Dad had been riding his bike from West Seattle to his job in SEATAC.  When he changed jobs and started commuting to Mountlake Terrace, north of downtown, he decided to try to continue his carbon-conscious ways.  He studied the bus schedules to see what it would take to get him to Mountlake Terrace in the morning.  Then he poured over bicycle trails to find the safest route home in the evening.  Finally, he had his plans laid for both directions of travel.  The busses seemed to be the most confusing part of the plan.  They are so much more complicated than trains.  Trains can only follow tracks, but busses can go anywhere, making it difficult to ever be sure where one will end up on a bus.  Also, train fares are simple, one pays for a ticket, and rides the light rail to where it is going.  Not so for busses.  There are region fees, and transfer fees, so the net fare can be almost anything.  And the hapless rider is expected to have the exact change necessary to cover any possibility.  So Dad decided to confer with Kimi on the subject.  They agreed that two busses in the morning was probably a bit more than suburban Dad was ready for.  Afterall, with so many places for random events to intercede, there was not telling where Dad would end up!

Read More…