King County Metro is making further restrictions to limit the spread of coronavirus by reducing maximum capacity levels and strongly urging riders to wear masks.
Starting today. Metro operators will be skipping stops when the bus has 12 customers on a 40-foot bus, or 18 customers on a 60-foot bus. The bus will have a message reading, “Coach Full, Sorry,” to indicate that they won’t be stopping.
Additionally, Metro says they “strongly urge” passengers to wear masks while riding. Metro operators will be supplied two washable masks to use during their shift.
With so many reductions to transit in recent weeks, Metro is recommending riders use the “Text for Departures” tool. To use the tool, text your stop ID to 62550, and you will receive a return message with the next departure times at that stop.
And, as a reminder, Metro buses are still free for all passengers.
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makes sense
“Makes sense” eh? What sense is it riding a bus when there are some 3-4-5 riders? Why are they even operating at all?
Not everyone has a car. What would you have such people do if they have to get to work or grocery shop or a doctor’s appointment?
By your logic, we should also be closing a vast majority of streets to cars and turning them over to pedestrians, who are actually using our infrastructure.
For once, a great Paintking idea!
So, basically, they can babysit 12 or 18 hobos, depending on the size of the bus? Working folks cannot compete with vagrants, who have all the time in the world to make sure they are first in the queue to get on the bus.
Probably much easier than babysitting one self-centered hobo-fetish troll such as yourself.
Damn U R good dude. Kool-Aid drinker.
Ruh Roh, you’re going to anger the throngs of authoritarians here. The very people creating and supporting this human debris. The very same folks paying little attention to social distancing and in our faces on sidewalks throughout the city. Sadly I can’t make this shit up. Hello lowest common denominator.
It’s clear you have never been on a bus, let alone recently and are getting your “fact” from some paid, angry man on the radio, like Dori Monson.
Think for yourself once brah!
Let me make it a little clearer for you. Based on numerous reports from actual bus drivers, so-called “non-destination passengers” (NDPs – a PC term for the homeless “roamers” who use the buses as de facto day shelters instead of a means to get somewhere) are taking over buses on many of the routes, particularly the long north-south routes. Since this regulation doesn’t give drivers the authority to kick said NDPs off their buses, it won’t do anything to fix the problem. Yes, it will mean a few less NDPs on buses but it won’t make it safer for drivers or folks who actually need to ride the bus to work and other places. Since homeless folks are crafty, desperate and have a huge amount of free time on their hands, they will quickly figure out how to get every one of those 12 or 18 spots that are available on the bus. They will do this by loading up at the start of the route, such that no one else will be able to get on. They won’t get off until the end of the route, assuming that the bus doesn’t just turn around at route end (in which case, they will just get out and wait to get back on). This new regulation does not give drivers the right to refuse NDPs entry onto their buses, which is what they need to protect themselves and legitimate passengers. We need to give them that authority, instead of passing bandaid regulations like this.
Can you provide insights into how a bunch of (largely) drug-addled and/or mentally ill and/or poor life choice folks are going to manage a large-scale operation to move groups of 12 to 18 of themselves to route originations? I’m super interested in how this is going to work out. If they can pull this off, I will hire all of them to run supply chain at my company. Thanks!
don’t be silly – “non-destination riders” are in fact a real problem – for the drivers and the general public. i know, totes mean. sometimes the truth hurts, and there is no reason whatsoever to allow NDR’s to endanger the public so they can tool around on the bus for hours.
You’re moving the goal posts. I quit riding Metro in early February because so many shelter people were on my bus and I was concerned that they could not distance like I could. And that they were coughing/sneezing into the air…poor life choices. My comment above was to question SparkleCorn’s contention that there was some organized ability for these people to “NDP.” Please pay attention.
Don’t urge masks, require them. WTF is wrong with people that they can’t follow some simple rules for once in their lives.
muh freedomz!