How Seattle Got More People to Ride the Bus
How did Seattle get more people to ride the bus? 
1. They made coummuting by car miserable. Average commute time for Everett to Seattle (24 miles) is 76 minutes, Federal Way to Seattle (22 miles) is 66 minutes... Reducing congestion is not a goal of WA DOT.
2. They make driving really expensive. $30 car tabs that cost hundreds (if not thousands) and one of the highest gas taxes in the nation.
3. They subsidize the heck out of it. Bus fares cover less than 1&#x2F;3 the cost of operating the bus.<p>Ironically, if it weren&#x27;t for all the cars the buses couldn&#x27;t afford to operate. For every driver that switches to buses cost go up and revenue goes down. Maybe this is fine, but I don&#x27;t think it should be ingored.<p>This article seemed to praise Seattle and Metro but the area is always ranked as one of the worst traffic areas in the nation. If it is working so well, why is it so bad?<p>Is there something Seattle or King County Metro has done well that makes people want to use it? Does it smell nice, is it quiet, are the drivers really friendly, do they offer good coffee..? Or is mass transit around here &quot;good&quot; compared to all the other bad options.<p>One thing that is not transit&#x27;s fault that makes traffic bad around here- Seattle area is filled with some of the worst drivers I have ever seen. Born and raised here so I think I am allowed to criticize, we collectively suck at driving!