How do you get around town?

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Seattle has a traffic problem. The Seattle Times reported this week that Seattle is ranked the fifth most congested city in the country. Anyone who has crawled–or worse, sat completely still–on I-5 for any length of time knows just how maddening and unpredictable driving in Seattle can be.  The good news is that Seattle is rapidly improving it’s public transit system, the city is in the top ten most walkable and bikeable cities in the country.

Team Diva really wants to help our Diva Dwellers find dwellings that are conducive to their lifestyle. Are you car-less and want to be within walking distance of your job, your doggie daycare, your favorite grocery and the neighborhood pub? Do you want to park your car during the week take public transit to work but like to be four-wheel mobile on the weekends? Would you prefer to navigate our fair city on two-wheels? Here are some of our tips for navigating transportation in Seattle.

Public Transit: Ride the Big Green and Purple Chariot (aka, the King County Metro Transit busses)? You definitely need these:

• One Bus Away: real time info on where the heck your bus is and when it’s showing up.
• The Transit App: it’s available for all cities, but it will find you the nearest bus, train, streetcar Car2Go, Uber driver, bike rental, whatever you need to get you where you need to go.

Bikers: Frankly, if you’re a biker in Seattle, you’ve probably already got this all figured out. But if you’re a newbie, here are a few resources for knowing the bike rules, finding the best bike routes, the best supports for your two wheeler.

• The City of Seattle’s Bicycle Transit page has tons of resources for the urban cyclist.
• Wanna know the rules? Here’s the legalese.Rather take a class? Check out Diva favorite Bikework’s classes for families and kids here or Cascade Bicycle Club here for low-cost instruction.
• Wanna know the quickest and easiest bike routes from point A to B? Ride the City has what you need to get to and fro.
• Critical Mass Seattle: networking for two-wheelers. Ride bikes through the city en masse.
• The Seattle Bike Blog is a great way to keep up with what’s going on in the city.

Walkers: You’d much rather get to and fro on your own two feet, eh? Check out these handy sites:

• Walkscore: Most everyone and their brother knows about this, but it’s the best way to determine how foot-friendly a prospective ‘hood is.
• Looking for an urban stroll? Check out this City of Seattle map that highlights the best walking routes in the city.
• Check out all the hidden stairways and byways in Seattle with at Seattle Stairway Walks.

Four Wheels Sometimes: You have no interest in paying for insurance, a permanent place to park but you need something to get your Costco haul home or to trek across town after one too many yummy beverages on Friday night. Here’s where to look for carsharing:

• Car2Go vs. Zipcar. The Seattle Transit Blog does a great job of breaking down the differences between the two services.
• Going a distance? Check out the environmentally friendly and cost-effective Rideshare option.
• Uber and Lyft are the new taxi. And the Seattle Yellow Cabs are upping their game with their very own app! Check it out here.
• Here at Team Diva, we have our very own car-sharing program. Our special automobile-impaired Diva Divotees have access to our very own third ride, we even have a calendar to reserve our time. You want to get on this privileged special list? You know where to find us.

Your Very Own Ride: Some of us aren’t lucky enough to be able to bike/walk/bus to work and have to pound the pavement in our very own personal chariots.

When you’ve gotta fight that Seattle traffic, Team Diva uses Waze like it’s our very own train conductor. It’s a crowd-sourced traffic and navigation app that will give you the fastest, least trafficked path to where you need to go. It’ll even tell you where the red-light cameras or approaching po-po’s.

Transit matters. No matter where you live or how you get yourself from point A to point B, you’ve got to consider how transportation is going to figure into your lifestyle. How much time are you willing to spend on your commute? How far away do you want to be from your favorite restaurant, coffee shop or pub? How do you want to get there? We can help you navigate that very important (and TEDIOUS) part of your world.