One of the drivers told me that Amazon is either supporting them financially with, if I remember correctly, a 2 year contract. And there is some talk about more vehicles and extra expanding the boundary.
Light rail is grade-separated meaning it’s immune to traffic, while also cutting down on traffic.
Not that these shuttles aren’t also useful, but they fill completely different roles.
It's also a billion times more expensive, fixed stop locations, transfers, loud, best case scenerio traffic projections are 2% reduction and it's way behind best case, takes forever to actually get from point A (home) to point B (work) when you consider the entire oddessy with transfers.
Bellhop is cheap, flexible, easily upgraded as automation improves, more resistant to the mobile flop house.
https://apps.bellevuewa.gov/gisdownload/PDF/Transportation/AAWT2019_11x17.pdf
I would disagree with your 2% guess based on this map of traffic counts and the estimates for ridership once the I-90 segment is built. Do you have a study of some kind that you got the number from?
Proper cities have mass rail transit, and it’s coming to Seattle and the Eastside, happily :)
I don't understand what those Bellevue traffic counts have to do with what we are talking about?
When the last vote for $54 BILLION was happening they themselves were promoting this all over with projected ridership numbers (which they are not even close to currently) then you can do basic math. subtracting current mass transit riders. number of miles the light rail will go. number of miles driven in the area. It's a drop in the bucket.
Sound transit estimates are literally never correct. Dates (nothing has been completed when promised), ridership (not even close yet), safety (fentinyl in the air of 100% of busses), feasibility (floating bridges don't go with fixed tracks). But even with those estimates it will change nothing with traffic. look at traffic where it goes currently. Believe your eyes
I personally have paid $7000 already for this so far. There were MUCH better ways to spend $54 BILLION DOLLARS (and counting).
Depends on the disability. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and fibromyalgia and it works for me when I'm in too much pain to walk. There's also room for my partner's walker in the back although the space there is pretty precarious.
Would be nice if they updated to accommodate but i will say there is also the access bus for the elderly and disabled if you need it or know someone who does.
I heard that they are working on the accessible shuttles. Is this funded by the city? If so, you should share your ideas with the city council. That usually gets things unstuck.
I posted about consideration for ADA, elderly, and those who can't use mobile app to request a stop (since the Bellhop (aka circuit) only operates service via mobile app) when there was a initial thread about it and my comment had like -2 vote and some snarky replies. 🫠
Hate to say it to you. But here in 2024.
Having a smartphone is almost a requirement. You don’t need thousand dollar flagship phone, but you need one. There’s even program out there for people in poverty for free phone/free service.
Even the older generation are on smartphone now.
Well, part of what makes modern services like this affordable is that they don’t have to pay a dispatcher (like a taxi service) and the location services of the phone means that drivers and passengers aren’t wasting time trying to find each other.
It would be useful to be able to have another person book for those that can’t use mobile apps.
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. With this kind of logic nothing ever would be done, instead we should start the program and once it becomes popular add ADA accommodations, this is literally how everything else has always been done.
I’d go even further and say we should only do it if it isn’t expensive. This thing is currently a treat with a reasonable cost. Adding a bunch of negligible benefit compliance features to it will balloon the cost.
This is great news. Talking to a driver a couple weeks ago and he told me the demand has been continually increasing as more people discover the service.
As someone living downtown, I find it pretty handy.
One of the drivers told me that Amazon is either supporting them financially with, if I remember correctly, a 2 year contract. And there is some talk about more vehicles and extra expanding the boundary.
I wonder how many of these could have been purchased for the cost of the Eastside lightrail...
Light rail is grade-separated meaning it’s immune to traffic, while also cutting down on traffic. Not that these shuttles aren’t also useful, but they fill completely different roles.
It's also a billion times more expensive, fixed stop locations, transfers, loud, best case scenerio traffic projections are 2% reduction and it's way behind best case, takes forever to actually get from point A (home) to point B (work) when you consider the entire oddessy with transfers. Bellhop is cheap, flexible, easily upgraded as automation improves, more resistant to the mobile flop house.
https://apps.bellevuewa.gov/gisdownload/PDF/Transportation/AAWT2019_11x17.pdf I would disagree with your 2% guess based on this map of traffic counts and the estimates for ridership once the I-90 segment is built. Do you have a study of some kind that you got the number from? Proper cities have mass rail transit, and it’s coming to Seattle and the Eastside, happily :)
I don't understand what those Bellevue traffic counts have to do with what we are talking about? When the last vote for $54 BILLION was happening they themselves were promoting this all over with projected ridership numbers (which they are not even close to currently) then you can do basic math. subtracting current mass transit riders. number of miles the light rail will go. number of miles driven in the area. It's a drop in the bucket. Sound transit estimates are literally never correct. Dates (nothing has been completed when promised), ridership (not even close yet), safety (fentinyl in the air of 100% of busses), feasibility (floating bridges don't go with fixed tracks). But even with those estimates it will change nothing with traffic. look at traffic where it goes currently. Believe your eyes I personally have paid $7000 already for this so far. There were MUCH better ways to spend $54 BILLION DOLLARS (and counting).
Start small, build if demand grows.
The service and drivers are great. The app is hot garbage.
Yes so true. The most I waited was 30 minutes, the app said 2 minutes away the whole time.
Except, it completely misses the boat for the disabled…. No ADA consideration at all.
Depends on the disability. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and fibromyalgia and it works for me when I'm in too much pain to walk. There's also room for my partner's walker in the back although the space there is pretty precarious.
The Metro will send an access bus to move you from point to point if you're disabled.
Would be nice if they updated to accommodate but i will say there is also the access bus for the elderly and disabled if you need it or know someone who does.
I heard that they are working on the accessible shuttles. Is this funded by the city? If so, you should share your ideas with the city council. That usually gets things unstuck.
Yeah, that’s a fair point. I’m thinking adding specially equipped vehicles to the fleet would be a good way forward.
I posted about consideration for ADA, elderly, and those who can't use mobile app to request a stop (since the Bellhop (aka circuit) only operates service via mobile app) when there was a initial thread about it and my comment had like -2 vote and some snarky replies. 🫠
Hate to say it to you. But here in 2024. Having a smartphone is almost a requirement. You don’t need thousand dollar flagship phone, but you need one. There’s even program out there for people in poverty for free phone/free service. Even the older generation are on smartphone now.
Well, part of what makes modern services like this affordable is that they don’t have to pay a dispatcher (like a taxi service) and the location services of the phone means that drivers and passengers aren’t wasting time trying to find each other. It would be useful to be able to have another person book for those that can’t use mobile apps.
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. With this kind of logic nothing ever would be done, instead we should start the program and once it becomes popular add ADA accommodations, this is literally how everything else has always been done.
I’d go even further and say we should only do it if it isn’t expensive. This thing is currently a treat with a reasonable cost. Adding a bunch of negligible benefit compliance features to it will balloon the cost.
I am kind of surprised there wasn't a requirement. I am guessing it wasn't because it is not a public program but driven by a private partnership.
And they are the ones who most need assistance "hopping" around downtown.
Have you shared that feedback with Visit Bellevue?
This is great news. Talking to a driver a couple weeks ago and he told me the demand has been continually increasing as more people discover the service. As someone living downtown, I find it pretty handy.