Metro King County Transit Bus Lines

Help desk needs a serious overhaul. I’ve called several times with the same complaint (because no one is ever able to resolve it), but because I’m not registered in their system they aren’t able to generate an incident number for me. Essentially I’m starting over each time I call them.
Anyone I’ve called has been helpful enough and courteous, but no actual progress has been made on my issue.
Visibility into systems seems poor, since my question is a yes/​no question. Help desk employees are not able to access the necessary systems to tell me if my card has been mailed or not.
There isn’t an option to email receipts after a transaction, and there’s no record of your transaction if you aren’t already in the system so they aren’t able to track your purchase.

«The hostage crisis: A short story.»
by Lily H.
«I am the driver, not you. This is MY bus. I decide when the bus leaves. The schedule be damned.» –Metro driver
* * * * *
No wonder I take Metro as seldom as possible.
I ditched by monthly Metro bus a few months ago.
Example:
On Saturday, May 21^st…
Bus #2 was 8 minutes late even though there were only four people on it. A half dozen people had been waiting for it for 10 minutes. They kept looking at their smartphones and wondering when the bus would arrive, as it probably left 7^th W. & Raye when it should have already arrived at W. Galer & Queen Anne N.
As a result I missed by connection to the D Rapid Line by 30 seconds and had to wait another 15 minutes.
* * * * *
Moral of story: Public confidence and trust in government is dependent on reliability and punctuality. It is not fair to make riders wait indefinitely and miss connections on account of drivers not respecting the designated times of departure.
The end.

I beat the King County Transit again, by walking, on a Saturday with no traffic, from 1^st and Denny up to Queen Anne Ave N and Highland Ave, a distance of about a mile with steep uphill walking. Wish I had a video to post how slow the buses are. Save your money and get some exercise and to where you are going on time.

Ever since the light rail station opened up, there have been a lot cuts in bus services and bus routes. My biggest complaint is that the 68 doesn’t run anymore. It’s hard enough having to take three buses to work every day but since they stopped running the 68 I have to wait an extra ten minutes or so for the 372! I also understand that the 16 that goes to Greenlake isn’t running anymore either! I feel bad for the people who used to take it on a regular basis! Despite having the light rail, we need to have sufficient bus service! The E line doesn’t wait for you when you’re running to catch it and they’re very rude! IT’S NOT ENOUGH! IT’S JUST NOT ENOUGH!

It’s better than the Rainier 7, but that’s the lowest bar imaginable.

In the eight months since I started using the service, I think one single bus has ever been early. (By one bus I mean quite literally one bus on one single day…) The routes I’ve taken consistently are 40 and 8 with occasional usage of 33 and 24. Occasionally — maybe once a week at most — a bus arrives at its scheduled time. When a bus is late, its lateness ranges from 3 – 25 minutes. This seems insane to me. Twenty-​five minutes can make or break someone’s morning. And what makes a bus 25 minutes late? I’d understand if traffic seemed bad or special circumstances arose, but it happens very often and, at 7:00 — 7:30am, traffic tends to be extremely light.
I wake up 20 – 30 minutes earlier than I would every single day if I wasn’t forced to use the Metro just to ensure I make it on to a bus, especially on mornings when the weather is poor. Otherwise, I end up walking to work (something that’s happened when buses simply don’t arrive at all). Over the past two months, I decided to stop taking the Metro in the evenings and just walk the 2.5 miles home because the service’s reliability has gotten so bad. Every evening thus far I have managed to walk back faster than the bus goes along its route, that’s just how slow and late these buses run. In the morning I’m still able to take the Metro by (like I mentioned) waking up earlier in order to do so.
Additionally, I was not going to bother reviewing this service on Unilocal until this morning when my experience was so awful that I feel a review is necessary.
First of all, the 8 was supposed to arrive at ~7:12am. I kept checking my One Bus Away app, and every time I checked the bus was running later and later. Eventually it arrived at 7:30am. Secondly, I (finally) got on the bus and inserted my money in the machine. I was five cents short. I’d counted out the change in the 25 or so minutes I’d been standing and waiting in the rain for the bus, so I was sure I had enough. Either the machine miscounted or I could’ve dropped the nickel. Who knows.
So the machine said «$ 2.70» and the bus driver, instead of simply letting me go through or offering me a nickel, yelled at me. I apologized. Trust me, I realize the bus system is a business and the drivers need to get paid. If people don’t pay their whole fare, that’s a problem. I wouldn’t go to a restaurant and not pay for the entire meal, so I understand why this is an issue. But this bus driver was so incredibly rude and loud that even the people in the back of the bus stopped what they were doing to watch the whole episode unfold.
So I tried to get off of the bus. Maybe she was angry about the five cents, or maybe my safety was actually in danger with this erratic person driving this large vehicle. BUT the driver yelled, «Go sit down! Just go sit down!» Again, I turned to leave, but she yelled again. I was so taken aback that, yes, I just went and sat down. I proceeded to get off at a stop that wasn’t even mine; I just wanted off of that bus.
I honestly don’t know how I’ll proceed with my transportation needs. I may to begin walking the whole way to work and also back home (which, again, I already do in the evenings). But my experience was worrisome at the very least and extremely upsetting.
I would also like to mention that drivers have generally been kind and nice and this is my first experience with a rude/​worrisome driver. I’ve never felt afraid for my safety until today.
As another side note, the money counters/​machines on the Metro buses do NOT give change. So, say you only have a five dollar bill yet need to ride… Then you’re paying five dollars for your trip. (Don’t forget your five cents, though!)

The bus 75 is always so packed– and late. UW housing has a couple of huge complexes along this route, so you get the students, like me, who have to rely on this bus. Then you have the community housing that opened a few years ago in Magnuson Park. Of course, most of the residents rely on public transit. And they’re a zillion miles away from the part of town with the social services that they need. So where’s the increase in bus service along this route to address this? I’ve experienced many public transit systems, and only San Francisco is worse– to be fair, far worse.

This bus driver nearly ran into my car, intentionally! The lane I occupied was ending so I turned my blinker on and began to transition into the next lane over. I pulled into the lane and was at a full stop. This man then came through the traffic light honking his horn. I looked at him as he came within inches of my car and shrugged my shoulders indicating that I didn’t know why he was honking. He waved for me to get out of my car as if to fight me– I took my phone out to take the attached pictures and he flapped his arms like a chicken.

Something has happened to the Seattle Metro recently. Is it just my bus routes (64, 76 or 71) or more generally? Buses are just not showing up. This has been happening with increased frequency last few weeks. Today I waited at 2 stops. No 76, no 64. Now I am at convention place, cold, waiting for 71. Using one bus away app. Its data is now just dis-​information.

Pathetic. whether its the route 11 that just decides not to show up or the 7 that I get kicked off of every week because the power lines. Why don’t they replace them with the diesel? Why is this one of the only routes that is still one of the reeeaaally old buses… no air conditioning… breaking down. Seattle’s public transportation is a joke. I’ve taken it on and off for the past 12 years. It seems to only be going downhill. It’s impossible to really rely on public transportation here and driving/​parking is a nightmare. I can’t wait to leave this city. If I ever move back I’m only walking/biking.or relying on the light rail or sounder train. King county metro is ridiculous.

Worst service ever and the bus drivers are rude. Today two buses wouldn’t let me on because they were «full» and told me to wait for the next one, even though the buses were not full. Horrible service, too bad I have no choice but to support it through my taxes. Way to go Seattle

It’s 5:44pm on a Monday and 10 seems to be the magic number. I’ve been waiting for over 10 minutes at the bus stop at 3^rd and Columbia and the buses haven’t moved. My bus, the 29, hasn’t arrived yet and is 10 minutes late. There are 10 buses trapped along two blocks. I get it; accidents happen, and ambulances and fire trucks can hold up traffic, but there’s no reason to have the majority of buses run down the same two avenues. (Now OneBusAway says my bus departed from this stop. Thanks a lot for stopping after I waited here for 30 minutes, bus!) Better yet – get rid of most of these buses and put in subway systems so you don’t have to compete with traffic. I just walked alongside a 13 bus from 3^rd and Columbia (the 13 doesn’t normally stop there but it did today) and easily caught it at 3^rd and Virginia. This is ridiculous. Two stars, but only because it’s better than the transportation in most suburbs in the US…

In late August, KC Metro started rolling out their new trackless trolleys to replace the aging trolley fleet. I am pretty excited about this because four of the fourteen routes that service my neighborhood will see a significant upgrade over the next couple of years!
The new New Flyer coaches are replacing the old Gillig (1979). The main things I’ve noticed about the new coaches include: low floors for easy access, exit doors at the rear opens when you put your hands on the door (bus at complete stop and green light above door is on), smoother ride and most importantly they have air conditioning! I envied a lot of my friends for years that ride on non-​trolley routes because a lot of the new coaches had air conditioning on them which is a must during the summer!
Granted, there have been some hiccups due to the newness of the coach — like drivers getting more acquainted with it while on the job. I’ve only noticed these during the heavy rush hour, but with time these things will be ironed out.
Hooray for public transit!
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In a word — confusing.
I’m a huge proponent of public transit. I use it nearly everyday at home and it’s how we roll when we travel. King County is doing many things right, but there are some areas where they should make things easier.
Mistake #1: The manfriend and I arrived in the Emerald City separately and each had our own experience with the light rail. I tried to parlay my newfound knowledge to him, but failed. What was unclear to me was why I should choose an Orca card over a light rail ticket and so I made my first rookie mistake and wasted $ 3. I went with an all day light rail card only to need a bus ticket when I transferred. I’m not sure why there are two different fare systems and why they’re only partially unified; completely unifying them would do a lot to ease confusion. Most of the people buying tickets were totally confused and since you can walk on, it isn’t completely clear that you have to.
Mistake #2: The manfriend chose the Orca card, but was completely confused by the e-​Purse. In his defense, how many men want to carry around a purse, literal or virtual?
Mistake #3: For a while, we thought we had things down, we figured out how to add money to our cards, buy passes, etc. and BLAMMO, we stepped in it — one-​day passes are not 24 hour passes. At home, one day is one day as in 24 hours or 1,440 minutes and that day starts from your first swipe of the card and last for a FULL 24 hours; to me this makes total sense. With the Orca card, your pass is activated in the same way EXCEPT it ends at 3AM the following evening. That means that if you activate your card around say, 1pm then you sir (or maam) just got to pay for a mere 14 hours of riding. Thankfully we had exact change and didn’t have to miss the bus.
Mistake #4: We were told that our Orca cards work on the ferry. While technically that is true, you need a ferry pass on them for it to work. OF COURSE WE DO! So, to the ticket window we went to buy a regular ticket.
Confusion aside, the transit system does have a lot going for it. Clean buses and trains, friendly drivers, clearly marked stops, easy to navigate (just not to pay for). It’s really too bad that ticketing brought this from a 4-​star experience down to a 2.5 one.

I have used public transportation in other cities (New York, Houston, Barranquilla) and I just have to write that Seattle Metro is one of the best Metro systems I have ever used. I have taken Metro from Downtown Seattle to Woodinville and from Downtown Seattle to Federal Way and more. When I first moved to Washington State I used to take the bus from Auburn to Seattle and was always in time for class. I’ve never had a problem with anyone on the bus or the bus drivers, one time while attending a different school I became lost and the bus driver helped me get back to where I needed to be. Everything is close to me where I live so I just walk and use Metro for long distances. I’ve even taken the bus after classes from Shoreline to the dentist in Tukwila or to the doctor in Federal Way. The only downside is that one time at University District the bus drove by and didn’t stop at the bus stop, my boyfriend says that happens all the time. My boyfriend uses one bus away to keep track of buses and if a bus is late we just take another route that is similar. I thought maybe the reviews were negative because of people being sheltered and I understand that a bus not arriving on time can cause a person to get fired but some of the other reviewers wrote about visiting/​living in other states or countries so I don’t know, confused about the negativity.
University District needs more buses, it gets crowded at 3:00pm so does that mean people are leaving work at 3:00pm WTF? They might be part time employees; I know people get out at different times because I used to work from 11:00am to 9:00pm/12:00am no mandatory breaks. Anyways more buses for certain areas or routes.

Ive been taking bus number 8 to work from Capital Hill to Queen Anne. In the past 4 weeks, not a single day bus 8 was on time! At least 20 – 30 minutes late EVERYDAY! I don’t understand why it’s impossible for this bus to be on time!

The busses are NEVER on time and some of them don’t show up as scheduled. The only people that post good reviews about metro are riding to and from neighborhoods that are more affluent in Seattle. For whatever reason there are more scheduled busses that go to and from those neighborhoods more often. There are rarely enough scheduled busses on routes where many people NEED to take the bus to get to work, school, etc. As a result the busses in my experience are always dangerously packed to being over capacity, never have enough seating, and are always so uncomfortably hot to the point where you can smell the aroma of other peoples’ body odor and ass funk.
I’ve been riding the metro busses for over 15 years now, and the same issues have always persisted.

PRO. The 177 and 178 are great in the morning. The bus drivers are always helpful and courteous.
CON. I give almost everyone a 5 star. when the 178 blows by our stop on on Lander Street at 6:05 pm. Leaving people on the side of the road at there bus stop earned a one star lol

Had the worst experience to date after riding metro for nearly 8 years. Driver wouldn’t open the door at one stop then ran up to the next stop and she proceeded to say I can’t board. Drivers like this should be working at the sewage treatment plant or refuse center rather than dealing with riders daily.
Get a grip of your drivers and lady take a chill pill!!!

What a mess! It’s so disorganized, even the transit operators don’t know their routes. I walked from Pike Place to Seattle University– 14 blocks– because that was faster than trying to figure out the convoluted knot that is King County Metro. The contradictory directions offered by metro staff-​one says go here, the other says no go there– shoes that they don’t understand their own system.

For a bus service that prides itself on «being there for you, and being on time», King County Metro is hardly ever on time when it comes to the Route 168 leaving Maple Valley and heading to Kent Station. First off, you have a café and Fred-Meyer’s near where the bus stops — so a lot of the driver’s take their extended breaks in these places and then take their sweet time getting back to the bus. Don’t like it? Tell the driver and expect them to say, «I’ll drive the bus when I’m good and ready.» When you’re good and ready? How about you depart from this location when the schedule says you should, not when you want to? I pay for a monthly bus pass to get me to and from the Art Institute of Seattle, and my taxes go to road programs and transportation programs like Metro. Why Metro? I bought a bike to get me around, and that’s a hell of a lot more reliable than Metro.

i had some of the worst public transportation issues in seattle. i’d been to seattle a few times, many years ago, but was always in cars or on foot, so the bus system was new to me. i was kind of surprised there wasn’t an extensive train system either, with everything so spread out. the bus drivers were nice for the most part, but my google maps app combined w/​the buses just wasn’t working. (i’ve used it in SF, oakland, NYC and portland with no issue) so it was puzzling. it would tell us to walk half a mile (too far, what do elderly/​disabled people do?) and then once we got to the stop i would check my phone and update my location and it’d tell me to go to another stop, usually another half mile away.
maybe it was google maps fault, but since it works so well all the other times i’ve used it, i am inclined to think not. also, the prices on the bus stop and actual bus were often different so that was confusing. the buses were also kind of dirty and depressing. bay area buses are dirty too, so i can’t necessarily fault them for that, but just combined with everything else, it was very frustrating.
needless to say, we ended up having to take cabs a lot.

I needed to come here in order to cash a voucher for my ORCA card. The parking was incredibly hard to find. I tried parking in their parking lot but it was full. After 10 minutes of driving around, I finally found some street parking! You have to go through a nice building in order to get here. I’m not exactly sure what this building is but you walk through the entrance and it would be the first room on your left. Before entering you will notice a directory in case you need help getting to other places. Also, they have a front desk guy that is decked out in a suit (did not talk to him however).
Don’t come here during lunch, the line is LONG. I waited about 20 minutes order to talk to a staff member. Overall, you don’t typically come here unless you really need to so I don’t think I can give this 5 stars. I didn’t think the lady I talked to was the friendliest person, but she was able to grant my request.

Gross, just really gross buses. I feel unsafe on the busses with that many bums around me. I come from SF, the homeless heaven, yet I never felt unsafe there.
Buses are always behind the schedule, super unreliable.
How about people wanting to go across town? There are enough services going north or south bound, not nearly enough going to say, Queen Ann and capitol hills.
When a ticket costs $ 2.50, I’d expect better.

I once took the test to become a Metro driver and out of about 100 test takers, I was the one with the second highest score. I also had a few years of driving a school bus under my belt. Why did I not switch to this higher paying job? Well first of all, Metro’s training center is in Tukwila, and they don’t even have a bus that gets you there. You need a car. I don’t have one.
Can I ask why there are no buses connecting the main North/​South corridors? 125^th goes from 3^rd NW to Lake City Way, crosses Greenwood Ave, Aurora (E line), and I-​5, and yet, if I want to go from 125^th and Lake City Way straight across to Aurora, I have to change buses at Northgate transit center. To the 345. Eh?
There are other East-​West streets that can be used to connect to North-​South corridors. Why aren’t they being developed?

Our bus system has a ton of haters, and we all know haters gotta hate. But I am from a different, happier camp. The camp of metro-​lovin’.
These are things I like:
–Metro cares about their employees and works to keep a happy, diverse team on staff.
–They have kept costs low. Go to another major city (ala San Francisco) and show me these cheaper fares that people talk about. You can pay upwards of $ 9 on a bus ride there! We’re not super cheap, but you get what you pay for and I like having routes that go from weird parts of Northgate to cool parts of SODO.
–The buses are generally clean and comfortable. Watch where you sit and you’ll be fine.
–The reader boards on the front of many buses are helpful for tourists and locals alike!
–Helpful bus drivers always are willing to tell you which stop you’ll need or give you directions.
–Metro does a great job at outreach! They support the community and are often at local fairs and parades, handing out free swag and educating people.
–Nathan Vass, he has a bus blog which I recommend everyone read to get the bus drivers perspective.
You’ll see what I mean about how they hire cool people!
–They have electric and biodiesel buses which are better on the environment! Not to mention public transportation is better than cars anyway.
–The ORCA card is a very convienient way to pay!
–The light rail is amazing and takes me to the airport. And someday it will be even more amazing once we expand it.
–The water taxi is fun and handy if you need to move in between downtown and West Seattle!
–They provide a wonderful, essential service to professionals, the homeless, students, and tourists. Not many other public services have such an obvious, positive impact on so many people.
Lets get people moving! :)

I really like taking Metro Buses. It’s a great way to get to and from work and also comes in very handy after happy hour! =+)
As of this review, they are cutting a bunch of bus lines in the coming months, and I can already tell that it’s going to be a bit of a nightmare for the whole city. I think it’s something like 1 bus = 20 cars off the road. So, one can only imagine what will happen when routes are cut by about 20%
Other than that, it’s always a game for me to try to find a good seat, and I never run short of interesting characters when I ride!

Buses are pretty good, they are old but much better than buses in many other countries. Well I am talking about buses in Northeast Seattle and Eastside. But in downtown and other areas, metro are good also.
We can’t live without buses, as some of us do not own cars, and even those who just don’t wanna drive.
Most buses drivers are friendly.

pdx is offering free bus fares on all of its transportation on news year eve…
meanwhile seattle reduces service and charges full fare!
metro is not trying to help anyone… they jus collect your fare, federal funds, a check every week!
lame! you should be ashamed honestly! it’s a disgrace to the city!

I remember when it used to 50 cents to ride this bus as a minor. Now these kids gotta cough up $ 1.25. Myself as being an adult, have to worry about $ 2.25 every day going to and back home from work. Buses are NEVER reliable. Take it from a 19 y/​o with no vehicle.
I went to a high school where the 60 takes everyone home. Everytime after school, there will always be a huge pack of crowded teenagers at the bus stop. I would say about roughly 55 kids. And when the bus would finally come, every one shoves for the closest to the entrance. That’s because Metro still decides to run the tiny buses for that area. Well knowing that there is a high school where teenagers need to go home quick and safe. I took the bus most days, (had to either beg for a ride or just give up and walk home), and all years I have never seen the long bus run that area. What a completely idiotic fail, this Metro is. Also, when the bus would be completely filled, the drivers will have to skip the next 30 kids (that are usually in the cold rain, because there’s no cover w/​seats anywhere close in that area) and make them wait another 30 – 45 mins for the next bus
I have seen no improvement whatsoever in the Metro Bus experience, as a rider since 2005. And I still wonder why the fare prices went up significantly. Seats are hard and uncomfortable, bus drivers are still always rude, buses stil run late as usual, weird & drunk hobos will still be allowed on the bus and try to start conversations.
This Metro bus transit has got to be the most ridiculous, unreliable, and worst experience anyone could have. It gives Seattle a totally overpriced name just to get around. Tourists /​visitors will hate it here. It is, the only way you are able to get transportation around, but Metro will need to step their game a BUNCH.

To avoid rental car cost while we were visiting Seattle we opted to use public transportation. We took two trips on the buses-​one to Discovery Park and one to the museum of flight.
It was easy to find out which buses to take and where to get on/​get off thanks to the Metro’s trip planner. Our buses were on time and we had no problem getting a seat. Both were also clean and well-​kept.
I thought the bus system on a whole was quite impressive and fair-​priced.

At times, Metro can be confusing, frustrating, and downright perplexing but mostly it is reliable, available, and definitely recommended as a viable transportation option within the greater Seattle area. There are cutbacks and route changes from time to time that can leave some riders literally stranded, but you can still get pretty much anywhere you want within a reasonable amount of time.
Prices are fairly reasonable and the Orca card is very convenient to use and there are easy ways to keep it loaded from Metro station kiosks to the Orca card website. If you live in or close to the city of Seattle, you would be crazy not to take advantage of all the available buses.

Love you all metro :) some times I get a cranky bus driver but for the most part its efficient. I just plan 20mins extra time.
My favorite bus is the 36 there are a lot of them!!! The 41 to northgate is consistently extremely nice and friendly.
Ps. It also depends on the bus. Every bus is different the bus 7 is pretty bad. More then half the time it smells awful, there is a lot of drug usage! People usually carry some of that funk on the bus. Some times I just get off and walk XD # stupid marijuana law passing… ugh.

I’ve used the bus in many cities, and I have to say that Metro King County is a great one. Yes, it may not always be in time, but there is always another alternative bus/​route. Also, most of the buses are clean and has A/​C. And they cover a whole lot of ground. You could practically find a stop any where the ought the county.

There are a small amount of pros and many cons with the Seattle Metro systems.
I will start with the cons since there are so many of them.
1. The biggest problem, the buses in North Seattle are almost always late. There isnt even that much traffic in this part of Seattle. They should really do something about this. It gets ridiculous at some times.
2. The bus drivers arn’t always that friendly sometimes just flat out rude. One time I was getting on the 347 with a transfer i had just got 10 minutes prior from the 41. The bus driver yelled at me and ordered me to come back then yanked the transfer out of my hand and said it was a fake. It turns out the 41 driver gave me 2 extra hours (which they always do to help out people going downtown) So the 347 driver took my transfer and told me to get off the bus.
While getting on the 330 i paid with cash and was given a transfer. I sat down then realized he had shorted me an hour on my transfer. I ride this bus everyday to work and this has never happened before. So then I went up to the bus driver to let him know about his mistake. He snapped at me and said that is how it was supposed to be and every bus driver that has ever given me a transfer was wrong. He also told me never to ask again for more time on a transfer.
3. I was waiting at the 347 bus stop (another 347 problem) after a long day at work. The bus driver drove right past me without even looking and I saw the bus stop to pick someone up a few hundred yards in front of me. I ended up having to wait a whole hour for the next one.
4. Sometimes i encounter weird drunk hobos that wont stop talking to you.
5. I have to take more than one bus most times just to get places that arn’t that far away. They need to add more bus lines, but with this new budget problem they are actually going to reduce bus services if they do not get more funding.
THE PROS:
1. The buses are always clean
2. They get you where you need to go in a reasonable amount of time.
3. They are flexible if you do not have enough fare
4. A few of the bus drivers I have encountered are friendly
5. The metro tunnel is convent for getting around downtown
This is all I can really say about Seattle Metro. They need to step up their game. Maybe more people would ride the bus if they didnt have so many problems. I recommend Sound Transit. ST is always on time and gets you to where you need to go fast.

I’ve had the pleasure of riding mass transit in a number of cities I’ve lived in. Although Metro is not the best system I’ve experienced, it’s pretty darn good. For the first 5 years I lived in Seattle, I didn’t have a car. Even though I have one now, I commute to work downtown everyday.
Pros:
— I get to read a lot. I read about 200 books a year. Prior to that, I played an awful lot of Angry Birds on my phone and fiddled with social media.
— I soothe my anxiety of getting into a car accident because I’m not driving. I know that doesn’t make a lot of sense but that’s how I feel.
— I don’t have to worry about parking. I take that for granted downtown. I’m so used to riding the bus that I become quickly infuriated when I have to occasionally drive to work or troll around for a parking spot.
— The Orca card makes my life a lot simpler. It’s better than digging around for money. Before the Orca card, I used to have a monthly pass which was a real pain because I would forget to get my new one.
— The buses are clean for the most part.
Cons:
— Yes, the bus is not always timely but to me, that’s goes along with riding the bus. I mean, we’re all late sometimes right? Why should the bus be any better? I think it’s funny how we have higher expectations of the bus in this regard.
— Insufficient GPS tracking system. Currently, Metro doesn’t have an app to track buses. I use One Bus Away but they’re not always accurate.
— Sporadic service depending on where you live and when you’re traveling. I’m not complaining, just pointing it out.
— Elimination of the free ride zone in downtown Seattle.
Overall, I am grateful for bus service that is fairly reliable. Again, things happen but Metro gets me where I want to go most of the time. Except from Salty’s on Alki to downtown Seattle after a super fun Unilocal event.

I like Metro buses, majority of the time!
Buses are getting more expensive nowadays. It is $ 2.25 for two hours. $ 2.5 during rush hours (6−9am and 3−6pm).
Most of the time, buses are on time and drivers are super friendly.
Other tips:
1. One bus driver yelled at me for not exiting from the back door. Read my story here,
2. There were several incidents where I had to witness drunk/​racist riders yelling at other randome riders.
3. Bus 48 is ALWAYS late. Right, not occasionally.
4. Some bus routes share the same number but serve different directions. For example, bus 271 from UW goes to both Eastgate and Issaquah TC. Make sure you get on the correct one. Also bus 221 in Redmond stops at the same bus stop but serves two complete different directions.
5. Ride free area ended in late September of 2012. That is a shame.
6. During snow days, buses can be super late. Earlier this year, Seattle experienced some major «snowstorms» and some buses were late for over 2 hours because they could not operate on hills. Check snow routes and One Bus Away for updates.
7. During game days, buses will be affected if you happen to go through the downtown tunnel. They will be super crowded and you will not likely to be able to get on the bus.
8. There were two times where the buses were overly crowded in the mornings and I had to wait for another bus. This does not happen frequently, though.

Above the Call of Duty!
SITREP
So I’m getting ready to get on Bus 41, but I don’t have the exact change of $ 2.25 to pay for my fare. I just figure WTF, and I’m going to give the driver a fiver ($ 5) and bit the bullet.
AMELIORATION
However, the driver notes that the person behind me was also going to pay cash and he has them give their fare to me to «soften the blow» of having given him a $ 5 for a $ 2.25 fare.
THE LOWDOWN
At least on this occasion, I can honestly say I was genuinely impressed with the driver making an outcome to give me change when it was feasible to do so.