Re: New bus route efficiencies (Mirror, Feb. 13):

What the writers don’t tell you is that the buses on new Sound Transit routes 577 and 578 to/from Seattle operate on surface streets, not in the bus tunnel. 578 starts at 4th and Lenora, goes west to 2nd Ave and then south on 2nd, eventually onto I-5. The faster runs might be nice, but the outdoor waits and inconvenience might not be.

I wasn’t aware that Sound Transit/Metro is involved with some federal requirement that prohibits buses and trains from operating in the same tunnel, which is why the new schedules relocate a lot of the routes to surface streets. More get relocated this summer.

Seattle area residents years ago funded the bus tunnel project, paid extra for rail installation, paid again for re-installing proper rails, and now are forced to donate it to Sound Transit for light rail? The hooligans should be tied to the rails.

Terry Slaton, Federal Way