Per the headline: taking the bus kind of sucks. Well, to be more accurate, using public transportation in Washington is awful. It’s inconsistent, it’s way less organized than in places like New York or Washington D.C. for example, and it can even be confusing. Missing a bus always sucks, but here it’s quite unforgiving.

“This first time I used public transit when visiting Seattle, I got lost and had to call my sister-in-law while she was at work so she could walk me through how to get to her apartment,” said an anonymous Highline student about their experience.

If you’re lucky enough to live near a Rapid Line bus route, then it’s at worst, another fifteen minutes until the next bus comes. However, for those of us who don’t have that luxury, it’s another half hour wait until the next one comes. For a state that prides itself on its Metro, it sure isn’t that great.

Now of course I realize that Washington is no state filled with sprawling metropolises, but that’s no excuse. It shouldn’t be a nightmare getting anywhere just because the bus was five minutes late. It’s even worse if one of the buses suddenly breaks down. The system as it is now falls apart so quickly whenever something goes wrong. 

While Washington isn’t entirely sprawling with large cities, people still live here. It’s irritating taking hours out of my day just to sit down on a bus to get somewhere, when driving only takes half as long.

Now I know that some of you are probably thinking “if you dislike the bus so much, why not drive?” Aside from the fact that not everyone has a driving license as soon as they’re able to, some people have disabilities that prevent driving. Some people can’t afford cars, especially now in this inflated economy.

Besides, what’s the point of public transportation if it’s more inaccessible than private transportation? I highly doubt that people want to ride a bus for an extended period of time just to reach a store around the corner. This wouldn’t be such an issue however, if Sound Transit was set up in more locations. So far it’s mostly in major cities, which makes sense of course, but that was done decades ago at this point. 

For people who live in the more outlying areas, the bus is the only option, and it runs every 30 minutes barring being held up by traffic. If someone misses that bus, then they’ll have to wait another 30 minutes for the next one. That’s not feasible if you’re trying to get somewhere in a hurry, but the bus is your only option.

My problem with the public transportation in Washington is that it assumes too much of the user. No one wants to stand around waiting for a bus for 30 minutes because they happened to miss the time frame. Not everyone has a Sound Transit nearby their home that can take them to a major city in case they need to head there.

I don’t think anyone wants to be in an often crowded and sometimes smelly bus for a significant amount of time. Most importantly, no one wants to stand out in the cold or extreme heat waiting for their bus because it’s slightly late. I sincerely hope a change is made because as it stands, the metro is inefficient and sometimes a hassle.