First Month of the 2 Line

Riders wait to board the 2 Line Starter Line at South Bellevue Station on its opening day. Photo: Nathan Dickey.

On April 27, the starter" segment of the 2 Line opened on the Eastside, connecting South Bellevue to the Microsoft campus in southwest Redmond. Prior to its opening, the line was expected to attract somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 riders ($). As Sherwin Lee noted in September, ridership forecasting is for the line is complicated by the fact it serves a mix of existing commuter destination and new markets undergoing changes in land use and density. The following week, Sherwin rode after the celebratory ridership had ended, observing marked increased in use of the South Bellevue garage but relatively light use otherwise.

Earlier this week, the Sound Transit System Performance Tracker was updated with May's ridership numbers for the 1 Line, but results for the first full month of 2 Line service were conspicuously missing. When reached via email for an explanation, Sound Transit explained that the 2 Line ridership data is being vetted for accuracy and to ensure expediency for future reporting. They estimated that 2 Line ridership will be included in regular reporting by the end of July.

In the meantime they noted opening weekend ridership (April 27 and 28) totaled 47,000 boardings, and total ridership in May was approximately 121,000 boardings.

Weekday ridership reportedly averaged just under" 3,900 boardings, while Saturdays averaged 4,300 boardings and Sundays averaged 3,650 boardings.

As Summer approaches, it will be interesting to see how ridership evolves on the line during the busiest transit season of the year. Opening of the rest of the 2 Line across I-90 is still tentatively scheduled for the end of 2025.