Greg Buck

When deciding how you will vote on the new monorail proposal, it would be wise to consider the real-world effect the monorail would have on your commute, instead of just the catchy slogans repeated by monorail promoters, like "rise above it all."

If the Green Line is built, all bus routes between West Seattle and downtown will be eliminated. The Green Line would not give West Seattle residents more "transportation alternatives." It would merely replace several bus routes with one monorail line.

The new plan calls for only two monorail stations for all of West Seattle. There are dozens of bus stops in West Seattle. So most West Seattleites live much closer to a bus stop than they would to a monorail station. Very few people would live within walking distance of a monorail station, so they would have to take a bus to a station, and transfer to the monorail - there will be no parking provided at the stations.

Now, most people can get on a bus in West Seattle and stay in the same seat all the way into downtown. This is called a "one-seat ride," and it is the gold standard of transit systems.

If the monorail is built, most people would have to take a bus to a monorail station, get out of their seat, take an elevator to the monorail platform, and wait an average of four minutes for a monorail train. Studies show that commuters hate to transfer. In fact, transit experts have found that having to transfer from one vehicle to another has the same negative effect on ridership as actually making the trip longer. This is referred to as the "transfer penalty," and is given a time value of at least 10 minutes.

In addition to the hassle of having to get off the bus and board the monorail, there would likely be a "transfer fare" of 50 percent, so it would cost one and a half times as much to travel between West Seattle and downtown by bus and monorail as it does now on the bus.

It is useful to give a couple of examples of how the monorail would work. If you live near Morgan Junction, you can now catch the 54 Express bus at California Avenue and Fauntleroy Way and get to 1st and Union downtown in about 20 minutes in the morning rush hour. If the monorail is built, you would have two options. You could walk to the nearest station, at California and Alaska - about one mile, or a 20-minute walk - then take the monorail to 2nd and Pine downtown, which would take 17 minutes. This would take a total of about 37 minutes, or 17 minutes longer than the current bus trip.

Or you could take a "feeder bus" to the Alaska Junction station, which would take about 7 minutes, then wait an average of 4 minutes for the monorail train, then ride the monorail 17 minutes to 2nd and Pine. This would take a total of 28 minutes, or about 8 minutes longer than the current bus trip, but the "transfer penalty" would make it seem like it took 38 minutes. And it would cost you an extra half fare.

If you live near Southwest Admiral Way and California Avenue you are over a mile from the nearest monorail station - too far to walk. Now, for example, you can catch the 56 Express bus at Southwest Admiral Way and California Avenue, and reach 1st and University downtown in about 16 minutes in the morning rush hour. To use the monorail you would have to take the bus to the Delridge monorail station (about 6 minutes), wait for the monorail (an average of 4 minutes) then take the monorail to 2nd and Pike (12 minutes). This would take a total of 22 minutes, or 6 minutes longer than the current express bus trip. And you would have to transfer, which would make it seem like a 32-minute trip, and pay an additional 50 percent transfer fare.

The return trip from downtown to West Seattle using monorail to feeder bus would be even worse. While monorail trains would run every 8 minutes during rush hours, feeder buses would likely run every 10 to 30 minutes. This means that you would wait outside an average of 10 minutes for a bus to take you home from a monorail station, compared to waiting 4 minutes for a monorail to take you downtown, and the return trip would average about 6 minutes longer than the trip into town.

Even when express buses are 5 or 10 minutes late because of traffic, for most people the current commute between West Seattle and downtown by express bus is more convenient, less expensive, and usually faster than taking a feeder bus and the monorail would be.

Greg Buck is a West Seattle resident and you can reach him at wseditor@robinsonnews.com