lightrail123

I'm with you. Wearing a mask seems like not a huge deal (though I should note that folks on the spectrum may find the experience really unpleasant, and we should do what we can to support folks who aren't neurotypical.)

Try different masks, different styles. There's several different patterns for masks and finding the right one for your face helps a lot.

I also live in a NW Seattle neighborhood without sidewalks. Walking or biking a mile is not a problem for most folks? I understand if someone has a mobility impairment, or some other necessary accommodation. But a mile is not a long ways.

Building freeways induces demand for single occupancy vehicles. Building transit induces demand for transit.

If Seattle never build another freeway, but keeps building trains and bus rapid transit we'll come out WAY ahead.

Private mass transit has been tried many times before. Read up on the damage it did to places like Santiago, Chile.

I know you haven't thought deeply and this is just an internet forum post, but how do you address:

1) Many riders don't have smartphones

2) How do casual riders know which vehicle to get on?

3) If a profitable route is found, how do you prevent companies from cutting under each other, cost wise? If you think public transit is uncomfortable, can you imagine what it would be like if there was a profit incentive?

4) how do you regulate safety standards and driver training?

5) public transit can afford to be flexible and not collect fares sometimes. You think private for profit companies will let folks skip paying a fare?

Etc etc etc. There are many, many practical reasons why it's much less efficient and desirable to have a number of private companies fighting over a natural monopoly.

From what I understand, the bottleneck isn't the port, it's that there isn't enough capacity to remove goods from the port at the moment.

I rode the bus, pre-covid. I'm wealthy and could easily afford to park at work with no noticable impact to my finances.

Is it so hard to believe that there are people who try to do the best thing for the greater good over their own self interest? Some folks, like me, choose a less comfortable experience because we believe in public transit.

If it takes the same time, but I can sleep, eat, and play videogames, that's a pretty huge win, tbh.

You are factually incorrect here.

It's grade separated pretty much all the way north to Northgate and beyond. (Which opened this year.) Northgate, Roosevelt, U District, UW, capitol Hill, all the downtown stops are all separated in tunnels/elevated rail.

It's at grade only in parts of SODO and South Seattle. The bulk is separated. Even when not, it takes priority at crossings and has it's own lanes that are rarely shared with cars.