Seattle Transit Blog

The proposed budget for King County Metro released last month indicates an agency preparing for a prolonged and deep decline in ridership. Fare revenue projections have been lowered by at least one third through at least the middle of the decade. While the budget authorizes the restoration of most suspended service if ridership does return, … Continue reading "Metro plans for a lower ridership system"

Two weeks ago I criticized Sound Transit’s 2021 plans for another full year of substandard Link service. Now that I’m corresponding with someone who actually still works at Sound Transit, I was able to get a reply. I had three concerns: (1) that a high-capacity trunk line should have high frequency even if ridership is … Continue reading "An explanation of Link frequency"

This is an open thread.

From current trends it’s worth reminding everyone that STB has a comment policy. If the post is about a Queen Anne bus lane or the SDOT budget, and you’re deep into homeless policy or Thomas Piketty, you are off topic. We don’t really encourage non-transit discussions here, but if you must have one, we provide … Continue reading "Comment policy reminder"

We’ve reported extensively on Metro’s darkest day, when the service reductions due to COVID-19 were refined, and the temporary service suspensions seemed less and less temporary. While the bulk of service reductions were applied peak-only service, there are a handful of all-day coverage routes that remain suspended: routes 22, 47, 71, 78, 200, 246, and … Continue reading "The suspended all-day routes"

Mayor Durkan announced her 2021 budget proposal on Tuesday, with cuts in many departments due to COVID-19 and, in the case of Seattle PD, a push from the council and the community to redirect spending elsewhere. One of those elsewheres will be SDOT, which is inheriting SPD’s parking enforcement division along with its ~$15m annual … Continue reading "SDOT takes a hit in Mayor’s budget proposal"

Metro fares are back today, with no enforcement. Council approves traffic cameras for low bridge transit lane enforcement, 9-0 (see 1:01:53). Background here. Amtrak may cut long-distance routes. Bruce Nourish might approve. Summary of last week’s ST Board meeting: a few projects are unpaused. Alex Hudson has a transit recovery plan. Mill Creek approves Orange … Continue reading "News roundup: fares are back"

Reconnect West Seattle’s bus brainstorm proposed replacing some car trips traveling between West Seattle and Southeast Seattle with an alternative that would take up less road space. This market certainly isn’t well served by transit today. Witness Route 50: The eastern half of this route used to head downtown as the 39, but this was … Continue reading "A direct West-Southeast connection"

On September 21st, the Council approved 9-0 an agreement for street improvements funded by ArenaCo. There are three transit improvements: “Converting a travel lane on 1stAve N to a bus-only lane between Denny Way and Republican St” “Installing a transit queue jump at 1stAve N and Republican St” “Converting a travel lane on Queen Anne … Continue reading "Council approves Arena bus and street improvements"

This is an open thread.

Pierce County’s BRT brand will be “Stream“. Feds provide $8.3m for Swift. Mercer Island raises taxes to sue Sound Transit to reduce bus volumes in their city (!). SLU streetcar is back. The Reconnect West Seattle “Implementation Plan” is out, but it doesn’t contain any big decisions about transit. They have, however, issued an RFP … Continue reading "News roundup: Stream"

Today is the last day you can take the survey on Sound Transit’s proposed 2021 service levels. You can read Brent’s summary of the very complicated ST Express changes. It’s worth highlighting that the expectation that Link will run at 15-minute intervals through all of 2021 undermines the entire rationale of light rail. Given plummeting … Continue reading "The Link recovery plan is a disappointment"

North Seattle Metro / Link restructures Lamenting Link frequency (10:54) Collapse is a choice (18:28) Reconnect West Seattle (25:29)Bellevue I-405 (39:26) Mt. Rainier bus ideas (44:37) Download link

Yesterday, King County Executive Dow Constantine transmitted the proposed Metro budget for 2021-2022. The budget eliminates several planned RapidRide expansions. Metro will dig into reserves to fund service, and will defer a planned increase in fares. The budget also funds a significant expansion of the electric battery bus fleet. The depletion of reserves sets Metro … Continue reading "Metro budget cuts RapidRide expansions"

As part of ST3, Sound Transit is planning to run three BRT lines (branded as Stride), two of which will run predominantly on I-405. These are going to be line S1, running from Burien to Bellevue, and line S2, running Lynnwood to Bellevue. Both lines are going to meet at Bellevue Transit Center, where transfers … Continue reading "How will Stride BRT serve Bellevue Transit Center?"

Those of you who commute to work via a King County Metro express bus may find your route gone this morning. Today is the first weekday of Metro’s biannual service change. It is probably the most painful service change Metro has ever undergone. David Lawson covered the details of how many routes have been savaged … Continue reading "Metro’s darkest day"

The lede is buried at 1:05 into the hearing. Nationwide deaths from the virus have surpassed 200K and worldwide cases have passed 30M. Please, please, please, wear your mask, and wear it properly, when around other people. This is an open thread.

King County Metro has been and continues to be shutting down an unprecedentedly long list of routes while the virus sets its own long-term calendar, with new cases worldwide topping 300K daily. And yet, like a bad zombie TV series, my silly bus stop in Georgetown that I rarely see anyone else use, persists. Yes, … Continue reading "Zombie route diversions"

In January, we reported with some excitement on Metro’s initial plans to restructure bus service around the three new Link stations opening in fall 2021. Since then, a combination of COVID-19-driven resource constraints and some mixed public feedback has dampened Metro’s ambitions. The agency’s latest restructure proposal largely maintains the first proposal’s approach of replacing … Continue reading "Metro scales back North Link plans"

SDOT’s plan for replacing 4,800 cars per hour that used the West Seattle Bridge at peak includes 1,280 more people per hour riding buses in the peak direction. Once Covid has receded to the point that most people are returning to work, how feasible is this? That’s a little under 11 full articulated buses over … Continue reading "Buses and Reconnect West Seattle"

The three e-scooter pilot candidates are Lime, Wheels, and (confusingly!) LINK. Here’s the difference between them. The West Seattle Bridge may be reparable ($) after all. Keep Moving Streets extended through October 5th. Transit lanes on the Fremont Bridge. Puyallup reviews its Sounder garage plan. Public comment on $4.3 billion in spending allocated by PSRC. … Continue reading "News roundup:the difference"

[Update: the original post incorrectly implied that the Mercer Island city council meeting will be on 9/16, when it in fact will be on Tuesday 9/15. This has been fixed.] It’s hard to believe that more than ten years have passed since Bellevue and Sound Transit began their long slog over East Link routing. It … Continue reading "Editorial: Don’t let Mercer Island impede regional progress"

On Thursday, two Sound Transit committees heard staff recommendations for proceeding with paused actions this year. The seven project actions staff are recommending come to just $76 million, though they relate to some $7 billion of larger projects. Along the way, there were tantalizing clues to staff intentions about the larger realignment process to come … Continue reading "Near-term decisions offer clues to ST3 realignment"

Feigned helplessness is one of the least attractive qualities in a state or local politician. Dunking on Olympia, or on President Trump, is the cheapest kind of talk when policy tools exist in Washington to address our most serious problems. Not all of our current crises are solvable with money, but it could blunt the … Continue reading "Collapse is a Choice"

by ADAM SCHECHTER SDOT’s plan for replacing 4,800 cars per hour that used the West Seattle Bridge at peak includes 950 more people per hour using waterborne transit. Once Covid has receded to the point that most people are returning to work, how feasible is this? The draft SDOT framework requires “options to increase capacity … Continue reading "The ferries and Reconnect West Seattle"

While we lament the loss of Seattle’s frequent bus network (which has largely been in place since the opening of University Link in 2016), Pierce Transit is in a much more dire situation. Due to a smaller sales tax base, and the fact that Pierce Transit currently only levies a 0.6% sales tax (with measures … Continue reading "Pierce Transit cuts Sunday frequency to save bus network"

Alex Pedersen floats the idea of canceling RapidRide J (Roosevelt), but it’s still on track. Update on Rainier Ave improvements. Metro rolls out new Covid safety measures. This TNT editorial ($) is wrong, but does provide important information about how Pierce Transit will change. After Council vote, scooters are formally coming to Seattle. Alex Pedersen … Continue reading "News roundup: important information"

While riding a Metro bus last week, I finally witnessed an operator using his authority to get a rider who refused to wear a mask off the bus. The rider boarded the bus, talking to himself loudly, and sat in the back. The operator played the canned message about needing to wear a mask. He … Continue reading "When public health tactics collide on the bus"

Sound Transit recently released its proposed 2021 Service Plan, in which it prepared for the pandemic to continue through the duration of 2021, by continuing the suspension of ST Express routes 541, 544, and 567 indefinitely, continuing to have pared-down service on most other routes, and making 15-minute off-peak headway on Link Light Rail the … Continue reading "Getting more savings from Link feeder buses"

Sen. Markey defeated Cong. Joe Kennedy III, the first ever primary loss for the Kennedy dynasty, last Tuesday. This is an open thread.

Sound Transit has put out its proposed 2021 Service Implementation Plan, with a user-friendly online synopsis, and is taking public input through Thursday, September 24. You can offer your input through an online survey (with eight language choices), through remote participation in a public hearing scheduled for 11 am on September 24, or by submitting … Continue reading "Sound Transit proposed 2021 Service Implementation Plan, upcoming cuts"

Last month the National Park Service started asking what to do about crowds at Mount Rainier National Park overwhelming parking and road space. More parking would be very expensive and undesirable for the atmosphere of the park. Anywhere parking and road space are at a premium, transit is an obvious answer. But what would be … Continue reading "A bus to Mt. Rainier"

Snohomish County is continuing its virtual public engagement for its “Light Rail Communities” project, which will be used to decide on placemaking and zoning around two (or potentially three) light rail stations between Lynnwood and Everett. Previous rounds had solicited feedback on station locations and multimodal access to those locations. This fifth round, open until … Continue reading "Snohomish County asks for community ideas on housing types near light rail"

Sound Transit’s 6-year Draft Transit Development Plan is out. Not much interesting in it, although yearly ridership charts show ridership was plateauing across all modes in 2019. There’s a public hearing on it Thursday. Clallam Transit also has a 6-year plan. Incredibly, the Point Defiance Bypass is still not operational ($). King County promises 50% … Continue reading "News Roundup: Plateauing"

Metro has been signaling for a long time that major service cuts were coming. Between the impending expiration of Seattle STBD funding (with only very partial replacement) and the major loss of sales tax revenue caused by COVID-19, the funding picture is drastically different than it was a year ago. Now we know just how … Continue reading "Two Axes to Swing for Metro in September"

SDOT presented the Seattle Transit Advisory Board with a set of design concepts for the Route 40 corridor, slated to get priority bus treatments as part of the Move Seattle Levy. One of the most popular routes in the system, Route 40 also intersects with several other popular routes on its way from Downtown through … Continue reading "Route 40 improvements at 30% design"

This is an open thread.

When the RapidRide K Line opens on the Eastside in 2025, it’s hardly expected to gain the same fanfare as East Link will two years before it. Nonetheless, better high-capacity bus service is no less deserving of a sensible complementary land use policy that maximizes available development opportunities. The full alignment has yet to be … Continue reading "Upzone opportunities for RapidRide K"

As reported by the Mercer Island Reporter Thursday, the Mercer Island City Council is again preparing to sue Sound Transit. In an open letter, the City Council contends: It is essential for all Islanders to understand that the Bus/Rail Interchange, as currently proposed by Sound Transit, is in breach of the 2017 Settlement Agreement between … Continue reading "Mercer Island sues Sound Transit, this time over buses"

ECB is concerned we’re going to blow our opportunity to have scooter share. HNTB will design the West Seattle Bridge replacement — not that they’ve ruled out just repairing it. Seattle Transit Advisory Board (STAB) looking for new members. Lily Fowler explores riding in the time of Covid. SBB points out problems with the e-scooter … Continue reading "News roundup: blowing it"

As observant reader Brian Bradford brought to our attention, TriMet is installing metal face mask dispensers on their buses, streetcars, and trains. Thanks, Brian! Mask dispensers have also been installed in transit vehicles by: New York MTA, which uses the clever name of “Operation Respect”. Detroit DOT Dallas Area Rapid Transit The Regional Transportation Commission … Continue reading "Face mask dispensers"

As reported previously, south King County is seeing a major change in service coming in September. While nearly all of the all-day service from earlier proposals remains intact in the final service change, the proposed peak-hour Seattle express routes have been scaled down drastically. Metro is currently suspending all south King County peak-only express routes … Continue reading "Bring back Seattle express routes as Link feeders"

On August 6th Sound Transit’s Rider Experience Committee met to discuss its evolving “scorecard” for ride quality. It’s a promising set of metrics, but it would be great if the committee’s writ expanded beyond current service to the future. The scorecard has metrics in five categories: dependable, safe, available, clean, and informed. The individual items … Continue reading "Rider Experience Committee tracks service quality"

Bellevue Tunnel Completion: East Link's Underground Milestone from Sound Transit on Vimeo.

King County Metro is preparing to roll out its South King County route restructure on September 19, as party of its semi-annual regular service change (not to be confused with the ad hoc changes that have been rolled out on short notice all spring and summer). Frank reported on the semi-final proposal back in March. … Continue reading "South King County route restructure to break up high-performing 180"

On Wednesday, the Seattle Transportation & Utilities Committee approved two ordinances (starts at 1:54:14) related to e-scooter operations. The full council will vote on September 8th. The bills are CB 119867 and 119868. Slides for both are here. They both passed, with Gonzalez, Morales, and Strauss voting yes and Pedersen no. The former would allow … Continue reading "Council committee approves e-scooter pilot"

After years of Congressional pressure and the occasional serious accident, Amtrak announced last week that it’s completed deployment of Positive Train Control (PTC) on all track sections and locomotives that it owns. Cascades PTC work was complete in March 2019. The Coast Starlight and Empire Builder don’t use any Amtrak-owned track, though they do use … Continue reading "Amtrak completes PTC"

Uber and Lyft drivers to get paid more, at least in Seattle. San Juan ferry delays getting worse this year. Ballard/Interbay transit meeting tomorrow. Better access for UDistrict Station. SDOT Scooter share plan to go before council today; may launch this fall. But the scooters have already arrived in unincorporated White Center. “Portland just passed … Continue reading "News roundup: the best in US History"

SDOT’s proposed RapidRide G line will now open in 2024 after SDOT and the Federal Transit Administration have agreed that the agency has the chops to complete the project. FTA had raised concerns in February about staffing issues and other timeline aspects of the 2-mile BRT line, first conceived in 2011. Those concerns threatened the … Continue reading "RapidRide passes federal muster for Fall 2024 opening"