UNCATEGORIZED

Lonely Seattle streetcar riders don’t know how lucky they are

Nov 20, 2012, 7:10 PM | Updated: 7:43 pm

During a commute in the late afternoon, the South Lake Union Streetcar still has plenty of room for...

During a commute in the late afternoon, the South Lake Union Streetcar still has plenty of room for passengers. It's averaging about 2,500 riders a day. (Linda Thomas photo)

(Linda Thomas photo)

In contrast with the spacious commute riders of Seattle’s South Lake Union Streetcar enjoy, passengers on Tokyo’s subway trains barely have space to breathe.

You’ll never think of your commute the same way after you see a series of shots photographer Michael Wolf has captured.

Wolf has been capturing the cramped conditions of Japanese subway for 15 years. He’s just published a third book of photos of Tokyo’s Compression. It’s worth a click here to see some of the sweaty, exhausted, smashed-up-against-the-glass passengers.

Standing on the platform as the train doors close, Wolf captures passengers’ facial expressions. Most of them seem to surrender to the situation.

He spent 20 days, every morning from 7:30 until 8:45 at the same subway station shooting portraits of people on their way to work.

“The images create a sense of discomfort as his victims attempt to squirm out of view or simply close their eyes, wishing the photographer to go away,” Wolf says on his website. “Tokyo Compression depicts an urban hell.”

That wouldn’t be his experience on Seattle’s Streetcar.

The system, which is owned by the City of Seattle but operated by Metro Transit, has been around for almost three years and averages about 2,500 riders a day.

Ridership on the city’s one streetcar line has increased from about 400,000 passengers in 2008 to more than 700,000 last year.

Construction started in April on the First Hill Streetcar line. When finished, that 2.5 mile route will connect Capitol Hill, First Hill, Central Area, Yesler Terrace, the Chinatown International District, and Pioneer Square.

While it’s unlikely Seattle’s streetcar system will get crowded enough to feature faces pressed against the windows, the city wants to spend as much as $10 million to study or design more streetcar lines, including one to Ballard.

By LINDA THOMAS

Uncategorized

kent trooper shot...

Kate Stone

Man faces multiple charges after WSP trooper shooting in Kent

A man accused of shooting a Washington State Patrol trooper multiple times in Kent last Friday has been charged.

1 month ago

Oregon Emergency Landing - (Elizabeth Le via AP)...

KIRO 7 News Staff

‘Everyone was eerily calm,’ recalls passenger aboard ill-fated Alaska Airlines flight

Terror in the skies: A Vancouver, Washington, woman shares the harrowing moments after an airplane blowout over Portland.

3 months ago

Photo: SPD vehicle...

KIRO 7 News Staff

Two men shot at bus stop in North Seattle near Northgate

Two men were shot at a bus stop along Aurora Avenue Wednesday, according to the Seattle Police Department.

5 months ago

Manuel Ellis arrest, Tacoma police officers...

Associated Press

Prosecutors focus on video evidence in trial of Washington officers charged in Manny Ellis’ death

A cellphone video of the 2020 fatal arrest of Manny Ellis shows the Black man on the ground with his hands in the air in surrender

6 months ago

...

No Author

EXPIRED: Win tickets to see Stokley at EQC!

KIRO Newsradio is giving you a chance to win two tickets to see Stokley at the Emerald Queen Casino on Saturday, November 11, 2023!

6 months ago

(File photo)...

L.B. Gilbert

NLRB files complaint against Amazon for unlawful confidentiality agreement

A new complaint from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB ) is accusing Amazon of requiring some corporate employees to sign an unlawful confidentiality agreement. The complaint states Amazon had required a former employee from its drone project, Amazon Prime Air, to sign an agreement that forbade discussion of information regarding Amazon, whether or not […]

7 months ago

Lonely Seattle streetcar riders don’t know how lucky they are