Cars / Taxis / Motorhomes, Seattle

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A great way to see downtown Seattle from the Harbor - and also visit an interesting coastal Seat tle neighborhood in the process - is to take the Water Taxi (really, it's more like a Water Bus) from downtown to the West Seattle neighborhood. It departs from Pier 51 - roughly every twenty minutes during the workday, with diminished frequency in the evening. $4.00 for a one way ticket, the "crossing" takes just 11 minutes. Also - there is free shuttle bus service from the landing dock to the main commercial district of West Seattle. You could walk along the coastline - it's a very pleasant walk - but it's good to know that there is a free bus as well.

Shopping for car rental rates online and with help from a few VTers, we decided to go with Fox, who was a whopping $300 cheaper than the big boys. We got a suzuki automatic 4 door and had absolutely no problems. It was scratched all to hell, but they noted them all before we paid and the turn in at San Fransisco was easy as well. Both places are off-site from the airport but shuttles are often and clean. I would use these guys again.
8 day rental from Seattle to San Fran totaled $415.21 including a fillup at the end.

Flagging a taxi is not the norm out here. Now certain places will have them lined up like near Amtrak station otherwise you are going to have to call. I find that the orange cabs and the blue/yellow cabs are best because they normally charge a flat fee.

Flagging a taxi is not the norm out here. Now certain places will have them lined up like near Amtrak station otherwise you are going to have to call. I find that the orange cabs and the blue/yellow cabs are best because they normally charge a flat fee.

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If you are considering driving through or to Seattle, I highly recommend something else. Find an alternate route, or maybe plan your schedule to avoid Seattle at all peak periods, is one possible solution to avoiding the traffic.

Seattle is crammed onto a narrow strip of land between Lake Washington and Puget Sound. This means there is limited room for huge highways, and all the support structure they require.

The result is that traffic in and around Seattle can be quite terrible at times, and even during non-peak periods you can get stuck in traffic for very long periods.

Traffic patterns here have some other eccentric features. Some of the carpool and HOW lanes change direction based on the time of day, and therefore some of the freeway entrances may go one direction during part of the day, and the other direction during the other part of the day (see photo 2 for one such entrance that comes out of the side of a building in the middle of downtown Seattle). Check the signs to make sure that you are not headed for an entrance ramp you thought was there, but has turned the other direction!

Another oddity: on a number of highways the traffic congestion is so bizarre that different lanes of traffic can wind up with different speed limits, and there are actually signs in various places on the highways and freeways that are changed with various traffic conditions. Therefore, one day at one hour of the day the speed limit on Interstate 5 coming into Seattle from the south may be 60 mph, but if conditions are bad the next day it may only be 45 mph. You can't always depend on speed limits being constant.

If you are traveling with others, keep in mind that the carpool lane may be used if you have other people in the car with you.

If you are just visiting downtown Seattle, keep in mind that a number of the hotels have charges, in some cases $40 or more a night, for keeping your vehicle in the parking area.

Interstate 405 goes far to the east of Seattle, but can be quite congested even on Saturdays. It may, however, be a good alternative to Interstate 5.

There is an ongoing traffic mess on the south side of Seattle, as highway 99, which used to use the Alaska Way viaduct, is being converted to use a tunnel under Alaska Way. This can create some severe traffic tangles.

Pay close attention to what the radio stations are saying, and consider your alternatives:

+ Amtrak service goes right to downtown Seattle
+ Washington State Ferries go right to downtown Seattle from Bremerton and Bainbridge Island
+ There is free transit service on most King County Metro buses (but not SoundTransit or the several other transit agencies) in the core of downtown Seattle, meaning that if you want to visit only the downtown area of Seattle you may be better off leaving the car at home.

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Interstate 5 is apparently the main traffic artery for Seattle.

When I was up in the Space Needle I could see the commuter's traffic jam on I-5 and the TV reporter in the helicopter reporting on it.

We did have some folks in the course in 1994 who were commuting from the Olympic penninsula by car.

In 2011, when we drove back to the airport, the driver did not use I-5

When driving from one of the surrounding areas to Seattle (from Bellevue of Redmond for example) you can use different Limo services. It's traveling in style. (Cost about 30US$ from Bellevue to Seattle)

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No matter if you are walking, biking, driving, or taking the bus, you need to have street names in order to get around.

In many cities here in the northwest, this can be quite complicated because streets change names and intersect at strange angles. This is caused by a combination of topography, rapid groth that has forced streets to widen to the point where intersections are intermixed, and old roads that followed traffic patters that no longer exist.

Seattle has done a much better job of trying to deal with the situation, and you will find that many intersections have signs that indicate street name changes. The street signs may look very complex at certain intersections, but at least they are marked in a fairly clear fashion. This is a lot better than the alternatives.

You will want to pay close attention to these as you move about the city and look for your destination.

There's an online Share the Ride in Seattle. It's a program through the King County Metro.

Call 1-800-427-8249.

Or you can go to RideshareOnline.com. These features include:

Visual mapping, direct e-mail messaging, up-to-date match lists, work schedule options and choose to ride or drive.

Within a simple click, you get instant 24-hour access to Trip Plannes, Pass Sales, Time Tables, Employer Services, Rider Information, etc.

Also, call 206-553-3000.

Many Seattle attractions are easily accessible by public transportation or walking, depending on where you are staying. Yet other attractions/destinations are best reached by car. To avoid high valet and overnight parking fees at many hotels, think about joining zipcar (used to be Flexcar), a sort of car-on-demand service. That way you could have access to an automobile when you need it, but not be saddled with it when you don't. See www.zipcar.com