Seattle

In a recent column about riding the empty ghost trams of Seattle’s streetcar, I noted that the one in South Lake Union is costing taxpayers more than $20 per ride. I cracked: “It would have been cheaper for the city to pay for me to hire an Uber.”

One reader responded: “I’m fairly sure you were joking about the city hiring you an Uber … guess what, that’s exactly what they’re doing here in Bellevue! You should venture over to the smart side of the lake to check it out.”

It turns out it’s true. It’s not Uber specifically, but six months ago, Bellevue debuted its own downtown circulator transit service — sort of its own version of a streetcar. Only theirs is without the tracks, the trains or really any startup infrastructure expense at all.