Metro Bus Route 271

A very critical bus line when I head out to the Eastside.
One time I requested to stop at the Montlake Freeway station. As the bus approached the bus stop, I was getting ready to get off. However, the male driver kept on driving. I was like so maybe bus 271 doesn’t stop here? Then as the bus got on the ramp, the driver realized something and was like «Oh SH*T! SH*T!!! Do you need to get off?» I was like it’s ok I can just get off at the next stop. He was like «Oh no… are you sure?» I was like yes positive.
Recently metro went through big changes taking out ride free area and having people pay on entry. I got on the bus and sat near the front of the bus because I had to make a transfer pretty soon. I normally exit from the back door but as I requested the bus to stop, the driver only opened up the front door and nobody was getting on at the bus stop. So I decided to walk off from the front door. The female driver was so pissed off and she yelled at me «EXIT FROM THE BACK DOOR!!!»

A fine way to commute to work.
Not perfect, however.
1. Twice the driver just drove on by me without stopping at the «stop» near my house. wtf?
2. The timing can be (and usually is) 5 – 7 minutes late compared to the prediction of OneBusAway. Or sometimes it is a few minutes early. Luckily, commuting times of day, it runs often enough that consulting the schedule is not necessary.
3. Twice, the driver forgot the Montlake exit from 520 for the U, so we got a tour of town. Once it was after she stopped at a Chevron station for a rest stop?!
4. Occasionally, like today, critical buses are invisible on the Tracker web page. Grrr.
5. 277 looks a lot like 271 on the front of the bus, so occasionally I wind up headed for Kirkland instead of Bellevue.
Could be a lot worse.

I’m not sure what to write about Ye Olde 271. It’s a bus route. It’s a good bus route. Actually, if you need to get from the U-​District to downtown Bellevue (or vice versa) for work, I’d say it’s generally a far better option than driving.
Sure, with the current price of gas, the busses are crowded… and it’s summer, so the busses are hot even with the windows open. That said, it’s a far cheaper means of getting from here to there than driving each and every day in stop-​and-​go traffic. Besides, who likes having to be constantly alert to the brake lights of the car ahead of you? It takes just about as much time to take the bus, and you don’t have the headaches of traffic. I’d much rather sit back, put in my earphones and zone out for the 30 to 45 minutes it takes to get from Point A to Point B.
…and, at times, the 271 is good for people watching, too.
It ain’t a ramshackle means of transportation, but it’s not The Sounder either. It’s clean, reliable and efficient — all it needs to be.