#1 Turn off your phone before you get on the bus, and don't use it. Then, no one will ever know you have one.

#2 I know it's hard to say no because it sounds rude, (and really, the rude thing is asking to use someone's phone for a non-emergency), so if you don't want to keep the phone out of sight, then say you are on a limited minutes plan and you don't have any time left. It's a white lie.

Etiquette isn't stressed in some households, but really, this kind of situation is what etiquette is for. I get waylaid regularly by the sheer gall of people these days whether its their attempt to involve you in a conversation that you don't wish to be a part of or someone asking how much you make or how much rent do you pay. I was raised in the South - and not the highfaluting side of town - but I knew at a very early age that you didn't, say, ever ask a woman her age or ask someone about their money. Seems pretty simple - respecting boundaries. What happened, I wonder?

My personal preference would be Option #1. Like you don't walk down the street waving $20 bills at spare changers, don't let anyone know you have a phone if having a phone has become a problem for you. Oh the times we live in!

"No", if they look scary, you don't owe this person any favors.
If they look sane, you can just tell them your not comfortable doing that. Or tell them you don't have any minutes left

I've had two experiences since moving here that have shaped my opinion of lending phones. I've done it at the airport before, but I'm much less likely to do it these days.

I lent my phone to someone on a bus, and he turned out to be a total nutcase who tried to talk to me afterwards and ended up yelling at me the whole bus ride because the answers i gave him weren't what he wanted to hear.

Someone that I was dating got approached by some shifty teens in a group who asked the same, the phone use was refused, and the teens scurried to find some other "mark" to steal the phone from.

I mean, it sucks because I'm sure (like at the airport) people have emergencies, but prepaids can be had for dirt cheap.

Hey I think I've been asked on that route too. If they look young, often they say its to call their parents/friend to say that they're late and in that case I ask them if its fine that I call and pass on the message.
Otherwise i just tell them i dont have any minutes, easy as that.

Just say no.

Just say no. I pretty much assume that if a stranger asks to borrow my phone or look at it or whatever, that they're planning on stealing it. J

What the fuck? Don't be so passive aggressive folks.

"No"
*keeps bugging you*
"There's probably a payphone near almost every stop"
*keeps bugging you*
"Get your own phone"
*keeps bugging you*
"Go fuck yourself"

Is say sorry almost out of min. I have unlimited. I do act real they dont care.

Who are these mooches? WTF?

Remember this: simple and short is always the best way to let down anyone; Phone borrower. Psycho girlfriend you need to dump. Jehovah Witnesses at your door. Your dog who wants your bacon burger.

Universally simple - "No, I don't do that. Sorry."

If they persist, let them know your phone mintes are overlimit, and ask them to pay your bill for the month, in cash, in advance, and then perhaps lend them the phone.

I mean, you're not a god damnd public phone booth.

I tell people that I work for a government agency and my phone is state-issued and for official business only. What the fuck do they know? Works every time.

Either be real about it and simply say you'd rather not, or you wouldn't feel comfortable doing that, since you don't know them... OR, claim you're coming down with something and you don't want to risk exposing them to it by using your phone.

Just ask him to not smoke in the bus stop. He might not realize that it bothers people; tell him it bothers you and ask if he can not smoke, at least while you're there.

I'm guessing that he's lonely and wants someone to talk to. I've had the same experience with people (who may or may not be homeless) at bus stops and on the street. If you don't feel like talking, you can tell him that; be polite but firm.

If you feel threatened or think he's a harm to himself or others, you can call Metro, or ask a bus driver what to do. If anything Metro will send out the sheriff and they probably will just tell him to move along, which is the main way our society deals with homeless people.

I don't know what you can do other than report him to Metro. Keep in mind that their "solution" may be to remove the bench in the shelter.

My approach would be to not do anything, (bearing in mind that it sounds like someone else will). I know that this may be considered a slacker attitude, and what happens to society if we all take no action blahblahblah, but I would not want it on my conscience if he were to be moved on.

There is a bit in Chapter 3 of the Geeta that I recall being along the lines of "Do your duty as prescribed for action for duty's sake is superior to inaction. But to do the duty of another is fraught with danger."

Only you can know if it is "your duty" to do something about him. If it is just a matter of personal comfort, probably not. I do not think it is your duty, either, to try and improve his life. That is not (just) because I'm a heartless cow but because it is not the case that seeing another in want automatically makes it incumbent upon one to interfere to change things.

I'm expecting people to disagree with me on this answer!

The paperwork and accounting on this would make it cost prohibitive and revenue-negative. You'd be astounded at the resources it takes to collect and process bus fares and pass purchases. This is why Island County transit operates with a ride free policy county-wide. The amount that they would take in from collecting fares would be less than the cost of counting and complying with money-handling regulations for those fares. So they let everybody ride the bus for free.

The Seattle/King County area is significantly larger with more transit riders so the accounting costs are worth it to have people pay to ride each time or buy a pass, but there's still a ton of accounting overhead. What you are describing sounds good in principle, but the onerous accounting challenges involved in separating your pass on your route from the rest of the system are too great.

The best thing you can do to support your particular route is to keep riding it. Routes with high ridership are not going to be cut. And remember, you're doing everybody a favor when you ride transit, that guy with the pickup truck full of construction equipment who can't ride the bus to his job is dealing with less traffic because you are on the bus instead of in your car.

Save the planet, ride the bus!

Take a car service...cheaper than a cab.

Atlas Town Car, LLC
www.AtlasTownCar.com
10342 184 Ave NE
Redmond, WA 98052
206.860.7777 Phone

And, if you're forced to hire someone to drive you, taking a TOWNCAR SERVICE is actually almost always cheaper than a taxi if you're going farther than downtown...something I learned the hard way. The Town Car/Limo services provide a flat fee based upon zip code of your destination, whereas the taxi is the standard mileage plus time plus airport fee. So I took a taxi 6 months ago up to my family's place in Bothell (as it was 3am) and it was over $85!! (The towncar rate for this trip is just $60).

There are also shuttle vans...i think the shuttle service counter is open until 2am. It's around $30 to shuttle to downtown, I believe. Although I've heard that the taxis to downtown have a FLAT RATE so maybe that's the way to go? *shrug* I'd check out yelp or something similar and call a few taxi and towncar (and maybe shuttle) companies to check their rates. Be sure to let them know what TIME you'll be going too...some of these companies have a surcharge for late night/early morning hours.

Good luck

Have you checked the King County online metro trip planner? Looks like there are a few late night options that involve taking the Rapid Ride A line bus out of the airport. Not sure I'd want to hang out too long at those transfer stations at that time of night though.

I think Sphinx is right on in his answer, no guessing about it.

The other point for consideration in the direction that the shelter faces is for wheelchair access.

A person using a chair for mobility has easier access to the shelter from the broad part of the sidewalk.

If the shelter is close to the street and was facing the street it makes the stopping point of the bus very critical and maneuvering room very tight for the user of the wheelchair to get to the lift.

The reason you may see some inconsistency on which way they face may depend on when the shelter was installed.

The direction the shelter faces is also a consideration for safety of the patrons using it if the shelter was struck by a vehicle hopping the curb. With the shelter facing way you have the bulk of it protecting you and are not going to get pinned between vehicle and structure of the shelter.

This is just a guess, but it could be because in the winter our streets often have inches of standing water. I've been drenched by drivers going way too fast in the pouring rain more than once (even when walking on the far inside edge of the sidewalk). Maybe the opposite-facing bus shelters are meant to provide protection from splashing water from the roadway? I do see lots of shelters that face the street in Seattle as well, though, so it may be that your sample is skewed (by the part of town you spend the most bus-time in). Usually the front-facing shelters are set back from the road (with the full sidewalk in between) and the back-facing shelters are set right up against the road. The decision about which way the shelter faces may also have something to do with the width of the sidewalk near the stop- if the sidewalk is narrower they probably don't want folks walking around the front of the shelter to get in (and spilling out of it, as happens when the weather is particularly foul) and getting too close to the street.

If after midnight means 12:10, you can take the light rail. Otherwise you're stuck with a taxi until 5:00 am.

I'll yield to soundslikepuget here but I take the ferry to Bainbridge a few times every summer, usually in the early afternoon and returning on one of the last ones back to Seattle, and have never had to wait for a whole other ferry.

You can always drive it but getting over the Tacoma Narrows bridge can be a nightmare if you go at the wrong time. Pick your poison, sitting on the I-5 exit headed towards the bridge in Tacoma, or sitting in the ferry parking lot at the waterfront.

You could take a different ferry too if you don't mind a little driving. There are a few that land on Bainbridge. But they are smaller.

Yeah, I'd say they should plan on waiting a whole extra ferry. And then plan on that ferry being late.

I've spent my whole life at the mercy of the Washington State Ferries and I've learned you just gotta chillax. Boats are late. Boats are full. Pack a football or a frisbee in the car. You're going to wait. And then you're going to wait some more.

If there's going to be a minibus available, then there is no reason your guests should put themselves through the torment of playing Washington State Ferries roulette with a vehicle in the summer. Are we gonna make it onboard this one? are we? are we? are we? No, probably not.

Walk onboard. Seriously. Save some cash, save the planet, save your sanity. Leave the car at Colman Dock.

I almost never have any problem with the WiFi on the Sounder. There is a small dead spot near the King County Airport, but it's brief.

Maybe Crown Black Car service would pick you up?
http://crownblackcar.com/

If you have a bike (with a light), the Burke Gilman Trail will be a straight shot.

I would vote for calling a cab.

As for hitchhiking, I'd probably say no:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-10-05-1Ahighwaykiller05_CV_N.htm

Hitchhike.

It depends on how late, and where you are starting and finishing.

You could take a bus if one is still running when you want to leave: http://www.soundtransit.org/
You could call a cab: http://www.bing.com/local/default.aspx?what=taxi&where=Redmond%2c+Washington&s_cid=ansPhBkYp01&mkt=en-us&ac=false&q=taxi+redmond&qpvt=taxi+redmond
You could beg a friend for a lift.
You could ride a bike: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Redmond-to-Seattle-REI