What’s better, commuting by car, or taking the bus and light rail?

KUOW’s Bill Radke wanted to know, so he took us along for the rides.

Let’s begin with my car trip.

I live on Mercer Island, and I work at KUOW, which is in the University District in Seattle. It’s 7:30 a.m. I don’t check the weather, because why should I? I’m driving from one garage to another garage.

I drive over the I-90 floating bridge, looking out at beautiful Lake Washington. I like that I don’t have to deal with other people … but maybe that’s a misperception, because when I’m merging onto I-5, I get stuck in a line of traffic because no one wants to zipper merge. Go forward, people!

Also, driving is fun. You go at a speed that would have terrified your ancestors. And yet, you’re also just sitting there … You could be daydreaming.

I pull into my office parking garage, which is expensive: $8.75 for a single day pass, or $2,100 for an annual pass.

Commute time: 40 minutes.

Next up, my transit trip from Mercer Island to the University District.

I’m walking to the bus stop. Exercise feels good. It might rain. If you hate the rain, move to Phoenix.

I ask the woman in line ahead of me at the bus, “Do people in a bus line usually talk to each other or stay quiet?”

The woman looks at me and stares. “I’m sorry,” she says.

“Oh, that’s OK,” I say. “Thank you though.”

That was awkward. On the bus, I can see out the windows, kind of. Not without staring at a lot of people, though, and I can’t see out the front. Advantage car on this one.

Once arrived at the Chinatown/International District station, no one‘s talking to me. I’ve never felt unsafe, I don’t mind people asking me for money, which someone does. It does help to be a tall man. I say advantage transit.

The light rail train is amazing.

Fifty-five miles an hour AND you go underground AND it serves 100,000 strangers a day. That is a techno-social marvel.

I arrive at the brand-new University District light rail station.

Commute time: 1.5 hours

At a very personal level, the two commutes are a tie.

I don’t mind that transit is slower. I find that I’m equally happy or sad no matter where I am. And also, the light rail is scheduled to extend to Mercer Island in 2023, which will make this commute even faster and even more appealing.

But the car is faster, and with the pandemic still here, the commute isn’t so bad. Zooming out ever so slightly, there are two other factors:

The Northgate line cost us $2 billion. I’m not telling you that’s a good deal. But it’s a worse deal if we don’t use it.

And then there is the planet. My Prius emits 10 pounds of carbon dioxide every day that I drive to work.

In conclusion, I’m keeping my car for now. But when it dies, and it will soon, it won’t be replaced.