Midweek Roundup: light rail culture

Upcoming Link Disruptions:
- Several sporadic periods of reduced evening service for construction of Pinehurst Station
- Downtown tunnel (Westlake to SODO) will be closed Saturday, August 23, from morning to 1pm, for East Link testing. Shuttle buses will run every 10-15 minutes.

Local Transit News:

• Sound Transit has begun updating its 2026 Service Plan - stay tuned for details (Sound Transit). ST also sent WSDOT its annual update to its 6-year Transit Development Plan in July, with the main change being the delayed opening of the full" 2 Line between Seattle and Redmond.
• Yesterday, Sound Transit broke ground on its new Bus Base in Bothell (The Platform). Construction is expected to finish in 2029, supporting all-electric bus service on three freeway-based Stride lines.
• Community Transit just released its 6-year Transit Development Plan (CT News). Planned changes include future expansion of the Swift BRT network, increased frequencies on some routes, and expanded Zip shuttle service.
• The recently-opened Downtown Redmond Station is now the 2 Line's busiest stop (The Urbanist)
• Island Transit will spend a federal low-emission fleet upgrade grant to buy hybrid diesel-electric buses instead of hydrogen buses (South Whidbey Record). As we summarized last year, Island Transit said it would only buy hydrogen buses if it was confident in the supply of the fuel." Meanwhile, Intercity Transit is waiving its standard procurement rules to allow its General Manager to directly negotiate for goods and services related to hydrogen buses (The Jolt News)
• The cost to build a bus in the USA has increased 68% since 2021 and will continue to rise due to new tariffs (Smart Cities Dive). Federal income from these tariffs are likely to be offset by the drag they impose on the overall economy (KUOW).
• The scoop on why Beacon Hill Station was closed for 9 hours last Wednesday (The Seattle Times, $). In short: emergency ventilation fans failed routine testing and needed repair. Fire codes forbade public use until all life-safety systems were 100% operable".

Commentary & Miscellaneous:

• Katie Wilson's Success in Seattle Shows Again that Urbanism Is A Winning Campaign Issue (Streetsblog USA). As counting from last Tuesday's Primary wraps up on slow-mailed ballots, Katie Wilson is leading incumbent Bruce Harrell by nearly 10% (The Urbanist).
• A team of five journalists took shifts to ride the 1 Line for a full 20-hour service day last week to find the culture" of Seattle's light rail line (The Stranger). The cover of the monthly print edition features some nice Link-oriented art.
• A photographer finds peace on the open water aboard Washington State Ferries (The Seattle Times, $).
• Alon Levy dives into the difference between Reasons and Explanations for extreme transit construction costs (Pedestrian Observations).
• The Trump Admin's elimination of clean energy credits and subsidy of fossil fuel extraction will make electricity more expensive in Washington (The Seattle Times, $). Perhaps climate-aware and cash-strapped transit agencies should prioritize mode shifts through improved service instead of energy shifts through electrification.

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