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January 1, 2008

Riding The SLUT

Yesterday was the last "ride free" day for Seattle's newly-installed South Lake Union Trolley (aka, "the SLUT"), so Elaine, Juli and I decided to hop aboard, ride it end-to-end, and see what all the fuss was about.

I have to say, it's actually pretty nice.

We started our journey at the Westlake hub (route map here), rode it out to Fairview & Campus Drive, and then came back. The trip took a total of 26 minutes, start to finish, with 11 stops in total.

I'm not a big fan of the "streetcar" approach to transit, because it combines the disadvantages of buses (running at-grade, commingled with traffic, stopping for lights) with the disadvantages of rail (special tracks, special cars, higher capital costs, fixed guideways). In fact, the area presently being served by the SLUT has been well-served by other Metro bus routes (the 17 and 70, just to name two).

Despite that, I'm now a bit of a SLUT fan.

Here's the thing - the cars are clean. The service is good. It does a reasonable job of connecting people in South Lake Union with the downtown core, and vice versa. As we get development in that area (e.g., Amazon), the SLUT will get more riders, and become more essential. This is a Good Thing. The SLUT has more in common with in-city, pedestrian-friendly systems like Denver's 16th Street MallRide than it does with something like SkyTrain.

Are there problems? Sure. The SLUT needs more-frequent service (every 10 minutes would be great, instead of every 20), and likely would benefit from better right-of-way at busy intersections like Denny and Westlake. The line should be lengthened, so it's more than the baby system it is today. Connections to the UW, to First Hill, to Downtown - all should be considered.

However, I wonder if, in the end, the biggest benefit of the system will just be getting Seattleites used to rail. A lot of people in this city have never been on rail-based mass transit, and for them "transit" = "busses". The SLUT is changing that perception - I even saw one guy give the driver a thumbs-up when he got off at Terry & Mercer.

I'll be curious to see what ridership looks like now that people have to pay, and I'll be doubly curious to see how people actually use the system once the novelty has worn off. But for all that, I like it.

(Flickr photostream is available, if you're interested.)

Posted by Gavin Shearer at January 1, 2008 5:44 PM. Posted to Transit.

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