Just after my move to Seattle, my Indiana license plates expired which has left me without a car. Although an awesome benefit from Microsoft is a free bus pass, they also have this amazing bus that picks you up and takes you to work every day called The Connector. It has been over two weeks now since I have been riding it every day, and while it’s not as convenient as driving my car, it’s good enough for me not to make getting my plates a priority.
For perspective, I ride the Queen Anne / Belltown bus, getting on at 1st and Wall.
Scheduling a Ride
In order to ride the connector, you must schedule the time for it to pick you up and drop you off. This can be a bummer at times for two reasons. The first is that you must remember to schedule your bus ride, and most of the “best times” (i.e. not departing at 6:45am or leaving at 7:00pm) are going to be taken by the time you actually remember to schedule it. The second reason is that although you don’t need a reservation, you will most likely be able to ride the bus if you don’t sign up. There have only been two times that I have seen people denied access due to not having a reservation.
The Ride
The ride is fairly nice. This isn’t any luxury vehicle you are riding, but it’s not a school bus either. The seats are comfortable but the ride can get a little bumpy at times. There is free Wi-Fi on the bus, so you can actually do some of your work while you ride the bus. Another option that I tend is to read that book that I never have time for.
The traffic in Seattle isn’t as bad as Chicago, but crossing 520 isn’t a breeze without being in the car pool lane. So any time that I save by driving my car is quickly negated by having to wait in the stop and go traffic. From the time I walk out of my office to the time I walk into my building is about the same weather I drive to work or take the bus.
Routes
Grechen over at Microsoft’s JobsBlog just posted the stops that The Connector takes, so feel free to take a look at those. I know that this information would have been helpful as nobody seemed to know the exact routes that it took.