Hey, Metro transit Trip Planner, I need to get to Pier 52 early in the morning. What do you suggest?
Itinerary #1
Walk NE from EASTGATE P-R to
Depart Eastgate P&R AcRd & BAY 2 At 11:10 PM On Route MT 245 Kirkland
Arrive 156th Ave NE & NE 8th St At 11:19 PMTransfer to
Depart NE 8th St & 156th Ave NE At 11:32 PM On Route MT 253 Bellevue Transit Center
Arrive Bellevue TC AcRd & 108 AV NE BTC 2 At 11:44 PMTransfer to
Depart NE 6th St & 108 AV NE BTC 11 At 11:50 PM On Route ST 550 Seattle Express
Arrive I-90 Expr Ramp & Rainier Av Fwy Stati At 12:08 AMTransfer to
Depart Rainier Ave S & I-90 At 12:47 AM On Route MT 7 Downtown Seattle
Continues as MT 49
Arrive NE 45th St & Brooklyn Ave NE At 01:30 AMWalk 0.1 mile NE to
Depart University Way NE & NE 45th St At 02:33 AM On Route MT 83 Maple Leaf via University District
Continues as MT 7
Arrive 3rd Ave & Marion St At 03:32 AMWalk 0.2 mile SW to PIER 52
So go Eastgate Park and Ride to the Bellevue Transit Center, BTC across I-90 to the I-90 & Rainier stop, wait 40m, then take a bus to the University District, then wait an hour and take a bus downtown. At which point, I guess I’m expected to wait at Pier 52 for three, four hours.
I understand the limitations of technology, obviously, but this reminds me of the time I was testing an air system at Expedia looking for Seattle-Vancouver BC routes and one of the results came back:
Fly from Seattle-Portland
Fly from Portland-Vancouver BC
(wait 2 hours)
Fly from Vancouver BC to Victoria (helicopter)
Fly from Victoria to Vancouver (helicopter)
Total travel time was ~11 hours, I think.
Wow.
This has happened to me before, when I was unfamiliar with the routes. It asked me to jump on the bus, ride down to Lakewood, then catch another bus up to Seatac. This bus comes through the Tacoma Dome Station, so…yeah.
It’s a great tool, really…but it’s got issues.
I can top that.
Before I started my current job (in way upstate NY – right on the NY-VT-Quebec border) I was living in the Toronto area. I asked the relocation associate to book me a flight from Toronto to Montreal, and have a rental car booked for me there. Keep in mind, Air Canada flies Toronto-Montreal basically every hour. The booking should have been simple.
Instead, the itinerary I got was a practical tous of the USA. I forget the exact details, but it was something like:
Toronto to Buffalo on an itty bitty little plane
Buffalo to Chicago
Chicago to Denver
Denver to Atlanta.
Atlanta to Philadelphia
Philadelphia to Burlington VT
Pick up rental car in Burlington.
Drive to Montreal.
Pick up rental car in Montreal.
Total travel time (exclduing the driving – from the time the first flight left Toronto until the last flight landed in Burlington) was something like 36 hours. I explained to my wodnerful consultant that this routing might be sub-optimal, and pointed out that Air Canada flew every hour between Toronto and Montreal, and asked her to find a different itinerary. She came back with an 18 hour itinerary with fewer stops, but still a rather roundabout route, again ending in Burlington.
After a few more attempts (none of them involving the 1 hour shuttle flight on Air Canada) I informed my relocation assitant that I’d be taking the lump sum cash payout for relocation, and handling the details on my own. If I never have to deal with Cendant again, it’ll be too soon.
When I wanted to use American Airlines to fly from Seattle to Anchorage and they wanted me to transfer in Dallas and LA. *sigh*
Yeah…American wouldn’t have a direct Seattle to Anchorage.
Surprised they don’t have a codeshare with Alaska though on one of those flights.
Also, please reacquire your health shortly. Good luck and best wishes.