular Route 545.
Nowadays, the bus stops for eastbound riders in the mornings at Olive Way and Bellevue Avenue just before it heads north on I-5 to cross the 520 bridge. Even though the bus only serves the stop until 10:30 a.m., it draws 300 riders per day.
Sahni has documented his effort and the lessons he learned in working with and against giant bureaucracies to not so much change the system but, really, a couple of stops along the way:
Five years later, the ridership numbers certainly vindicate the fight for the route change. The new stop is served only one way, and only in the direction that is less beneficial to Capitol Hill – and yet attracts more than 300 riders a day, an order of magnitude more than staff originally estimated. The original plan of crossing all the way over the hill would have picked up several hundred more riders, while still paying for itself in fare revenue. It is worth contemplating the fact that the original plan would (according to the original measurements) have added only 3 more minutes to the trip than the present one. Yet the present plan was agreed to readily, while the original one was opposed tooth and nail – purely because of preconceived theories about arterials vs. freeways and express service vs. neighborhoods. Future activists must continue to endeavor to keep our transportation systems’ design based on examination of real, relevant data, rather than inapplicable models and political muscle.
It’s an interesting document for change. And, if you’re up for it, an invitation to continue Sahni’s work.
Sahni complains that Microsoft is too focused on increasing transit share among people who live on the Eastside.
Interestingly, about five minutes before reading this, I received an email from the MS Connector team. Apparently, they’re trying to drum up support for the Duvall route so it won’t be cancelled. I filled out their survey, and in the “any last comments” section, suggested that they would be better off to let the route die and redirect the resources to Seattle routes.
I guess nothing’s changed… :(
80% of Microsoft employees live on the Eastside. Why would Microsoft focus their resources on the remaining 20%.
I know Microsoft employees who have given up living in Seattle and moved to the eastside because they didn’t want to add to horrible east-bound traffic (and all that that implies for the quality of life and quality of the environment). I did the reverse: I quit Microsoft specifically because living on the Eastside was no option for me–because of the reduced quality of life. That comment aside, hmmm, I think it’s fair to say that 20% is still 20%–close to 10,000 people. Since Microsoft stubbornly refuses to consider telecommuting an option, but does think Seattle-side offices serve, they understand the needs better than you do. Also, why is the Duvall route dying, while people cry out for Seattle service? Need, that’s why. You can sit in your eastside office and fiddle with minority statistics all day, but those minorities still count and still contribute, and their needs must be considered.
You lost me at stubbornly refuses to consider telecommuting. You don’t know what you are talking about. My managers encourage telecommuting. Maybe you had performance issues that prevented you from having that option.
All this is great for MS full time employees. What about the other half who are contract workers? There are all kinds of MS programs only for FTEs, including the shuttles. How about charging contractors to ride the shuttle rather than making it off limits?
I’m an MS vendor who lives on the Hill and works in Redmond, and Anirudh’s hard work makes my commute a lot easier. Thank you, Anirudh. There is always a crowd of us waiting at that stop in the morning. Now if only the 545 served Cap Hill on the way home, I’d be all set!
The Connector FAQ states,
“Currently the Connector has a limited number of routes and seats. Due to the high usage by full time employees the Connector is not being offered to non full time employees at this time.”
Leave aside the fact that lots of routes (e.g. all the Eastside ones, and even some of the super-early or super-late Seattle ones) have lots of extra seats. If the Connector is so popular that people are begging for seats, then wouldn’t the right thing be to add capacity, rather than turn people away?
It’s not like charging people for the service would be unprecedented. We all pay for lunch, after all.
I was there over 10 years ago, and the last I heard from my friends still there, they did actively discourage telecommuting. You are lucky that your manager encourages it.
I still think that saying that 10,000 people don’t merit consideration is like saying a small town doesn’t deserve a police force or a fire department–not enough people to bother with.
And by the way, for those few over the age of majority who *don’t* realize it, here word of advice: attacking a person’s assumed integrity, intelligence, or performance, or otherwise personally attacking him or her substantially damages your position and makes you appear weak and possibly even defeated.
Why? Well, here’s one reason. To quote:
Less than a quarter of revenue hours on bus routes that go to Overlake are for buses that travel to Seattle. And yet:
For a public operator like Metro, there are political reasons to spend more money on less productive routes. But for Microsoft, the only reason to pay for the Connector at all is to save money. Every dollar they spend sending a nearly-empty bus to Duvall is a dollar they can’t spend on sending extra buses to Seattle, and it’s an extra dollar that they have to spend on ORCA passes and/or parking garages.
Let’s face it: no one moves to Duvall because they want a car-free lifestyle. Running empty buses there doesn’t help anyone.
Also, to make matters even stranger, the buses that Microsoft sends to the Eastside manage to avoid the only areas that could possibly benefit from bus service. How many Connector stops are in Kirkland? Zero. How many are in Bellevue? Zero.
Out of 1,588 households in Duvall, there are 33 (!) without a car. That’s about 2%. Kirkland is 4%, Bellevue is 5.5%.
In Seattle, out of 258,510 households, 42,180 have no car, or about 16%. My home census tract, #74 (aka the densest part of the city), is 34%. There are more car-free households in my 7×7-block section of Capitol Hill than there are *total* households in Duvall. Is it any wonder that our routes are productive and theirs aren’t?
Yes, I live in Capitol Hill, but I’m not making this argument out of selfishness. My current commute is fine. I just don’t get why a company as fiscally responsible as Microsoft (you have to special-order business cards here) is so happy to waste money on sending buses out to people who will never, ever, ever ride them.
Since we are giving unsolicited advice, you shouldn’t be so sensitive because nobody attacked you. Maybe you have some issues with weakness and defeat that a professional can help you with.
It is 2010, so whatever it was like for you 10 years ago at Microsoft isn’t relevant (and I was there 10 years ago).
I never said 10k didn’t merit consideration. MS should focus its resources where it has the biggest impact. If that is Seattle and not the Eastside then someone there will make the assessment and do what makes the most sense.
I would LOVE to see non-car options developed for the east side! Wouldn’t that be brilliant? I would love to see Bellevue and Redmond make that kind of investment. I agree that Microsoft is not responsible for public transit, but it suits their purposes to have it work smoothly–on both sides of the lake. I am happy that this story focuses on citizen action to improve public transit. That the person is from Seattle is irrelevant, really. If you as an Eastsider think good transit is worth it, then you can step up and do something positive.
I am sure a lot has changed in 10 years there. I still have friends who work at Microsoft. Some are brilliant, some are disappointed, some are very happy. One thing that hasn’t changed at MS in 10 years is that there are still people there who exhibit a degree of arrogance that is often breathtaking. (hmmm, the next time you deny reality, make sure it isn’t recorded in an earlier paragraph.)
“Since Microsoft stubbornly refuses to consider telecommuting an option”
So?
Why should all jobs be virtualized? I mean, theoretically working from home would be great, but “because we should” is not a legit argument.
“I would LOVE to see non-car options developed for the east side! Wouldn’t that be brilliant?”
There are already bus lines that close, though.
I know lots of people who telecommute… one day a week. I don’t know anyone who regularly works from home more often than that.
Working from home one day a week is fantastic, but you still have to deal with the commute on the other four days.
“hmm”, did your manager encourage telecommuting more than one day a week? Did you (or do you) know people who spent more time working at home than in the office?
mother night,
I can see why you no longer work there based on your comments.
“80% of Microsoft employees live on the Eastside.”
Bullshit. 10% of Microsoft employees live on the east side. 90% (contractors) live in Seattle.
Well done, Anirudh! You have put in 8 solid years getting this transport upgrade implemented! No wonder Capitol Hill residents heading East in the mornings have annointed you their Patron Saint! An easier commute now. Must make you feel like rejoining Microsoft???! Rahul
Great work, Anirudh. Great at this young age you want to do some work beyond self !! Harinakshi