“I get on the bus that takes me to you”

As I was waiting for the bus this afternoon I noticed a sign hanging near the schedule at the bus stop. It appears that Metro Transit is trying to encourage locals as well as visitors to ride the bus. This is a fabulous idea. For a mere $5 anyone can purchase an all-day bus pass that covers the Seattle area. So far so good.

You’d assume they’d make it easy to purchase, possibly the same way you buy a ticket today, by giving five bucks to the driver. But you’d be mistaken. Just under the sign touting the all-day, $5 bus pass, is this disclaimer:

“Pass not available through bus driver. Must be purchased by phone or through ticket outlets”

I wonder how many people purchase this pass? They’d have to remember the phone number to call and then wait for the pass to arrive by mail. Or they’d have to locate a bus pass outlet and make the trek there to purchase the pass. When this plan was put forth to management, did nobody speak up and say, “Hey, how about we sell this pass ON THE BUS like we do with the other single ride tickets?”

All I know is this is one discount plan the taxi drivers can get behind.