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. . . There's something you should know. The buses are running late, sometimes very late. The King County Council wanted to do "something" about its massive budget shortfall, but didn't want to do anything that might piss off voters (you know, like cut the services that eat up the budget). They tried something that affects Metro and many Sound Transit runs -- reduce the amount of time drivers get between runs to recover their schedule. It's called "recovery time":
There's a reason we in King County have more "down time" between departures: our area's traffic is all but unpredictable. Those "breaks" are historically necessary. Schedule a bus too tight and a series of red lights can easily make it run late for the next departure. Add a passenger in a wheelchair or even one with a simple question or request, and you're very late. Throw in the fact that you're often running during rush hour, sharing the road with too many other cars for all to move quickly (if at all), and forget it. The schedule becomes as fictional as the budget.
This is something I hope the Council will realize soon enough -- that when one tries to nickle and dime a system into budgetary compliance, the system is weakened. Weaken anything enough and it will break, usually at the points already the most fragile. Because they attempt to use the schedules as published to get to and fro, people are missing work and appointments. This will continue.
Thought you would want to know, just in case you need to get, well, anywhere.
Central to the idea that efficiencies can be found in schedules was and is the claim that King County Metro buses spend too much time in layover/recovery mode. That is – the time between trips that buses use to catch up to subsequent legs of a shift if running late. These periods are also when drivers get vital rest, restroom and meal breaks. Some – but not all – layover/recovery time is designed to be “down time” for the driver to prepare the bus for the next trip (change signs, search for lost articles, change transfers, inspect the coach), and to have a bit of personal time in what is often a long, grueling day. The King County Council – acting on recommendations from the audit – decided that drivers have had too much of this “down time” compared to other transit systems, and ordered the purchase and implementation of Hastus software. . . .
As more and more routes and runs are re-worked according to the Hastus metrics – more and more buses are routinely (or worse – unpredictably) running late.
There's a reason we in King County have more "down time" between departures: our area's traffic is all but unpredictable. Those "breaks" are historically necessary. Schedule a bus too tight and a series of red lights can easily make it run late for the next departure. Add a passenger in a wheelchair or even one with a simple question or request, and you're very late. Throw in the fact that you're often running during rush hour, sharing the road with too many other cars for all to move quickly (if at all), and forget it. The schedule becomes as fictional as the budget.
This is something I hope the Council will realize soon enough -- that when one tries to nickle and dime a system into budgetary compliance, the system is weakened. Weaken anything enough and it will break, usually at the points already the most fragile. Because they attempt to use the schedules as published to get to and fro, people are missing work and appointments. This will continue.
Thought you would want to know, just in case you need to get, well, anywhere.