The Clog

The Clog, a blog on all things I-5 construction, will be your one-stop shop during the closure. It offers the latest news and updates, tips on alternate routes and transit, maps and gives you a chance to share your tales from the road. Check back for updates and read what others are saying.

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August 14, 2007 3:46 PM

Pass the farebox, please

Posted by Cory Tolbert Haik

This week's record crowds at the Elliott Bay Water Taxi made the boats late to leave West Seattle on Monday. So operators solved the problem by using a "mobile farebox," so people could pay while they waited in line to board.

It resembles a bus farebox, mounted on a metal stand and carried around by a wheeled handtruck, said Josh Gillanders, a water taxi boat captain.

Today, 401 people rode the water taxi downtown by 9 a.m., down from 587 trips on Monday. One theory is that many transit users stayed on buses, rather than transfer to the boat at Seacrest Marina, said Linda Thielke, spokeswoman for King County Metro Transit.

Farther south, Metro's express buses into Seattle attracted 300 to 400 more riders than the normal 7,300 or so, similar to Monday. Buses were delayed about six minutes because they detoured from I-5 onto other streets, Thielke said.

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