Riding the Connector
In May, Microsoft added new routes on their free Wi-Fi Connector shuttles since they have been so popular with their employees.
I’ve been riding them daily when I’m in town, so I wanted to let you know my initial thoughts.
Riding 5 days a week on the connector:
- I’ve gained 7+ hours in my commute to catch up on email, read, do some internet shopping, etc. And when I get a bit car sick from the reading, I listen to my downloads from NPR on my Zune.
- I've saved money on gas. The latest topic on every news station and newspaper is the gas prices at $4.25+ in the Seattle area. By riding the Connector, I’m able to save. I can even do a bit of gratuitous shopping with that extra cash. My latest purchase on Amazon was an red Ice Cream Maker - bought while on the shuttle.
- My last shuttle ride was full. That equates to around 30 cars off the road or 30 bus seats freed up and unknown quantities of car emissions not in the air with just one shuttle ride.
This post has been brought to you by a happy recruiter on a shuttle. If you'd like to join me, the Connector routes now include Queen Anne/Belltown, First Hill/Capitol Hill, Laurelhurst/Wedgewood, Phinney Ridge/Greenlake Route, Ballard/Whittier Heights, Fremont/Wallingford, Mill Creek/Bothell, Duvall, Snoqualmie/Issaquah, Sammamish Plateau, Cottage Lake/Redmond, Tukwila/Renton and more!
- Anne
6 Comments
said:
I'll second the endorsement. I've been riding the connector a few times a week since I started working at MS in June, and I love it. I have my commute time to read and relax, and a short work to the office and when I get in, I'm ready to work instead of being tired out from dealing with traffic.
said:
What about those whose are in Vancouver, BC? Any chance of such shuttles being provided to employees there?
said:
A tour of the the Connector shuttles might make a good subject for Gretchen's upcoming Interviewing at Microsoft video series?
anne cheng said:
They haven't added these shuttles up in Vancouver, however, I have heard that they are considering it:) Keep encouranging them to implement if there are enough employees who would use this perk.....
said:
asymtote - That's a good idea! I don't think the tour is going to make it into our "getting the job" series - but I don't see why Channel9 couldn't do a segment on the connector fleet. I'd be interested to learn more about that, too!
gretchen
Microsoft's JobsBlog said:
We've gotten lots of questions about the Microsoft Connector bus stops and routes. Well, wonder no more.