Almost every day, I commute through Seattle to my job in Tukwila and living in Lynnwood means I have a fair distance to travel to get there.

I have been taking the bus to work since I got the job in June of 2014 and since then I have noticed a trend or two. Mostly that our roads and transportation systems are rubbish, and those people on them aren’t much better. Not to say that all drivers and those who ride public transportation are lost causes but after seeing so many near-collisions and buses passing me by while I’m either approaching (and clearly waving them down) or standing at the stop is unfortunate but easily avoidable.

With that part out of the way, what can I or anyone in my position do?

I may be a special case, in that I take the bus for 30+ miles, but in that stretch of highway there are so many options for improvement at a glance.

The hard part is getting them done in a timely manner without huge backups. (I’m looking at you Bertha.) But even if we could get the plans and time frames squared away, how many people would support it? Would people rather keep things the way they are and for what reason?

After going to Japan this summer and seeing how efficiently their train system runs, there doesn’t seem to be a reason that method of transportation wouldn’t work in every other metropolitan area. Yet, as soon as I think about that, I have to remember to take into account that this is Amercia and as part of The American Dream, a car is one of the biggest staples to living the dream. I’m no different, I have my own car but I choose not to drive it to work every day because, really, it’s cheaper and relatively the same transit time for a single driver. This isn’t trying to be self-righteous either, I just like having time to do with as I please instead of sitting grid-locked with thousands of other people behind the wheel and on the bus at least I’m able to use my electronics without fear of bashing into someone else’s bumber while I Facebook or take selfies (I have seen this happen multiple times).

With buses, it seems like we keep cutting funding instead of adjusting those funds to places where the system is working.

Although my primary form of transportation has been on buses for work, I’ve gotten into the habit of carpooling with my coworkers. I was very lucky to find out a couple coworkers lived relatively close to me despite being so far away from the office. This has been a blessing and a bane, because with a carpool I effectively get home, between 30-60 minutes, sooner than I would taking the bus. The extra time with my post-workday evenings has been a blessing, but on days without a carpooling option, I’m stuck thinking that I should be home sooner than I will be.

So it comes back to how many people would support a change in how things are? Would a promise of improved commute times and the efficiency in the transportation system be enough, or would the amount of time saved be the deciding factor?